How to Apply End Banding to Veneer Wood Ceilings

Introduction: End Banding vs. Edge Banding

If you have worked with wood before, you have probably heard of edge banding. Edge banding (which can also be a single word – edgebanding) is commonly used for veneer products such as finishing the edges of a sheet of plywood or MDF for a shelf or visible surface. Edge banding is usually applied to the long edges of a board or panel.

End banding, on the other hand, is applied to the end grain rather than on the long horizontal edge. While it may be similar material, end banding is a critical piece of what we do in our shop here at 9Wood. Now to the video:

End Banding for Veneer Wood Ceilings

When field cutting veneer products, it’s typical that matching end banding will need to be reapplied because the cut location is going to remain visible. 9Wood supplies all of the matching banding you will need for your order if field cutting is going to be required, but there are some tools and specific things you should be aware of.

Matching end banding typically comes in a pre-glued form. However, certain materials, such as engineered veneer, do not have a commercially available pre-glued end banding. Banding that does not come pre-glued will require additional glue, such as Heat-Lock™ or Titebond II applied to it prior to application. We’ll show you both pre-glued and non-pre-glued methods.

9Wood recommends the use of Titebond II in almost every application. Heat-Lock is nice, but supply chain problems have really dampened their availability. Our tests show when Titebond II applied using the iron on method shown in this video, it demonstrates more than enough support across all 9Wood veneer wood ceiling products. You can email Nathan Pfeiffer if you’d like to see the test data and report.
~Cody Bloomfield, 9Wood Manufacturing Project Engineer

Tools You Will Need

The tools that you will need include a clothes iron, an edgebanding trimmer, or quality scissors, a 10″ flat file, and a wood block to set the banding. For glue application, we recommend Titebond II, foam brushes, or a 3″ by 1/4″ nap roller to apply the glue.

Click here for more Field Cutting guides.

Methods for Pre-glued End Banding

Pre-glued material has an obvious visible surface and glue surface. However, when moving quickly on a job site, it’s easy to switch them around.

Always ensure prior to applying heat that you have the proper surface facing the product. Banding that comes without glue may have a fleece or paper backing or no backing at all, but there should still be a visible difference between the face and the back of the material.

Methods for Non-glued End Banding

To prepare non-glued end banding for application, the glue must be applied prior and allowed to dry. Liberally apply glue to the surface and roll as flat as possible. The glue should then sit based on the manufacturer’s recommendations until it’s ready to apply. 9Wood also recommends applying glue to the core surface to ensure a strong bond between the two pieces.

Cut several pieces of end banding into strips that are longer than the depth of the material so that you can test them for fit and place them. The banding will be oversized for the cut that you’ve made. Please double-check that if you’ve cut on an angle, the banding you’ve received is wide enough to cover the surface.

How to Use the Heating Iron

Ensure that the iron has been set to the highest possible setting and has adequate time to heat up. Once the iron is ready, press the end banding into place firmly while moving the iron continuously. This ensures that the visible face of the banding will not be damaged due to staying in one place for too long.

A good sign that you’re receiving good heat transfer to the banding is that the glue is starting to press out onto the adjacent faces. This can be cleaned up later and is not an issue.

Click here to learn How to repair Veneer Delamination.

How to Set and Trim the End Banding

Apply pressure with the woodblock to set the banding in place. Once the banding has been set in place, using the scissors or trimmer, cut the top and bottom of the end banding as close to the material as possible.

Focusing on one side at a time, use the file to flush the banding to the member surface. The file should be placed flat and pushed in a single direction to ensure that the banding does not chip or peel.

Once all members on one face have been finished, flip the panel to the next side and continue on. The newly banded ends are ready for touch-up finish and final installation into the ceiling.