Applying Laminate And A HUGE Mistake

Well this isn't good. I ran into my first potentially major problem over the weekend when I laminated the sides and top of the jukebox shell. This was a tricky process and something I've really never done before so I was a bit nervous throughout the process.

The first thing I did was cut the laminate to roughly an inch oversize on all edges. This allowed for a little bit of play when I lined up the laminate with the jukebox shell because once the glue goes on and you join the two surfaces you don't get a second chance. The bond happens instantly and it is permanent.

Next, I applied glue to both surfaces as evenly as I possibly could with a roller. It is important here to cover the entire surface so there are no places in the laminate that will bubble or separate from the jukebox shell.

After waiting about 30 minutes for the glue to dry it was time to bond the laminate to the shell. I decided to leave the laminate face down on the work bench and start on one side of the shell and kind of roll it upside down and around to the other side. I made sure to press as firmly as I could from the inside of the shell as I went around nice and slow. It is important that the entire surfaces of both the laminate and the shell are in contact with one another. After working all the way around, I used a j-roller and applied some pressure working from the top of the curve down the sides to make extra sure everything was tight.

After I finished, I noticed the laminate wanting to separate at the edges so I tipped the thing on its side, put an MDF panel on top and then 2 cinder blocks for pressure. I was really worried so I let it cure overnight (you are supposed to be able to work with the piece 30 minutes after bonding) and when I removed the cinder blocks the laminate remained bonded to the shell - whew! If only this was the huge mistake...

After letting the glue cure overnight, I used my router and a flush bit to trim away the excess laminate that was hanging over the edges. This is where I ran into trouble. There isn't a flat surface to rest the router on as I went around the curve so I had to just "be careful" which I was except for one spot. Check it out:

I shaved off the protective paper and the thin layer of shiny on the Plexiglas - the scrape is about an inch long so I am definitely going to have to try and sand and polish that area and blend it in to the rest of the front panel. It sucks. I was being careful with the router but I guess I tipped it into the piece instead of away from it and I effed it up.

I'm going to have to try and polish out the scuff similar to how I polished the bevel around the Plexiglas opening. I'm fairly confident I can get it looking OK but I'm not as confident that I can get it to look like the scuff mark was never there. There's really nothing I can do but try and fix it. The picture actually makes it look a lot worse because of the flash.

Anyway, after that happened I stayed about 1/16" away from the front panel with the router and then used a file to get the laminate flush with the Plexiglas front - I should have been doing it like that the entire time - I'm so mad at myself.

Anyway, it's looking pretty good otherwise and I really like how the laminate gives it a nice clean finish.

Tonight I'm going to route the slot for the t-molding around the front and back panels and then try to remove the scuff mark using some high grit sandpaper and the Novus polish system.

More later.