The edge is used to protect the end edges of parts made of MDF, chipboard, PVC from abrasion, moisture and impact. This finish serves a decorative function, and also gives the edges and corners of the furniture strength and protects people from harmful influence a substance such as formaldehyde, used in the production of compressed wood boards.
If the border is damaged or peels off, urgent repairs are required. And in this case, the primary task is to select the material and glue for the edges made of PVC, melamine paper or other material.
Varieties of edges
From the variety of edges you have to choose the most suitable one.
Melamine
Made in the form of a self-adhesive tape made of decorative paper, which is impregnated with melamine resins. Typically used for interior decoration furniture. This a budget option edges for chipboard, not characterized by high quality. It has a short service life, is susceptible to moisture and often falls off on its own over time.
The undoubted positive property of the melamine edge is the ease of gluing it; this can be done at home yourself, using a regular iron. The second advantage is the absence of a side, a curb protruding above the edged surface, which sometimes irritates when it gets under your hands when working with the keyboard, and also interferes with sweeping away small debris, for example, crumbs from the dining table in the office.
It is a flexible tape with curved edges that form a side. This edging is made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Types of edging differ in width and profile: in cross-section, the edge resembles either the letter “t” (T-shaped) or the letter “p” (U-shaped).
The latter is easier to attach, but less reliable; craftsmen do not recommend using it on surfaces that are often subject to friction: on the seats of stools or benches, on the front edge computer desk, which is constantly in contact with the forearms.
PVC edging increases the durability and wear resistance of furniture parts, and reliably protects edges and corners from damage.
The edging is similar to the previous type of edging tape, but is more environmentally friendly. Made from chlorine-free plastic. It has found successful application in furniture production due to its heat resistance and impact resistance.
How to glue melamine edge
Update if desired old furniture and at the same time save money, use a melamine edge with glue. It’s easy to stick it, for example, on a tabletop:
- Cut a piece of tape with a margin of about two centimeters.
- Place the adhesive side to the tabletop and press with a hot iron or heat with a hair dryer.
- Hold until the glue words melt.
- Move the iron along the edge gradually, preferably no more than 0.5 cm at a time.
- Immediately after warming up and removing the iron, press the edge strip with a dry cloth and hold to fix it.
Advice! An iron or hair dryer will also help you remove the old edge tape. Just warm it up and remove it with a knife or thin spatula.
Fastening PVC and ABS edging
Plastic edging tapes, theoretically, can simply be fixed to the edge of the furniture, but this is extremely unreliable. Additional fixation with glue is preferable.
To attach the T-shaped profile, you will have to lay a recess along the entire edge to be processed. The easiest way to do this is milling machine. If you have the skill, it will be replaced by a drill with a circular attachment. However, in general the profile is intended for professionals.
To fix PVC or ABS edges at home, use PVC glue, as well as universal compounds “Moment” and “88-lux”; it is desirable that they be marked “for PVC” or “for ABS”.
Professionals use hot melt adhesives, which are part of a range of thermoplastics. When heated, they become highly elastic, and when cooled, they instantly turn into a solid state. The high fluidity and drying strength of the adhesives is due to the ethylene polymer with vinyl acetate they contain. The main disadvantage of hot melt adhesives, of course, is the need for appropriate equipment for the job.
When working with any border, try to calculate the sequence of pasting so as to avoid joints. Go around the corners with a profile - preferably they should be rounded. If the corners are normal, a thick (PVC or ABS) profile will not go around them, and the melamine edge will most likely break. In this case, you will have to make joints at the corners, which must be sanded at the end so that they are smooth. If you run your hand along the edge of the part, the roughness should not be felt.
Advice! You can easily get rid of excess edge tape sharp knife, and the ends are cut off first. Be careful not to accidentally damage the corners of the furniture. The direction of the knife should be towards the inside of the part.
If the factory edge is damaged or partially fallen off, remove it and replace it with a new one. A little effort and the table is like new!
