Fastcap peel and stick edgebanding opnions?

[festal]

Hello.  As I progress with my skills and get better, I'm not thinking of doing edge banding on plywood as the edges are pretty crappy, look ugly and chip easily.

Started looking into edgebanding and fastcap came up.  Any opinions on using peel and stick stuff vs iron on edgebanding?

Thank you

Alex

 

[DynaGlide]

I used it on my base cabinets in my home office. Compared to iron on I find it much easier to use. Goes on fast, trims up easily without a router.

 

[festal]

I used it on my base cabinets in my home office. Compared to iron on I find it much easier to use. Goes on fast, trims up easily without a router.

Ah perfect.  exactly what i was looking for.  What are recommended accessories to get started?

 

[DynaGlide]

You don't need all their stuff. The quad trimmer is nice, something like this to clip the ends but you could use diagonal cutters: https://www.amazon.com/Woodworking-Trimmer-Banding-Trimming-Woodworker/dp/B07HQS2YJ2/ref=sr_1_24?keywords=edge+banding+cutter&qid=1659704471&sr=8-24

It won't get it flush you still have to do some final sanding/trimming. A sharp chisel would probably do a better job.

When you buy the banding don't go too close to the size of your panel. Makes lining it up and applying a PITA.

 

[Packard]

I asked about the same thing a while back.  You can probably find the thread with a search.

The point that turned me off about the process was that the adhesive that was exposed on the trimmed edges was difficult to clean off. 

In any case there were several posts on the same subject and it would probably be informative to look back at that thread.

 

[festal]

You don't need all their stuff. The quad trimmer is nice, something like this to clip the ends but you could use diagonal cutters: https://www.amazon.com/Woodworking-Trimmer-Banding-Trimming-Woodworker/dp/B07HQS2YJ2/ref=sr_1_24?keywords=edge+banding+cutter&qid=1659704471&sr=8-24

It won't get it flush you still have to do some final sanding/trimming. A sharp chisel would probably do a better job.

When you buy the banding don't go too close to the size of your panel. Makes lining it up and applying a PITA.

Thank you  was going to order 3/4 one for 3/4 plywood but i guess i should get bigger size.  will the trimmer work if i apply 3/4 on 1/2 plywood?

 

[festal]

I asked about the same thing a while back.  You can probably find the thread with a search.

The point that turned me off about the process was that the adhesive that was exposed on the trimmed edges was difficult to clean off. 

In any case there were several posts on the same subject and it would probably be informative to look back at that thread.
[/quote

Tried searching but didn't get much.  Let me try again

 

[semenza]

I use when needed. I like it better than iron on.  The FC carbide trimmer works well, so does the FC sander.

I also use the FC roller. It is handier than a J roller and when you get to the end you don't have to keep from "breaking your arm" when the roller slips off the end.

The Virutex end trimmer is a real plus even though it is pricey for what it is.

I roll between each step for best adhesion.

The 3/4 will work on 1/2" ply but sometimes the trimmings get too wide to fit through the FC trimmer. A closer sized width will work better.

The stickness of the adhesive along the edges will dry and harden over time.

Also, it is very sticky stuff to work with. Make sure you set up for minimal handling of pretty much anything while edge banding.

  Here is a previous topic that is basically the same as this one. There may be others. https://www.festoolownersgroup.com/building-materials/fastcap's-peel-and-stick-edge-banding/msg541725/#msg541725

Seth

 

[afish]

So the peel and stick works good in certain situations but can be an issue with white.  The adhesive never dries and dirt will stick to the edge so it will highlight the joint by creating a very thin visible line. So white banding on white panel I would not use it.  If we are talking a dark color or wood that will get a coat of clear and seal the edge so dirt cant stick then yea it works well for that. 

 

[festal]

Thank  you

 

[fraz]

Everybody else already answered but I'll throw in $.02.  I have their kit of tools and the 3/4" and 15/16" in white birch and it works great.  As some mentioned, it is quite sticky and once trimmed, can leave annoying glue boogers.  However if you sand a nice bevel it cleans it up pretty well.  Obviously this doesn't work for white melamine.

As for going for the large size I'm not sure I agree.  After I finish my stock I am only going to buy 3/4".  It is big enough for 18mm and 3/4" ply IMO and works for 12mm/1/2 as well.  I thought the 15/16" was a little too big for the FC trimmer.

Quick review of tools:

• De-curl: Excellent tool, cheap and does what it says quickly.  Especially good when you get to end of roll and radius has a tight set.
• Trimmer: It's "ok".  Good for getting majority trimmed.  I still always end up final trimming with a razor blade.
• Speed Roller: Great tool that is easy to use and has heft to really apply pressure squarely and fast.
• Flush cut trimmers: Quality trimmers that cut clean.  If you learn the technique to square up blades, comes out nice and square.
• Fast break sander:  Nice tool for quickly chamfering an edge and getting shape in the ballpark.  I still block sand with 220 for final.
• Fast edge clamp:  Meh.  Maybe if I was building 50 cabinets in a production shop but for one guy, never used it.

 

[festal]

Thank you

 

[Crazyraceguy]

As the others have mentioned, the sticky edges are a bit of an issue. You can get around that somewhat, if you are willing to do some "chemical" clean-up, with some Acetone or lacquer thinner. This will reduce the stickiness to some degree.
The real issue that I have with it is that you pretty much have to trim both sides at the same time, if you use the razor method. The adhesive is a little "soft", so the banding will pull to toward the cutter, potentially moving it enough to uncover the other side. It does tighten up some with time, but is never really as hard as a hot adhesive, machine applied or iron-on.

 

[afish]

In my experience the sticky issue never goes away. Even after cleaning it stays tacky. Granted we are talking a hair line but white on white it does highlight the joint which annoys me.  I would use it for real wood though say for example if I ever got the mafell edgebander they dont make real wood with the functional layer for it but just about everything else is available so using the peel and stick would allow me to sell the conturo and only have one edgebander.  As long as you spray some clear coat over it to seal it it would look good especially on darker wood. It might show a little on some light maple but you would be getting pretty nit picky at that point.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of it. Pretty much the only time it ever gets used is in situations where something needs to be repaired or modified. Once in a while the front edge of a drawer box might need to be cut out to accept a particular lock or the back of a shelf scalloped to accept wiring. These are done by hand and the peel/stick is the easiest way.