Self-adhesive film for furniture: types, gluing

It often happens that old furniture is tired, but there is no money for a new one yet. Grief can be helped by self-adhesive film for furniture. With its help, you can easily change the appearance of cabinet furniture. It can also be used to decorate doors, glass, refrigerators and other household items and furnishings. 

Material characteristics, advantages and disadvantages

To change the design of old furniture, it is often advised to paste over the surface with a PVC film with an adhesive applied to the back. These films are also called “self-adhesive”, since after removing the protective layer, it is simply applied to the base and, due to the applied glue, is glued. More “cultural” name – self-adhesive film for furniture. It is under this name that it can be found in stores, on the market.

Why is this film popular? Because it has a low price and has a lot of options for colors / colors. The film is waterproof and can be used in areas with high humidity. If you know certain rules, it is not difficult to work with it, it is easy to care for the glued surface – all the dirt remains on the surface and is not absorbed. In general, a good option if you need to update furniture or doors, but there is no money to buy new ones.

There are also disadvantages and in sufficient quantities:

• Self-adhesive film is glued well only on smooth substrates.
• Preliminary preparation is required. The film is thin, all defects will be visible, so you first need to level the surface to perfect condition.
• It is difficult to make the joints perfect – usually they are visible.
• In places of active friction, the film can be overwritten.
• It is difficult to peel off some types of surfaces.

As you can see, not ideal, but not bad. It is difficult to replace this method of changing the decor – only the sticker of a new veneer, which is much more expensive and technically more difficult. Still cabinet furniture is pasted over with wallpaper, then varnished. This method is cheaper (maybe), but more often you need to change the decor.

Types of vinyl film for decoration

Self-adhesive film for furniture has many color options:

• Opaque:
  • matte:
    • monophonic;
    • with an image;
    • with imitation of wood, stone.
      

  • glossy:
    • plain bright gloss;
    • metallic effect;
    • holographic films.
• Transparent and translucent:
  • monophonic;
  • with colored or plain pattern.

There are really many colors, since each color can be found in several shades. The most popular “wooden” coloring. This type of finish is usually used to remake furniture, and therefore such a choice. The second most popular are glossy or matte PVC films. They allow you to turn ordinary furniture into ultra-modern, which will fit into modern interiors such as hi-tech or minimalism.

Transparent or translucent films can be used to tint windows. The film is glued to the window panes from the inside. On the first floors, this makes it difficult to see what is happening in the room, on high floors it scatters light. There are also stained-glass vinyl films – they are translucent, colored, with imitation of stained-glass windows of varying degrees of reliability. They and translucent films with a pattern can often be seen on door glass installed in interior doors.

Preparing for sticking

In order for the self-adhesive film to lay flat, you need to know the rules for handling it. First of all, remember that it is thin and any protrusions, depressions, bumps will be visible, especially on a glossy plain film. Therefore, before gluing, the surface is leveled to an ideal state. If we are talking about old furniture, you can use wood putty. You can dilute the usual finishing putty with PVA diluted with water (1: 1). With this composition, close up all the bumps. Only knead very small portions – literally a couple of tablespoons of powder. Try to immediately make the surface perfectly smooth – after drying it is very difficult to grind.

The leveled surface is cleaned of dust, dirt (with water and dishwashing detergent), and dried. Everything must be removed carefully: even a drop of fat, when it comes to changing the “image” of a kitchen set. If you use abrasive or acidic products, everything will need to be carefully removed, washed several times with water and liquid dish detergent.

If the surface is loose (there are areas of putty, for example), it is better to cover it with a primer. The primer is selected according to the type of surface, taking into account the adhesive composition on the PVC film. A universal option is PVA glue. It can be slightly diluted with water and smear the surface. Just make sure that there are no streaks and smudges left – all this will be emphasized by the film. The second primer option is acrylic. Why is she? Because the adhesive on the self-adhesive vinyl film has just such a basis.

If the original substrate is very loose, two coats of primer may be required. After drying, check for leaks. If everything is smooth – you can start finishing.

Cutting

The self-adhesive film for furniture is protected from the back by thick paper – it closes the adhesive composition. On this paper, lines are drawn every 5 mm, numbers are affixed. With this marking, it is easy to cut segments of the desired length.

When cutting, the film is always made larger. The amount of margin depends on what surface you are pasting over, but always remember that you will not be able to quietly “grow” a piece. So it’s better to stock up more. If a flat plane is pasted over and there is no need to glue the ends, the margin may be a couple of centimeters. It’s enough. If you need to glue the ends, do not forget to add twice the height of the ends, plus the same couple of centimeters, but from each edge – just in case.