When furniture starts to peel at the edges, you need to fix it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it will be damaged and will have to be removed protective film and replace it with a new one.
Chipboard when cut is unsightly and is also exposed to moisture, so the edge must be sealed.
The veneer edges are peeling off and wooden furniture, but more often with laminated furniture particle board with melamine or plastic edge.
When cutting a board, edges are formed on which raw wood is exposed - chipboard, which must be covered. Depending on which edge the manufacturer uses, there are various options repair.
Glue-on edgings made of melamine and plastic are available in a variety of decors.
Melamine edges
Most cheap option- melamine edges, which are made of the same material as the film that covers the chipboard. Melamine resin is a very durable material which can withstand high temperatures.
Therefore, melamine edges usually come with a layer of hot melt adhesive, which can be activated at home using a regular iron. The tape with the adhesive layer is applied to the edge and from the front side, preferably through a clean sheet of paper, ironed with a warm iron until the hot-melt adhesive spreads over the tape and sticks to the surface of the edge.
Melamine edges are thin and have a layer of hot-melt adhesive on the reverse side, while plastic edges have a thickness of up to three millimeters and without glue.
To properly glue a melanin edge, you need to have experience in practice and the result will not always be perfect. The edge is very sensitive to mechanical stress and is not waterproof (depending on the material and the glue used).
Special irons are made for gluing melamine edges, but at home you will only need a regular iron clothes iron.
Plastic edges
More durable edges are made of ABS plastic (as well as PVC or PP), which, like melamine, is used for decorative edges of products from wood materials, such as chipboard, MDF panels, or porous honeycomb structural boards.
The plastic edges are uniformly painted, and the back side is coated with an adhesive agent - a primer, which ensures that the glue sticks.
As well as edgebands that are used to protect a straight edge, there are plastic strips that are suitable for shaped parts. You can also use veneer. But the front edge can be glued with a wooden strip.
Melamine and plastic edges are flexible, so they can be glued to curved surfaces.
ABS tapes are usually glued with special equipment, but this does not mean that even an amateur cannot handle it. It is also possible to manually glue the edge, even without special tools, only requires the use of certain adhesives, such as two-component dispersion adhesives, polyurethane adhesives or contact adhesives.
ABS is a thermoplastic that softens when heated, so it is not made with a layer of hot melt adhesive and therefore cannot be worked with in the same way with an iron as when repairing melamine edgebanding.
Edge repair
Edge made in industrial conditions, is always glued with hot glue, no matter what material it is made of. Gluing with hot melt adhesive is the fastest and cheap technology gluing the edges.
The melted adhesive is applied to the edge just before gluing, so it doesn't matter even if the edge is plastic. Thus, we assume that each edge of industrial production contains hot melt adhesive.
A layer of hot-melt adhesive can be carefully applied to a peeling edge, or even a plastic one, using a hot-melt gun equipped with a flat tip.
If the melamine edge has come off, we can try to activate the remaining glue using an iron. If the tape does not stick to the edge, you will have to use contact adhesive. Apply it thin layer on both surfaces, leave for ten to fifteen minutes, then press the tape to the edge.
We will glue the plastic edge in the same way, with the only difference that it cannot be ironed with a hot iron. Because faster than the remaining glue on the back side would melt, the edge itself would melt. Therefore, the glue on the back side will be melted using a hot air gun.
If the tape doesn't stick, we'll use it again. contact glue or special polyurethane glue.
There are various cutters and scrapers for cleaning edges; practitioners recommend a chisel, a metal file and sandpaper.
Applying new tape
When gluing an edge, a tape is used that is longer and wider than the edge itself. We glue the melamine tape using an iron, and glue the plastic tape with contact glue.
After the glue has dried or cooled, trim off any excess that extends beyond the edges of the edge. For melamine, a safe knife or chisel is sufficient; there are also special knives.
The plastic edge strip can be glued manually and professionally.
