Furniture edges: types, photos. How to glue the furniture edge?

Furniture edges are a band material that protects our lungs from toxic fumes when using interior items from chipboard, MDF and chipboard. Modern technologies, which are realized in the manufacture of furniture, allow to minimize the use of harmful components. However, it is better to close the ends with a special edge.

Currently, a wide range of furniture edges are available to the consumer audience. The individual varieties differ according to the material of manufacture, the method of installation and the cost. Among other things, each facing means has its own obvious pluses and minuses. Let's examine in detail the types of furniture edges.

Appointment

In addition to giving the furniture aesthetic qualities, the furniture edges help to protect the ends of products from particleboard, MDF, other common materials, from the harmful effects of moisture. It is through the ends in the inner layers of wood penetrate insects, microorganisms, fungal spores, which accelerate the process of decomposition of materials. Furniture edges make it possible to eliminate the above manifestations.

Applications

Furniture edges are successfully used for processing the following interior items:

• Countertops, kitchen and office tables;
• Top covers of mobile and attached pedestals;
• Sidewalls and the bottom of cabinets;
• The ends of hinged shelves, boxes, pedestals.

Melamine Edging

Such a self-adhesive edge is a lining material on a paper base. Products of this category are treated with impregnations in the form of melamine resins. It is the latter that endows the edges with protective qualities.

Based on the amount of paper used in the production of paper, multilayer and single-layer melamine end ribbons are isolated.

If we talk about the merits of the edges of this category, first of all we should note the wide range of available options. Due to this, the consumer is able to choose exactly the end ribbon, the shade and parameters of which match the existing needs as precisely as possible.

During the pasting of furniture with melamine edges, there is no need to use expensive equipment. For installation it is enough to use the usual household iron. Any housewife can cope with such a task.

The disadvantage of melamine tapes is an insignificant thickness (from 4 to 6 mm). Hence the inability of the material to resist significant mechanical influences. Due to the paper structure, such edges do not effectively protect the furniture ends from penetration of moisture.

Furniture edge of PVC

This type of end bands is much more durable and resistant to all kinds of external influences in comparison with the previous solution. The material is available in two versions - 2 and 4 mm thick. Thin ribbons are usually used for decorative processing of the ends, which remain in sight. 4 mm edges are applied to hidden surfaces where there is an increased risk of damage.

For the installation of edges made from polyvinyl chloride, the use of special machines is required. Therefore, furniture processing with the help of such tapes is performed only in the conditions of production shops.

Advantages of PVC edges:

• Durability and resistance to wear;
• Effective protection of the furniture ends against mechanical influences and moisture;
• Counteracting acids, alkalis, fats and saline solutions;
• Absolute incombustibility.

As regards the shortcomings of polyvinylchloride edges, here one can single out the lack of the possibility for self-processing of the furniture ends in the domestic environment, as well as some difficulties in obtaining ideally smooth, glossy surfaces.

ABS edge

ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) is an extremely strong, highly reliable facing material that does not contain chlorine. Therefore, the edges made from this base are widely used in the furniture industry because of their safety.

ABS has a more flexible, soft structure compared to PVC. The material is easy to handle, does not accumulate a static charge of electricity, and the process of cutting it is not hampered by sticking small chips.

Advantages of the edges of ABS:

• Preservation of the original, rich color throughout the life of the device;
• The presence of an ideally smooth surface;
• No toxic fumes during processing and heating.

The only drawback of ABS edges is a rather impressive cost in comparison with the same melamine products and PVC liners.

Acrylic Edging

What does this furniture edge look like? A photo of similar products indicates their multilayer structure. The lower part contains decorative trim or pattern. The top layer is presented in the form of transparent plastic. Due to this structure, a 3D image effect is created. It is for this reason that acrylic products are also called 3D edges.

Among the merits of such products can be distinguished high level of rigidity and resistance to mechanical influences. Acrylic edges successfully protect the ends of furniture from scratches, bumps and chips. The main disadvantage here is a high price.

Softforming and postforming edges

Considering the furniture edges, what are the materials for this purpose, it is impossible not to mention the options with surface treatment by softforming and postforming. These solutions allow to give the ends of furniture, countertops and facades absolute tightness.

Materials of this category have different thicknesses and are released by running meters. The edges that are susceptible to cutting when selling, are sealed with docking strips of PVC or aluminum.

In general, there is no particular difference in the characteristics of these materials. The only difference is the possibility of lamination of relief surfaces that have been processed by softforming edges.

How to glue the furniture edge?

Self-treatment of the furniture ends at home allows the use of melamine edge. The material settles on the glue, and then it is fixed by the treatment with a hot iron. Such a decision is entirely acceptable if it is necessary to perform a quick, relatively cheap repair of old furniture.

The work is carried out in several stages:

1. To begin with, any old Soviet iron is heated. In addition to it, you need a knife, a fine- grained sandpaper , a rag.
2. The edge is cut off with a margin of several centimeters. The piece is applied to the furniture end, pretreated with glue, after which it is heated by an iron.
3. After melting the adhesive, the edge band is pressed tightly with a rag.
4. Once the material is securely fixed to the surface, all excess is cut off. At the beginning, the end parts are removed and only later ones are removed.
5. In the end, the surface is finished with sandpaper.

When cutting excess edges, it is recommended that the knife be held at an angle. The movements of the blade must be directed to the material, and not to the outside, which avoids its retardation from the surfaces.

To ensure the convenience of work, it is desirable to find a knife with a sharp blade, which will not leave a hangnail. In the process of cutting, you must be careful not to remove unnecessary.

Using the same iron, it is convenient to clean the surfaces of the remnants of the old edge band. To do this, it is sufficient to warm up the plane of the appliance thoroughly, to walk along the butt and to tear the unnecessary band with a spatula or knife.

Eventually

If the main task in the manufacture of furniture is to obtain the best quality result, it is better to resort to the factory end-to-end cutting. When the agenda is only a cosmetic repair of old interior items, you can confine yourself to self-gluing surfaces with colored ribbons. Fortunately today on sale there is a wide variety of edges that imitate natural materials and are distinguished by a whole mass of original shades.