I stopped sanding melamine edges to 220 grit, zero complaints since

Switched to 120 grit on the last 30 kitchen jobs in Austin after getting sick of the burn-through on white board. Turns out the finer grit was making the edge too smooth for the adhesive to grab, so the banding lifted on a handful of doors. Has anyone else had better luck with a coarser grit on pre-finished material?

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sandralee28d ago

Huh, that's interesting because I've had the complete opposite experience. I stuck with 220 on everything for the last few years and my callbacks on melamine doors actually went down. I think the burn-through you were seeing might have been a heat issue from your sander speed or pressure, not the grit itself. On the white board especially, I found that going to 120 leaves a rougher texture that actually shows through the banding adhesive, like little micro-gaps you can see under a bright light. I had a client in Round Rock complain about exactly that on a set of cabinet doors last spring. We ended up having to redo three of them and went back to 220 with a lighter touch, zero problems since. Maybe it's the specific glue you're using, but for me the finer grit has been the safer bet.