With plastic tape, given that it is intended for professional processing, work is more difficult. Thickness of two to three millimeters requires the use of a special hand tool. cutting tool or cutters.
The tool can be a copying cutter or a forming cutter, with which we create a rounding on the plastic edge. The edges of the edge can be cut at an angle with a wood scraper. We do the same when gluing veneer or wooden slats.
Edge gluing process.
To attach an edge without a layer of hot-melt adhesive, you need contact or special dispersion glue, a brush, screw terminals with leading edge attachments, MDF or chipboard backing, top cutter or edge cutter, copy cutter or bearing cutter.
(chipboard) the edges of parts without processing have an unsightly appearance. To put them in order, furniture edges and profiles are used. It’s more convenient to work with them using special equipment, but you can also achieve good results with your own hands at home.
Types of furniture edges
One of the most popular materials for making furniture is chipboard. Its disadvantage is the unsightly edges that remain when cutting the part. These edges are masked by the furniture edge. They make it out of different materials, accordingly, she has different properties and price.
Paper or melamine edges
The cheapest option is melamine-impregnated paper edges. The paper is taken of high density, impregnated with melamine to increase strength and glued to papyrus paper. Papyrus can be single-layer (cheaper) or double-layer. To prevent the melamine coating from wearing off, everything is covered with a layer of varnish. To make it more convenient to edge the parts, an adhesive composition is applied to the back side of the melamine furniture edge. When working, you just need to slightly warm up this composition and press it well against the end.
Paper or melamine edge is the cheapest, but also the most short-lived option for finishing the ends of furniture
The thickness of paper edge tapes is small - 0.2 mm and 0.4 mm are the most common. There is no point in making it thicker, and it will be expensive.
This type of edges is distinguished by the fact that it bends very well and does not break when bent. But mechanical strength its very low - the edge quickly wears out. Therefore, if it is used, it is only on those surfaces that are not subject to load. For example, on the back of shelves, table tops, etc.
PVC
Polyvinyl chloride, which has recently become widespread, is also used in the production of edges for furniture. A ribbon of a certain width and thickness is formed from a mass painted in a certain color. Its front surface can be smooth, monochromatic, or it can be textured - with imitation wood fibers. The number of colors is large, so it’s easy to choose the right one.
PVC furniture edging is the most popular material used by both home craftsmen and professionals. This is due to relatively low price and good performance properties:
PVC furniture edging is available in different thicknesses and widths. Thickness - from 0.4 mm to 4 mm, width from 19 mm to 54 mm. The thickness is chosen depending on the expected mechanical load or external appearance, and the width is slightly larger (at least 2-3 mm) than the thickness of the workpiece. Eat furniture PVC edge with adhesive applied, yes - without. Both can be glued at home (more on that below).
This type of edging material also has disadvantages: not very wide temperature regime: -5°C to +45°C. For this reason, furniture cannot be left outside in winter, and when pasting with heat, you must be careful so as not to melt the polymer.
Made from ABS plastic
This polymer does not contain heavy metals and is characterized by high strength and durability. A disadvantage can be considered high price, therefore it is used extremely rarely, although it has excellent properties:
This type of edge can be matte, glossy or semi-gloss. There are also options that imitate various types of wood. In general, this material is more convenient to use and more durable to use.
Veneer edge
Veneer is a thin section of wood, colored and shaped into a strip. This furniture edge is used in production for gluing sections of veneered products. Working with this material requires certain skills, and the material is expensive.
Veneer is not the most popular material for edging
Acrylic edge or 3D
Made from transparent acrylic. A design is applied to the reverse side of the strip. The layer of polymer on top gives it volume, which is why it is called a 3D edge. Used in the production of unusual furniture.
Profiles for processing furniture edges
You can trim the edge of furniture not only with edge tape. There are also furniture profiles that are attached mechanically. They are available in two sections - T-shaped or U-shaped (also called C-shaped).
