# Sealing exposed melamine edges



## ejames (Dec 26, 2009)

Hi all, 

Just wanted to see what tricks people have up their sleeves to seal exposed melamine edges after cutting. 

I am putting a ledge into one of my enclosures and have 2MM edging which I will put on the particle board edges - though what can I put on this area to seal it more efficiently? I dont want it warping if/when my snakes go #1's. 

Thanks

James


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## kidsheart (Dec 27, 2009)

i didnt have a real good think before i did mine, mainly because the particle board edges i had to seal are barely vissable so they didnt need to look overly great. all i did was used the 21mm edging, filed it down to size then siliconed around that, also the piece i needed to edge seal is easily replaceable so i wasnt overly worried.
im sure someone has a better way than this, if not, it should do the job.


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## bitey (Dec 27, 2009)

You can get iron on edge tape


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## bitey (Dec 27, 2009)

Amazon.com: White Melamine Edge Banding Tape 7/8'' 25' Roll: Home Improvement


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## wokka (Dec 27, 2009)

If you use hmr (highly moisture resistant) melomine it should handle the small amount of moisture. A lot of cages are sealed along all cracks with silicon keep crap anf mites from hiding in the cracks.


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## ejames (Dec 27, 2009)

Thanks all, 

Bitey - I have 2MM edging which I will apply with my heat gun, its much better looking then iron on 1MM. It still will not completely seal any particle board. 

I am using HMR, though it still somewhat succeptable to absorbing. 

What I was thinking was smear a thin layer of sealant / silicon over the edges and then apply the edging?


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## Snake_Whisperer (Dec 27, 2009)

ejames said:


> Thanks all,
> 
> Bitey - I have 2MM edging which I will apply with my heat gun, its much better looking then iron on 1MM. It still will not completely seal any particle board.
> 
> ...


 

You can use preglued 2mm PVC but I much prefer using a solvent based, contact adhesive on unglued PVC edging. The glue also acts as a bit of a sealant on the exposed edge.

Hot glue will not stick to wet sealant of course, but you could try the application post curing. I do think, however, you will have peeling edges in time due to dissimilar chemicals (sealant to hot glue).

An important design feature for your enclosure is to ensure the areas that will potentially see standing moisture (basically all edges adjacent to the floor panel) are not edged with pvc, melamine or otherwise, but sealed well with a good quality silicone or polyurethane based sealant.

Good luck with it!


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