Delaminating veneer

[CAMP AIR]

I have a 2007 Safari SE and I live in the desert. The veneer is coming unglued
in several places, edges of the bathroom door,curved wall next to the fridge,etc. What is the best method to re glue it myself? Product names?
preferably something easy/quick drying so I don't have to use clamps. Thanks.

[tarnished]

Is it wood veneer or vinyl veneer?
Sometimes hot glue will work for either, but not the best method. If it's a bubble somewhere other then the edge of a flat or curved piece you have to split the bubble with a razor inject glue, usually white or yellow and figure out a way to clamp it in place. For something small tape and a wedge will do fine. Vinyl is different as it is usually laid up in an autoclave with a white veneering glue formulated for the purpose. But regular white will work for a small repair.
You have to figure out a way to clamp it. If it's on the edge some glue a piece of saran wrap over the veneer then a wood pce on top of that then clamp with a clothes pin clamp.
Paul

[Thalweg]

That's not an easy thing to do without clamping. I've made lots of repairs like this using Titebond III wood glue (or similar) worked up behind the delamination, but I always clamp it up for a couple of hours to let the glue set. If there is enough space between the pieces, you might try contact cement. You'd have to coat both sides of the piece and let them dry completly. Once dried, press them together and it should hold. The trick is keeping the pieces completly seperated until the cement is dry.

[BeachHouse]

Most edge tape is applied with heat. It is basically wax. So often, if the glue isn't entirely squeezed out, you can re-attached with a regular iron. Just put the iron on hot (without steam) and press on the edge tape with a t-shirt type rag underneath. Don't keep the heat on the tape too long or it won't stick for sure. Usually 30-45 seconds will do.

[Johnco]

Check out this video...

Airstream How To: Edgebanding Repairs - YouTube

[Gene]

In ours the edge banding is Formica. I have had to repair it a number of times in various places. The glue is activated by heat. Use an iron—I use a low setting because higher may melt the Formica. The glue can stick to the iron if is squeezes out and it would be better to use an old iron because wives don't like glue bonded to the surface of an iron as if there was any other reason to iron something.

Gene

[Florida 55]

I use Weldwood contact cement for my laminate and trim repairs. Available in a small bottle with brush for less than $4.00 at almost any hardware store including HD and Lowes. Sticks to wood, pressboard and many plastic laminates and trims. Gets tacky quickly and dries in about 30 minutes. I've been delighted with the results in my 2008 Safari.

[Silver Otter]

Good advice from everyone, of course. Both Gene and Chuck are right, and their solutions often work well. Most factory contact adhesives are both somewhat flexible (often latex based) and "thermo-setting" in nature. That means they will let go when subjected to wide swings in relative humidity and/or high heat over time.

The thermo-setting characteristic can be an advantage when using the hot iron to reattach a delamination. The heat of the iron melts the contact adhesive. It flows out a little bit and then cools to a more rigid glue line than you had on first application from the factory. If you get the piece back exactly where your want it, the chances are it will stay there are better than before. The down side of all that is it will be more difficult to repair the next time, if there is a next time, because you've "set" most of the adhesive with heat and pressure. There will be less, if any, which will melt the second time.

As has been said, use a thin cloth between the surface of the iron and your repair surface. We often have soft leather gloves on, and a 1" or 1-1/2" dowel in our hand to follow the iron with good, firm pressure on the repair as we pass. The surface is hot, so the gloves help protect the hands.