Fastcap's peel and stick edge banding

[escan]

I've been making my own 1/8 maple edge banding from scrap but its just so time consuming and the -5000k equipment seems great for some synthetic apps but has limitations for thicker real wood banding.

Anyone using fastcap's real wood banding for painting and staining applications?

 

[miclee15]

I bought a roll, wasn't pleased with the results but granted it could have been user error.  I found better results with the iron on ones.  I was able to get a closer fit to the plywood with iron on, which was pretty seamless once painted.  With the iron on there was a larger gap.  Again, it was a 1 time effort so didn't try to perfect the application.

 

[peter halle]

If memory serves me correctly [member=1619]SRSemenza[/member] has had experiences with the FastCap tape.  Perhaps he can help out with experiences, tips, tricks.

Peter

 

[sancho57]

I tried it not to long ago. It was pretty easy to use quick to put on and trim off, had good results but pricey to use all the time.

It cost about 2ce the cost of iron on. But it does save te step of ironing.
So it depends.
They (fast cap) do make a tape that you can use with iron on edge banding. Havent used it , erock did a video on it on utube if ya want to check it out

 

[lwoirhaye]

You can get those old banders with the long hot iron.  I've never used one.  They went out of style at some point and can be found used pretty cheap.  They aren't very big and the iron has a good surface area.  I'm sure they're painfully slow compared to a chain-fed bander.  I use an edge press with an 8' heater bar to glue solid wood banding to edges using PVA glue.  The glue sets in under a minute using the hot bar and the next part can be put in.  The machine is heavy and large but it's almost maintenance free and it was cheap to buy it used.  Marunaka, Stegherr and Hess have made these presses.  You still have to thickness sand the banding. 

Edgebanding is one of those maddening problems if you're trying to make some money at woodworking and don't have the finance and space for a serious bander.  If your clients will pay for a thicker edgeband it does add a lot to the work, imo.  It lets you round the corners so the casework doesn't feel like it came from Ikea.

 

[semenza]

On the FastCap. I generally use it on prefin plywood.  Just makes sense to use prefin banding.

Tips .................  roll it after each step. Not just once.

              Stick it on .... roll.
              Trim edge / ends ......  roll.
              Sand edge ........ roll.

  Also roll the edge of the banding where it meets the plywood at a 45 at least once. That really helps press it tight at the "joint".

    Let it sit at least overnight before finishing or painting so that it cures well. Be careful with solvent based. Solvents can loosen the bond.

Seth
             

 

[escan]

Thanks for the feedback, I also watched a few user videos.  Then I saw the some Co demo videos where an iron was used to increase the bond which makes sense after hearing Seth's advice to re-roll after each step. Granted, it was a thicker band but you can clearly see how heating the surface and adhesive yields better results.

Looks great for on-site installs and repairs but just as time consuming as iron-on in the shop...maybe a bit less mess when trimming. 

 

[sancho57]

On the FastCap. I generally use it on prefin plywood.  Just makes sense to use prefin banding.

Tips .................  roll it after each step. Not just once.

              Stick it on .... roll.
              Trim edge / ends ......  roll.
              Sand edge ........ roll.

  Also roll the edge of the banding where it meets the plywood at a 45 at least once. That really helps press it tight at the "joint".

    Let it sit at least overnight before finishing or painting so that it cures well. Be careful with solvent based. Solvents can loosen the bond.

Seth
           

Thanks Seth, good info