2023 Ultimate Complete Guide of Edge Banding
When you are doing refurbishment of your hall furniture, you will inevitably be confused about the choices of materials. You may have questions that come into your mind. Should it be totally solid wood including the top? Or should it be plywood substrates with laminate tops? No matter what materials you choose for your furniture, you have to consider the edge banding for it, as your furniture can not go without the banding edge. Do you want to know why the edgebanding is so important? Because edgebanding is an essential part of the furniture, it can improve the furniture’s span of life. So after reading this article, I hope you will have a basic understanding of edge banding. Let’s keep scrolling down
What is Edge Banding?
Firstly, let’s make it clear -what is edge banding? Before we start with it, we need to have a basic non-technical idea. The manufactured wood core, like MDF, or plywood, they have unfinished, unprotected rough edges. So in this case, edge banding is needed, which is a thin material used to seal the exposed raw edge of the plywood. The heat-sensitive adhesive on one side is applied to the board while the other side works as a barrier to protect from dirt and dust. The thickness of edge banding varies from 0.018 inches to 5mm thick, and they can be rolled up to 250 feet. Usually the thicker the edge banding is, the greater resilience and impact resistance it will have. For the thicker one, it will used in high-traffic and commercial environments.
What is the Function of Furniture Edge Banding?
The edge banding both has functional and aesthetic purposes, so what is its functional purpose? we know the furniture edge will be exposed to the air. Over time, the moisture may enter inside the furniture to damage the furniture. Therefore, in this case, edge banding is needed to seal the edge of the core material. Then the edge banding can also improve the resilience and durability of furniture by providing impact resistance. In the aspect of appearance, the edge banding can cover up the whole rough edges and give your furniture a better look. By the way, the radial edge can also soften the sharp angles.
Where to Use Edge Banding?
You may wonder where to apply edge banding to your furniture. It all depends on your material. For example, many people will use high-pressure laminate tops for case sides and drawer fronts. These tops need edge banding. If you are using plywood or laminate, then you need edge banding too. The fully sealed deck by edge banding can effectively prevent bed bugs. Also, some situations don’t need to apply edge banding. For example, the edge banding will not be used on cabinet backs or drawer bottoms as they are embedded in grooves, so it doesn’t need to cover internal plywood drawer parts anymore.
How is Furniture Edge Banding Applied?
Essentially, furniture edge banding is a thin strip of impermeable PVC cut to size to fit the board. You can use a hot roller to melt the adhesive and stick the edge tape to the wood. The ends are trimmed flush and bent so that they cover the wood and don't have any sharp ends. Scrape off any excess glue and polish the edges for a flawless finish. The machines used for this process are called edge banders.
How Many Types of Edge Banding Materials?
PVC
The edge banding is available in a variety of materials. The most used edge banding are PVC edge banding and veneer edge banding. The PVC edge banding is made from thermoplastic resin, which is a material that features flexibility and durability. Besides, the pigments and also other materials are added to make the banding unique and perfect in colors, textures, and wood grains. In addition, the PVC edge banding features a cheap cost, durability, and a long service time. Then it’s also easy to repair. But the issue comes along that the PVC is not an environmentally friendly material, as it can not biodegrade.
Wood Veneer
The wood veneer edge banding is mainly made from slices of wood like oak, maple, ash, and birch. they are joined together in a roll. This kind of banding usually has a heat-sensitive glue backing and also offers a range of thicknesses. So you need to choose the thickness based on the real application. The wood veneer banding is popular for its durability and hardness, which has a clean solid-wood look. Then it can absorb stains. but on the other hand, it’s not heat resistant, so you have to be aware that do not put it near a heater.
Polypropylene
Polypropylene, or PP for short, is an excellent material used in the furniture industry. The edge banding made of PP material is particularly durable and unbreakable. You can easily clean the surface and don’t need to be concerned about the damage to the furniture caused by water and other fluids, because the polypropylene edge banding is characterized by water resistance. It’s such a unique trait for PP edge banding. As a semi-crystalline plastic, PP edge banding is popular for small-radius applications.
Other Considerations
Peeling
If the edge banding is applied incorrectly. the maintenance of edge banding will also be a large expense. For many reasons, the adhesive will not work. then the edge banding will start to peel away from the edge. Apart from the adhesive failure, sometimes the rough use will also cause peeling of edge banding. In the case you use the 5mm edging banding on the front end of a case side, your edging will start to peel, as the 5mm edging can not provide enough impact resistance to your furniture.
Adhesives
There are many ways to attach the edge banding on furniture, such as hot air/laser, iron-on, laser edging, etc. As for the adhesive glue solution, our recommendation is to use hot melt glue, Because it is eco-friendly and provides a strong seal at the same time. You have to pay attention that the cold temperature inside the building will destroy the glue’s feature, so make sure the interior temperature is regulated to stay at a warm temperature. At the same time, it’s better to avoid being exposed to high temperatures. And then we can apply the hot melt glue to the edge, pressing it to the side.
Cost
The edge banding may cost differently depending on the materials. When you have a limited budget, we will recommend PVC edge banding for your project. The PVC-made edge banding is normally cheaper than other banding as their manufacturing process is quite simple and the used raw material is also less expensive. Compared with PVC edge banding, solid wood edge banding will be more expensive, just because there are more steps in their manufacturing process and the raw material is expensive, which is considered as a premium banding solution.
Conclusion
If you are making any project about your furniture, and want to find some quality edge banding for matching your furniture well, you can contact us here. Our edge banding sourcing specialist will provide you with an ideal edge banding solution.
