Adding a durable, smooth, and colorful surface to your work
Plastic laminate gets a bad rap. Maybe it’s because of all the avocado kitchens from the ‘70s, or the acres of faux-woodgrain you come across in truck stop restaurants across the country. But the stuff has its uses. It’s incredibly slick and durable—if you’re making your own router table top, I’d definitely laminate it—and it comes in a wide variety of colors—perfect if you’re making a set of nesting tables like those in this article. It also requires no finish, nor any real maintenance. In all, it is well worth knowing how to work with. In this article, I’ll show you the basics along with a few advanced tricks so you can incorporate laminate into your work.
Purchasing laminate
In broad terms, plastic laminate—also known as high-pressure laminate (HPL)—is made up of layers of kraft paper impregnated with phenolic resin and pressed flat. Formica and Wilsonart are the two most popular brands in the U.S., but you may also find sheets from Laminart, Nevamar, Pionite, and Panolam. HPL is usually sold in 4 × 8 sheets, though other widths and lengths are available. It comes in two thicknesses: 1/32” or vertical grade for walls and other light-duty applications, and 1/16” or general purpose (horizontal) grade for heavier-duty use such as countertops. Typically, a sheet’s color is only embedded in the outermost layer, leaving the rest of the thickness a dull brown. This is where the dark line surrounding the edge of a laminated surface comes from. There is also a less expensive product known as backer that has no color layer. It is applied to the back or underside of an unsupported panel such as a door to prevent warping. You can generally purchase HPL through lumber yards and the big box stores although few places stock more than a few standard colors. For a wider selection, you’ll need to place an order. Expect to pay about $80 a sheet for most general purpose laminate and more for some of the exotic colors. Another option is to check with a local cabinet shop; they often have smaller offcuts from past jobs.
Unroll carefully. Full sheets often are shipped in a roll. If the package is cold when you receive it, allow it time to warm up before attempting to unroll.
Cutting laminate
HPL cuts well with carbide-tipped blades at the table saw. You can also bandsaw it. With both of these tools, keep the good side up to avoid chipping. There are also handtools available as shown. Regardless of how you cut them, size your pieces 1/2-1” larger in both directions than the surface you intend to cover.
Remember it’s thin. When cutting on the table saw, the biggest risk is that the edge might slip under the fence. An L-shaped auxiliary fence prevents this problem.
Or do it by hand. Laminate shears cut cleanly, removing 1⁄8” of material along the cut line. A little more challenging and risky is the scribe and snap method, accomplished with a straight edge and a carbide scribe.
Applying the cement
HPL is bonded to its substrate—usually plywood, particleboard, or MDF—with contact cement. Contact cement is an adhesive that sticks to itself. To use it, coat both of the surfaces to be bonded, allow the cement to dry, then press the pieces together. Porous surfaces such as the edges of MDF may require two or more coats. Contact cement comes as either water-based or solvent-based. The solvent-based formulas (if available in your area) tend to be a little cheaper and dry faster (about 15 minutes as opposed to 40). They are also extremely flammable and emit toxic fumes. Both types can be rolled or troweled on. Make sure both surfaces are flat and clean before spreading the cement. General purpose HPL can bridge countersunk screw holes and other small gaps, but double check that the screw heads are truly set beneath the surface. After the cement dries, position the laminate and press it firmly into place with a J-roller or a simple bull-nosed scrap.
Spread an even coat. For larger surfaces, I like to spread contact cement with a low-nap or foam paint roller. For smaller jobs like this one, I frequently use a scrap of laminate as a throwaway trowel.
Prop and position. Support the HPL over its substrate on thin scraps or dowels (I use shelf standards) to get it positioned. Then press it down in the center and work your way to the outsides. Beware that contact cement grabs immediately so you won’t get a chance to shift it once you start.
Rolling, rolling, rolling. To complete the bond, you need to press the HPL firmly in place. If you intend to do a lot of laminate work, invest in a J-roller. These are made specifically for this task.
Flush trimming
Once the HPL has been rolled, you must trim it flush with the edges of the substrate. Do this with a flush trim bit in a router. Trim routers are made for this, but a regular router will do. Be sure to hold the router base flat on its reference surface to keep the bit from overcutting into the adjacent surface. When flush trimming the final piece, commercial shops often use a trim bit with an 8° bevel. This eases the edge so it isn’t quite as sharp. I usually just use a regular flush trim here. Either way, I follow up by filing the edge to finish it.
File to finish. After routing, the edges of HPL can be quite sharp. Ease them with a file.
Surface strategy
When laminating adjacent surfaces, give some thought to which one you do first. With tabletops, for example, the bottom is typically laminated first (if it is to be laminated) followed by the edges, then the top. After each surface is laminated, its HPL is trimmed flush before the adjacent surfaces are covered. Following this strategy protects the edges from the top down.
