Edge banding is one of the ways to finish exposed plywood edges. I recently worked on a plywood project where I used it to finish my exposed edges, so I thought it was an excellent opportunity to write a detailed guide on how to use it. In this article, you will find step-by-step instructions on how to apply pre-glued edge banding to plywood edges.
MATERIALS & TOOLS REQUIRED
Materials
- Plywood edge banding
- Wood glue (optional)
- Sandpaper
Tools
- Iron
- Scissors
- Sharp blade
STEP 1: PREPARE THE PLYWOOD
Before you even consider applying edge banding, you must sand the plywood you’re working with to remove any loose fibres. I recommend using a good-quality sanding block with good-quality sandpaper to save your hands from irritation.
STEP 2: MEASURE AND CUT DOWN THE EDGE BANDING STRIP
Next, you need to cut the length of edge banding you need. The easiest way is to lay the edge banding on and mark where it needs to be cut. If you need a particularly long strip, measuring would be better unless you have a helper to hold the banding in place while you mark where to cut it. Use scissors to make a nice straight cut.
STEP 3: GLUE THE EDGE BANDING DOWN
Pre-heat your iron to the hottest setting while you position the edge banding. It’s tempting to position the edge banding flush with one side of the wood and leave the overhang completely on the other. However, we find that for the best finish, you want to slightly overhang the edge banding on one side and overhang it by a lot on the other side. Do not put it flush with one side. This is because if you slightly overhang it, you can sand it down to blend in seamlessly with your plywood. If you glue it flush, it doesn’t look as fluid.
Once the iron is heated up, just iron across the top of the edge banding to melt the glue. Note that if you don’t have an iron specifically for jobs like this, you can put a cloth over the banding so that you don’t get glue on your iron and ruin it. We tried this, and the edge banding did still stick. We did find that we had to hold the iron on for longer to ensure the heat went all the way through the cloth.
STEP 4: TRIM THE EDGE BANDING
The next step is to trim the overhang. Remember, we have a slight overhang on one side and a large overhang on the other. In this step, we are trimming only the large overhang. We found that the best way to get a clean finish without splitting the edge banding is to trim the edge with scissors before using a sharp knife to clean it up. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it must be as short as possible before we go in with the super sharp knife.
After the scissor trim, go ahead and use a sharp knife to trim the rest of the way. If possible, still leave a mil or so overhang so you can sand it down flush for a better blend. The knife trimming does take a bit of getting used to. Be slow and use gentle back-and-forth movements to cut through the banding. If you go too fast, you risk splitting the banding.
STEP 5: FINISH THE EDGE BANDING BY SANDING IT SMOOTH
The final step is to blend the edge banding in by sanding it smooth. We sand the trimmed edge and the edge which is slightly overhanging. Sand until completely flush with the rest of the plywood. The plywood is now ready to get a paint or stain finish.
