How to adhere wood/bamboo veneer to drywall?
malkos
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
Has anyone adhered wood or bamboo veneer to drywall? I have 5 sheets of bamboo veneer that I want to glue to paperless (fiberglass-faced like DensArmor) drywall ceilings and walls in my new bathroom, but I can’t find any good solutions online. I don’t want to use contact cement because of the high VOC off-gassing, and I don’t want to veneer these to a wood/MDF base because of mold concerns (which is why I used the paperless gyp board). I’ve successfully glued this veneer to my wood medicine cabinet doors by applying glue to both the veneer and the substrate, allowing the glue to dry, and then ironing them together. Will this work on finished drywall?
Replies
Malkos
I don't remember if I've used the water based contact adhesive when applying veneer to cabinet ends, but I would think it would work if it didn't get absorbed by the bamboo b/4 it sets-causing it to ripple and expand. Why not sacrifice a pc and try it.
How about trowell on adhesive-tho I assume you wouldn't want that aroma either.
I certainly don't envy you applying veneer to ceilings or walls. An ambitious undertaking.
I was interested in your dilema, as I cannot work with regular contact cement without getting sick. So I found this http://www.titebond.com/download/pdf/sa/NeoprenePlusTB.pdf It looks like it would work, but from what I see there may be some issues. Most contact cement will not work with painted surfaces since the glue will destroy the paint. The surface would have to be exceptionally smooth for a good bond. Actually placing the sheets in place could be extremely difficult.
On the other hand, it could turn out really nice.
Mark
I don't know about contact adhesive destroying paint. We've applied a whole lot of sheets of plam to mall walls using the solvent based contact adhesive to painted drywall. And, same goes with veneering skins to cabinets that have been varnished/poly-urethaned.
Applying solvent contact cement over paint is specifically not recommended. I suppose the reason may be to protect the manufacturer from liability if the bond fails. I never tried that myself, but I guess that it would dry so fast that it's OK.
Mark
It stuck like it sticks to part. bd. I'm imagining that since the time period we worked this stuff (late70's into the late 80's) that much of it was over oil based painted walls as well as latex. You had to be careful to apply it out away from seams and not force fitting so it was overly tite at corners or other obstructions within the field of the sheet. Too tite, it could buckle later. We used metal corners that the sheets slipped into-similar to the metal trims available for counter / backsplash work. Sometimes we fit the trims-othertimes used the division metals.
AND BOY, did we off-gas! Standing down the mall a bit while the glue set, you could see "heat" ripples from about 3-4 ft off the floor, up to maybe 10 ft as those solvents aired off.
No doubt the writing on the side of the cans was being written up because of some chemist that walked by.
Fitting those 5x12's up in the air was a real treat. A good team of 2-3 guys made it possible. Imagine if you will working a long pc of trim with a homeowner that wants to help. You are positioning it and ask-"hows it look at your corner?" "Looks Good" he says". So you start nailng it off, work your way down to his end and then the realization that he must have misunderstood you............
Communication in big laminate on teh walls had to be good. You couldn't go down and look at their end.
Ah, the memories. I guess the off gassing wasn't that bad after all.
Thanks for the advice so far. I was hoping someone would know if the wood glue iron-on method (Titebond II - blue bottle) will work. I'm trying to avoid experimenting to find that it bubbles or peels months or years from now.
I'll look into the Titebond Greenchoice, but still curious if anyone has tried the wood glue method on drywall - raw or painted?
Your question would be more appropriate at the Knots forum, since they are more into furniture and veneering. http://forums.finewoodworking.com/ Use the same username and password as here.
Never tried it
and never have heard of it. Hope you'll present the outcome.
thanks.
Drywall or plaster absorb heat
There is a limit to how hot you can get drywall or plaster. Above a certain temperature, it breaks down, releasing the water that was used to make it. This is what makes it a great fire resistant material. This makes it so that you cannot use a heat gun to remove paint from a plaster wall. I don't know how hot the glue has to be to melt together (I assume that is how it works)
I too am curious if it will work. Keep us informed on your results.
Good advice
I forgot that about drywall. I just got off the phone with Titebond and they said the Neoprene Plus will stick very well to both the drywall and veneer. Unfortunately, I can't find a local distributor, so I'm going to try DAP's Weldwood Nonflammable (and GreenSeal certified) contact cement. I'll let you all know how it goes next week.
I think there are some low VOC tile mastics that should work. They have better gap-filling properties than contact cement, and will generally work over paint.
Veneer Success
It worked... so far. No one has taken a hot & steamy shower yet, but the bamboo veneer went up with some care and it is holding tight. One sheet I put up was a full 4'x8' and took 3 of us to align. I tried to adjust a piece I had just started putting up, and it stuck so well to the drywall that i actually started peeling the facing off the drywall (DensArmor Plus paperless drywall). Luckily
I used the low-VOC contact cement for DAP Weldwood, which is classified as their Nonflammable version. The instructions require 25 psf to force the materials into contact, and recommend pushing a 3" J-roller down onto a workbench. Not having the option to lean down onto a workbench, I pulled a 3" wide plastic scraper along the veneer with as much pressure as I could sustain.
I'll try to update with some photos later.
I'm late with this, and it may not have been a help to you......
but when we laid up 5x12's of PLAM, I would roll on the adhesive, then when tacked up, I'd staple (a couple) visqueen over that area. Position the sheet, then pull the visqueen out as we rolled it tight. Worked great to start the positioning.