For T-shaped furniture profiles, a groove is milled in the edge being processed. The profile is hammered into it with a furniture (rubber) mallet. The edges are cut at 45° to make the angle look attractive. Before perfect condition finished with fine sandpaper. This type of profiles is produced from PVC and aluminum; with the same installation method, they look very different, and the differences are significant.
In width they are available for laminated chipboards of 16 mm and 18 mm. There are also wide ones, but they are much less common, since they work less with such material.
C- or U-shaped profiles are most often mounted with glue. They coat the edge with it, then put it on plastic profile, press and fix well. These PVC profiles there are soft and hard. Hard ones are harder to bend and it’s difficult to paste them over curved edges. But they have great strength.
If you still need to “plant” a rigid C-shaped furniture profile on a bend, it is heated with a construction hairdryer, then given the desired shape and secured masking tape until the glue dries.
We glue furniture edges with our own hands
There are two technologies for gluing furniture edge tape. The first is for those that have glue applied to the back. In this case, an iron or a hair dryer is needed. The second is for gluing tapes without glue. In this case, you need a good universal glue that can glue plastics and wood products and a furniture roller, a piece of felt or a soft rag so that you can press the edge well against the cut.
A little about what thickness of edge to glue on which parts. Those edges that are not visible, according to GOST, do not need to be glued at all, but basically they try to treat them so that less moisture is absorbed into the chipboard, and also to reduce the evaporation of formaldehyde. Melamine tape or 0.4 mm PVC is glued to these edges. The edges are also processed drawers(not facades).
It is better to use 2 mm PVC on the front ends of the facade and drawers, and 1 mm PVC on the visible sections of the shelves. The color is chosen either to match the main surface or “in contrast”.
How to glue edging yourself with glue
The adhesive composition is applied to the melamine edge; it can be applied to PVC. If you choose PVC, it’s easier to start with thin ones - they are easier to process, any melamine is easy to glue.
We take an iron and a fluoroplastic nozzle on it. If there is no nozzle, thick cotton fabric will do - so as not to overheat the tape, but to melt the glue. A hair dryer is also suitable for this purpose. We set the iron to about “two”, while it is heating up we cut off a piece of tape. The length is a couple of centimeters longer than the workpiece.
We apply the edge to the part, level it, smooth it out. There should be small pieces hanging off both sides. We take an iron and, using a nozzle or a rag, iron the edge, heating it until the glue melts. It is necessary to heat evenly over the entire surface. After the entire edge is glued, let it cool. Then we start processing the edges.
The edge can be cut with a knife, both with the sharp and blunt sides. Some people use a regular metal ruler, while others find it more convenient to use a stainless steel spatula.
So, take the tool you have chosen and cut off the hanging edges of the edge. They are cut close to the material. Then cut off the excess along the part. Melamine and thin plastic are easily cut with a knife. If the PVC edge is thicker - 0.5-0.6 mm or more, difficulties may arise. Such edges are possible if there is one. This guarantees good result V a short time. The processing will take longer if you use sandpaper, but the result may not be worse.
One important point: when gluing thin edges, the cut of the part should be smooth, without protrusions and depressions. The material is plastic, which is why all defects are visible. Therefore, first go over the cuts with sandpaper, then thoroughly remove dust and degrease. Only after this can you glue.
Edging with PVC tape (no glue on the back side)
With this method of self-gluing PVC edges You need universal glue and a piece of felt or rag. We read the instructions for the glue and carry out all the steps as recommended. For example, for Moment glue, you need to apply the composition to the surface and distribute it, wait 15 minutes, and firmly press the surfaces to be glued.
Apply glue and wait - no problem. To press the edge tightly to the cut, you can use wooden block wrapped in felt. Instead of a block, you can take a construction float and also attach felt to its sole. As a last resort, you can roll up thick fabric in several layers and press the tape to the surface.
The selected tool is pressed against the laid edge, pressed with all its weight, pressing it against chipboard surfaces. The movements are stroking. This is how they iron the entire edge, achieving a very tight fit. The part is left in this form for some time - so that the glue “seizes.” Then you can start processing the edges.
