Repair delaminating Formica countertop

[midnight armadillo]

My mother-in-law has an old kitchen countertop with the Formica type of laminate. The edge piece (about 24" long) has completely de-laminated and is currently taped on.

What's the right adhesive to use to firmly re-attach it? Should I sand the wood under the edge strip to remove old glue? Do I need any type of special clamps or anything to hold it on? Thanks!

[LiberalUprising]

1. A 'liquid nails' type of product

will work just fine, I would sand both the wood and backside of strip to remove old adhesive then follow instructions on the liquid nails, you will have to use clamps and a strip of wood to secure the repair. (place the strip of wood between the repaired surface and the outer side of clamps)

3 or 4 C clamps should be sufficient.



C clamp

[Stinky The Clown]

2. See if you can beg, borrow, or steal three or four of these little jewels

3-way or 'edging' clamps.



Loosen the center screw ...... use the liquid nails as suggested above ....... put a narrow but substantial (3/4" thick) board over the edge. Fasten the top and bottom screw to the countertop. Use the third (middle) screw to press the strip of wood against the now glued edging. Leave it overnight.

Done.

edit to add: These are specialty clamps, but given their typically small size, they should be on the cheap side. You only need them to work once.

As a not so good, but might work alternative, just tape everything into place until the glue dries. The problem here is uneven pressure. The edging with be tighter to the counter wherever the tape is tightest.

[LiberalUprising]

3. Good idea Husb2S

I didn't even think of the 3 way clamp. :applause:

[midnight armadillo]

4. Perfect, thanks!!

Liquid nails and a 3-way clamp. I will swing by crappy Home Depot on the way home and get that countertop fixed on Wed. night in time for turkey day. Thank you!!

I found the clamps online for $5/ea so I'll just buy two and stash them away for future projects.

[theHandpuppet]

5. I just repaired an identical problem for my mom

Contact cement (the kind that comes in a can) is the best for this job. But make sure you have plenty of ventilation as the fumes are pretty strong!

Sanding the surface to be glued is always a good idea. This allows the glue to penetrate the pores in the surfaces to be mated. You can do this easily by hand.

Just follow the directions on the can and you can't go wrong. After applying the glue, you can hold the laminate strip in place with masking tape until you clamp it. If you don't have clamps, then use the masking tape to hold the piece in place and take a brayer or roller over the strip to apply pressure to the glued surfaces. Let it sit overnight before removing the tape. Job done!

:)