glues, paints, filler

hi people

a few questions to do with glues and paints and similar substances...

(with apologies if these have been discussed recently - I'm not up to date reading this group. if so then please just give me a clue of what words to search on.)

  1. Kitchen worktop of the kind made of thick chipboard with melamine (or something resembling melamine) covering/edging.

a) The main new bit is going around the sink, and the fate of the old bit was to get wet underneath, expand and crumble. I'm thinking that before we install the new bit I would like to paint the underneath of it and all exposed edges with some very waterproof paint or varnish - I was thinking of the kind you put on boats (and maybe that's overkill and maybe not).

If this is not a foolish idea which you'd like to talk me out of, then can anyone tell me what that's called and/or a brand name and where I would get it?

b) In another place I have a chipboard edge that is destined to be a melamine edge, if you see what I mean. (This is not on the bit around the sink, and will rarely get wet.)

I have some matching edging, but what I don't know is what kind of glue is best for sticking it on. Advice?

The edge in question is straight except for a little corner just at the end, so probably it'll be one long bit and one short bit, although an alternative would be to round off the corner and bend it all in one piece. (The corner angle is convex and fairly shallow, much gentler than 90 degrees.)

Any clues about successful sticking-on and cutting-to-size would be useful too, e.g. best thing to cut the edging with, and whether it's likely to work better doing the curve or the two separate angles.

  1. Little ceramic tiles with house numbers on. What would be the best substance for attaching them to the house?

I think when I've seen similar things in the past, they've always been inset into pebbledash or some such. But our house is just brick on the outside.

It has occurred to me to wonder whether in the long term they'll get levered off by frost or something in the absence of some surrounding support. If that might be a problem, one possibility would be to screw a (nice looking) little wooden batten underneath (and probably above, more for symmetry than structure), and then sort of fill in with something.

But the tiles aren't heavy - about 50g each, and about 5cm x 10cm in size. And obviously it would be less work if there were some kind of sticky putty or cement which would just kind of glue them to the house without a surrounding framework, and which could be smoothed round the edges at an angle to help any rain run off. I do rather suspect that some such sticky stuff exists, but what would it be called?

  1. Neglected external woodwork on a windowframe.

The paint has worn off, and luckily it's good old well-seasoned wood so it hasn't gone rotten, but it has gone a bit shrunken and ridgy. So I figure if it gets painted like that, the uneven bits will catch the water which is not what we want. So presumably it needs filling to be flat before it's painted. So would that best be done with just any old external woodwork filler or what?

Thanks in advance for all wisdom!

Reply to
Jennifer Moore
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You're thinking of yacht varnish. I think this is overkill, at least in normal domestic situations. Normal practice is to seal the cut edges with a generous helping of PVA or silicone, and make sue that the worktop is well sealed against the walls/sink/hob etc. The object is to try to prevent water from getting at the underside.

The supplied edging usually has a hot-melt glue on the back, so you iron it on. Try a small piece.

If it isn't backed with hot-melt glue, use some water-based no-nails, like:

I'd probably try to do it in one piece. As for trimming, this is best done with a sharp knife once the glue has set, followed by some fine sandpaper to finish the corner.

If you use an epoxy based filler, the tiles should stay on for a looong time. Like this:

Use the left over epoxy filler from (2).

Reply to
Grunff

I used a small tin of polyurethane varnish round all cutouts 6 years ago and have had no problems

evo-stick contact adhesive

I cut the corner off and did the end and corner as 2 bits

I used a dremel type tool with a small sanding drum to trim

Regards Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Put on a couple of thick coats of gloss paint or varnish (not water based stuff), until it's sealed. Extend for about 6" around the cut on the underside. Yacht varnish would be fine, or any exterior one.

Evo-Stik impact adhesive. Coat both surfaces with a "comb". Let dry as per instructions. Join. N.B. you only get one shot at it, so make sure it's positioned accurately before you touch the surfaces together. Press together firmly.

Is this the stuff you trim after sticking on?

Silicone sealant, applied in a couple of blobs. Support the tile 'till it sets.

If you want to get the tiles off, the only easy way is with a bit of cheese-wire (ir thin picture wire stuff) pulled behind with a sawing motion.

I'd prime it first, before filling. Various adherents (!) of resin and car body filler will probably tell you about it.

Reply to
Chris Bacon

Absolutely. Silicone sealant applied to the back of the board immediately before installation and tidied up just after should keep the water out of where it can do damage.

Evo-stik is another alternative.

If you own a jack-plane, this is another alternative. a 45 degree bevel is probably optimal.

Car body filler is good too. Goes off quicker for a start. Polyester has a long service life.

Body filler should be easier to sand down. Epoxies tend to clog sandpaper.

John Schmitt

Reply to
John Schmitt

Paint the exposed chipboard with PVA or varnish - most important, seal it with silicone so the water can't get to it in the first place.

Evo Stick.

Gripfill or any construction adhesive, No More Nails etc.

Any exterior wood filler.

Dave

Reply to
david lang

Thanks everyone for advice on glues etc for various purposes.

(b.t.w. the water getting to the underneath of the old worktop was not all through bad seals, though some probably was - some of it was at the front, e.g. if overenthusiastic washing-up (not by me :-) led to water trickling off the front of the worktop. & of course once the chipboard has started to deteriorate, it sucks up every drop - this is the main thing I want to "head off at the pass" by varnishing the underneath)

Reply to
Jennifer Moore

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