In furniture production, edging is necessary to protect the end edges of the product from chips, cracks and other damage, and it also protects against moisture and formaldehyde vapors.
You will learn about what types of edges there are, as well as methods for gluing them and how to glue the edges with an iron and hairdryer from this article.
Types of edges - why are they needed?
- The most common type is melamine edge with glue on paper based . Used for finishing interior areas of furniture. Available, inexpensive, but not the highest quality option. Does not tolerate moisture and wears out quickly. Easily glued at home with a simple iron.
- T-shaped flexible profile - is a T-shaped strip, it is inserted into a slot in the side of chipboard or MDF. It is convenient to replace the damaged element in the future without disassembling the furniture. Installation requires a milling machine.
- PVC edging - reliably protects the ends of furniture from damage, is wear-resistant and resistant to moisture. To glue PVC edging, you will need an edge processing machine, so using this type of edges at home is difficult.
- ABS plastic is an eco-friendly option without chlorine. Prized for its resistance to high temperatures and physical damage.
All options can be divided into two subtypes - edges without glue and with glue.
Average cost of a profile per linear meter:
- PVC 0.4 mm thick - about 25 rubles,
- PVC 2 mm thick - about 40 rubles,
- Melamine material for chipboard – about 25 rubles.
In our country, they actively use products from the company Rehau, which offers big choice color solutions, and different widths tapes from 15 to 45 mm.
To simplify the work, you can use various specialized furniture programs, which will calculate how much material is needed to glue the edges.
PVC edge - how to glue it step by step at home
To work you will need:
- iron or hair dryer,
- and of course buy PVC edges with glue
- hard roller,
- newspaper or paper sheet
The material is heated to make the glue sticky. Heating is performed with an iron in the “Synthetic” mode.
- The profile is applied to the end so that it overlaps the end of the section.
- Next, the iron is used to heat again through the newspaper. Since the glue dissolves quickly, the process is quite active, and it is convenient to move the iron along the PVC edge.
- The edge itself must be carefully pressed and ironed until it sticks along its entire length.
- Gluing with a hair dryer. Instead of an iron, you can use a hair dryer. The PVC edge is heated from the adhesive side and when the composition becomes sticky, the material is applied to the end of the desired area, clamped and gently smoothed.
- Gluing with Moment glue. This method is suitable if there is no adhesive layer on the edge. The quality of the end is checked manually, sawdust, debris, and dust are removed until the surface is clean. Then glue is applied to both the material and the end and wait until it sets. After this, apply and press. Using a roller, roll the area so that the glue sets faster.
VIDEO
How to remove excess material
If it was not possible to carefully glue the edge the first time, the procedure will have to be repeated. To do this, apply glue to the area again and clamp the profile using a roller or manually.
Since the width of PVC edges is usually taken with a margin, you need to carefully remove the excess along the edges. To do this, use a regular stationery knife or file. Take it with both hands and press on the protruding fragment. As a result, the excess parts break off and an edge remains that matches the width of the area.
Shutdown
After everything is glued, all that remains is to sand the uneven surfaces with sandpaper.
How to glue an edge to chipboard - description
Melamine edge is best option for use at home when it is necessary to restore old furniture with minimal costs. If the furniture is expensive, it is better to turn to professionals who use other more expensive and high-quality materials.
Let's consider how to glue edges to chipboard tabletops at home.
EXCELLENT VIDEO ON THE TOPIC
For work you will need the following materials:
- skin,
- sharpened knife-jamb,
- wallpaper roller,
- melamine edge,
- hair dryer or iron.
Algorithm of actions:
- choose the operating mode of the iron so that it does not heat up too much and does not burn the chipboard and at the same time ensures proper melting of the glue,
- Process the edges of the chipboard for gluing with sandpaper, remove irregularities,
- measure the profile,
- heat it with an iron and press it tightly to the area using a roller (if there is no adhesive layer, you will need self-application glue on the edge, for example, “Moment” glue),
- cut off the overhanging edges of the edge with a knife.
