Use edge tape for a smooth finish, and transform the look and feel of your plywood in minutes! 

Have you ever had plywood or melamine cut, then realize the edges look unfinished?

This problem can be solved by using Edge Tape!

Edge tape, which is also called wood band or edge band, is an inexpensive way to turn ordinary cut pieces of plywood or melamine into finished shelves or complete units.

Edge taping is the process of applying wood veneer tape to the exposed edges of a piece of plywood or melamine.

The image below shows plywood before edge tape is applied.

Let’s talk about – How to edge tape?

Below we walk you through how to edge tape at home:

1. You’ll want to clear a space at home where you can work. Cover any surfaces with a towel so they won’t scratch while you work.

2. You can use a hot iron (the same one you use to iron your shirts!) to apply the edge tape.

3. Set the iron heat level to cotton, this is a high heat.

4. Next, line up the edge tape as best you can with the edge of your plywood or melamine. It is okay if it goes over the edges a little bit, we will show you how to fix this at the end. Go slowly and try to keep it as straight as possible.

5. Hold an old thin shirt, or ask us for a bag of rags when you make your purchase. You will hold this over the edge tape as you iron so you do not burn it.

6. As you move along the iron will heat the glue on the inside of the edge tape and adhere it to the side of your plywood.
7. Once you get to the end of your shelf, use a razor blade to cut the edge to exactly match.

8. You will now use a razor blade to trim along the top and bottom where you may have had some overlap.

9. You should now have a nice clean edge that looks like a solid piece of wood.
We admit, this process can be a little tricky at first! But with all things, practice makes perfect!

You can opt for us to do it for you as well, just ask us about pricing for our edge taping services when you place your order. The upside to choosing to order shelves this way it that you can get custom sizes and the end results will be a quality, custom, and professional-looking piece to complete your project.

The photo below shows finished edge tape with the tools used to apply.

We are working on creating a detailed How-To Video to add to our blog so that you can see what we are talking about! Stay tuned for that.

For more details about how edge tape works, or to request a quote please submit your details on our contact us page.