Best glue for Melamine?

Phetishboy

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What is the best glue to attach bare wood to melamine coated wood product? Is wood glue strong enough? Or do you have to prep the areas on the melamine that need to be glued? I just want the best product or process for this type of cab building. Please don't make guesses or offer suggestions if you've never done it before. I need to know for sure the best (and easiest) method.
 
I wouldn't expect glue to hold AT ALL for a wood to melamine/laminate joint. You will really need a blocking and staples type joint like Atari used or something else.

Can you describe exactly what it is?
 
I wouldn't expect glue to hold AT ALL for a wood to melamine/laminate joint. You will really need a blocking and staples type joint like Atari used or something else.

Can you describe exactly what it is?

Eh? I AM using blocks and staples. I still want the glue to hold between the wood blocks and the melamine, and not break loose when shifted.
 
What is the best glue to attach bare wood to melamine coated wood product? Is wood glue strong enough? Or do you have to prep the areas on the melamine that need to be glued? I just want the best product or process for this type of cab building. Please don't make guesses or offer suggestions if you've never done it before. I need to know for sure the best (and easiest) method.

9 years ago, I built a Galaxian cab copy using a sheet of Melamine from Menards. It was the satin gloss looking - pebbled texture plastic coating -- not their new garbage they sell marketed as melamine laminate that is nothing more than white paper with a slight gloss on it.

Anyway, I build it with just routered slots (just like the original plywood) and didn't even bother to use blocks or triangles or screws. I glued the whole thing in the routered slots together with Gorilla Glue and it has held up through multiple move, including hauling out and on a horse trailer during the flood 3 years ago, and it is holding up just fine, no creaking and nothing breaking apart in any way.

If you are also using blocks then it will never come apart with the gorilla glue.

Here's that cab in an old pic:
P1010064.jpg
 
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I agree that Gorilla glue would be a good bet, rough up the surface (steel wool or sandpaper) before gluing and make sure you use water or the glue won't set properly.

You could also try rubber contact cement, apply it to both sides and let it dry for 15 minutes then press them together with 25lbs pressure per square inch. It should hold pretty good since you are stapling it too.

I would not use wood glue. It will not adhere to melamine.
 
I would rough up the surfaces real good and use contact cement or Gorilla glue.
 
I would rough up the surfaces real good and use contact cement or Gorilla glue.

Agreed.. Sand any laminate surface area that will be glued and it will help bite. I think that the glue in addition to the blocking is better than no glue at all.. in that way I do agree with you. If someone was relying on just the glue though, I think it wouldn't be reliable. Blocking+glue, you should be good!
 
Rough the area up, use some construction adhesive (liquid nails) and blast some brads through the blocks. It will be a tank.
 
I seriously doubt you'd want to do this, but you could also staple the blocking in place, then use the blocking to cut slots with a biscuit jointer. It would be easy to reference the same point using the blocking. The sheet material would probably break before that joint would give way, biscuits and glue.
 
I seriously doubt you'd want to do this, but you could also staple the blocking in place, then use the blocking to cut slots with a biscuit jointer. It would be easy to reference the same point using the blocking. The sheet material would probably break before that joint would give way, biscuits and glue.

Does Phet have a biscuit joiner? If he does then he should do that. I used that to build my Virtual Boy cabinet and it was ridiculously solid.
 
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