It is necessary to cut at an angle along the edge, slightly bending the material. Then all that remains is to sand the edges so that there are no burrs or irregularities left.
If the cut of the edge and the chipboard part itself are slightly different, stain will help correct the difference.
In the case where the part has complex shape, and the edge of the surface is characterized by complex relief, it is not always possible to glue the material evenly the first time. In such a situation, it is worth turning to professionals so as not to damage the product.
Types of edging glueWhich glue to choose for edges
Furniture production professionals actively use hot melt adhesives for edges. They are convenient if production will be put on stream, and it is required as high quality results and fast speed.
Hot melt adhesives are thermoplastics, which means they become very elastic when heated and quickly harden when cooled. The ethylene polymer with vinyl acetate included in the adhesive is responsible for these properties. The disadvantage of using it is the need to use special equipment, namely appropriate machines or hand guns for applying glue to parts and heating it.
- At home, PVC glue is often used, which adheres well paper materials To various surfaces. Homogeneous without lumps light color The mass glues surfaces well, but is afraid of moisture. Does not require application additional equipment, therefore it is convenient for use by non-professional craftsmen.
- Will fit universal adhesives“Moment” and “88-lux”, which will reliably glue the material to the surface of chipboard and PVC. After 3-4 hours the product can be used. Adhesives are inexpensive, safe and available.
- Among professional furniture adhesives for edges, it is worth noting products from Kleiberit. The company offers hot melt adhesives for cladding, for gluing material using the soft-forming method (if the surface is embossed), as well as for cladding.
In this article we will look at the simplest option - gluing a 2 mm edge with pre-applied hot glue. You can order such an edge either from the supplier or from the workshop. The increase in its cost will be 2-5 rubles per meter.
To glue such an edge we will need a technical hair dryer (heat gun), a router (preferably an edge cutter), a molding cutter, a sharp knife, a file and a cotton glove.
We fix the part vertically or horizontally - whichever is more convenient for you (it is advisable to fix it with clamps).
First, warm up the tip (about 5 cm) of the edge well so that the glue melts and the edge itself becomes soft.
We apply the edge and, warming the glue with a stream of air, together with the end of the part, smooth the edge with a gloved hand. Having warmed up an area about 10 cm long, put the hair dryer aside and iron the area more thoroughly, and so on each time. The main thing here is not to overheat the edge (an overheated edge bends easily - just on its own - and in this case, the places where the bends will remain visible in the form of waves). 
We look at the glue seam again, heat the unglued areas with a hair dryer again (and you need to heat it from the front side, warming up the entire edge) and smooth it until it fits completely.
Let's move on to cutting off the overhangs. if you have edge router, then everything is fine, but if it’s only a universal manual one, then it will require modification, because You can’t place it on the edge of the workpiece - the overhang gets in the way.
I screwed a piece of laminated chipboard onto the sole, which allowed me to raise the sole on only one side.
Then, of course, I made myself a normal edger - that’s what I’ll use in the lesson.
Practice on scraps first to fine-tune the cutter cut, otherwise you risk damaging the laminate. Like this, for example: 
We carefully move a milling cutter with a molding cutter (rounding radius 3 mm) along the surface of the workpiece, cutting off excess edges.
We turn it over to the other side and repeat all the manipulations of smoothing the jambs and cutting off the overhangs.
We cut off the remains from the ends as follows: apply pressure with a sharp knife along the edge, forming a scratch. We place the workpiece on the edge of the table along the scratch line, and then break it off moving downwards.
Or saw off a piece from the end hacksaw blade(the main thing here is not to scratch the adjacent edge, perpendicular to the one being sawn off).
We clean up unevenness and roughness with a file.
The end result should be something similar. For clarity, a straight (short) piece of edge was glued on a machine, and a long piece (which covers the bend) was glued by hand. The difference is almost invisible.