If the edges of the part to be glued are rounded, cut off a piece that covers the entire part and 3-4 cm more remains. When making a curved cut, the film will have to be pulled, and, preferably, there should be something to grab onto. Otherwise, the intended will not work.

When cutting films with a pattern, if you need to combine it, you have to cut it from the front. Then the lines of the drawing are immediately combined, then marks are made with a knife or scissors along the desired length. Then, turning over to the reverse side, these marks are cut off along the nearest line.

Techniques for pasting various types of surfaces

Here, it seems, nothing complicated – take the glue. An no. To achieve a good result, you need to know some tricks. It is better to start with small surfaces. If you are going to paste over the kitchen cabinet, start with the drawers. Having mastered the techniques, it will be possible to move to large planes.

The first thing to remember is that it is easier to work with horizontal surfaces. If you are pasting doors or furniture doors, it is better to remove them, lay them on a table / goats / stools and glue them in this position. You can, of course, without removing it, but it’s very inconvenient, and the result is likely to be worse.

Second moment. If the self-adhesive film for furniture is too thin (cheap), it can stretch, it will lay in waves. Working with her is very difficult even with experience. If you are going to glue the film for the first time, it is better to pay a little more, but buy a good one. De-fix is ​​considered the best. She has an ideal density, good glue, and a lot of colors.

Glue on smooth non-absorbent surfaces: glass, plastic

On absolutely smooth surfaces, the self-adhesive film is glued with preliminary moistening. You will need a spray gun with a good atomizer. Pour water into it, add a little dish detergent (such as Fairy). Spray the surface evenly. It must be covered with water. Next, the procedure is as follows:

• The protective paper is removed from the prepared (cut with a small margin) piece.
• The film is carefully laid out on a wetted surface. To avoid air bubbles, lay it down smoothly. If air is trapped, lift one edge, expel all bubbles by running a rag over the film in the direction of the raised edge, lower it.
• You arrange it as you need – it “rides” on wet glass or plastic without any problems.
• Take a dense sponge or soft rag and expel water from the middle to the edges.

The result is an evenly glued film. It remains only to cut or wrap the edges. About this operation a little lower, as there are subtleties.

Primed surfaces

On large surfaces covered with primer, you can apply a thin layer of wallpaper paste (not too thick, without lumps), spread it evenly, then lay the film as described above. The second method is dry. It consists of sequential gluing. This method of gluing is more convenient for vertical surfaces. It’s easier to start at the top.

• Having peeled off the film with a strip of several centimeters, we place it along the upper edge of the surface to be glued. If it is necessary to make a bend, we leave the required number of centimeters sticking out, plus some margin. It is important to position the film evenly so that there is no skew.
  

• Further, gradually – by a few centimeters – peel off the paper, drawing it down from the pasted strip, remove the air, gluing the film to the base. Methodicalness is important here – we press the film tightly, do not jerk, squeezing all the air out from under the film. The removed paper should not be too far ahead of the “clamp”. In this case, bubbles may appear. The first “pass” is done with a little pressure. If we see bubbles, remove them by peeling off the right place. This is where the quality of the film comes in handy – it can stretch. The second pass – finally smooth the treated area.
• Peel off the paper in small portions, glue the vinyl self-adhesive to the entire surface.

Here the question may arise, what is the best way to smooth the film. It’s a matter of preference. It is convenient for someone to work with the palm of the hand – the surface is felt better, it is easier to adjust the degree of pressure. They also work with a dense sponge (you can try a washcloth), a soft rag (terry cloth, synthetic fabrics, non-woven rags for cleaning), use rubber spatulas and plastic cards. It doesn’t matter what you use. The main thing is that the self-adhesive film is pasted without bubbles.

To warm or not to warm?

There is one trick that not everyone uses: heating the pasted film. When heated, the self-adhesive film becomes more elastic, denser and stronger fits the base. There is also an opinion that when heated, the glue fixes the cloth better. It is difficult to answer whether it is true or not, but after heating the glued surface looks better (in our opinion).

The glued surface is heated with a building hair dryer or iron. The hair dryer is heated by directing the air flow in different directions. When warmed up, bubbles appear, as they cool down, they disappear. It is necessary to heat until these bubbles stop appearing. Just do not think that you need to keep the air flow on the bubbles all the time, and the film can be melted. They warmed it up a little, took it to another place, leveled off – they returned again, warmed it up. And so on until the bubbles disappear.

Attention! If you decide to smooth something while heating, be very careful. Vinyl becomes very elastic and can ripple under strong pressure.

They heat up with an iron. They take a sheet of white paper, spread it on the surface and iron the paper several times with a warm (power level 2) iron. Minus – you will not see the result until you lift the sheet. And yet – it will not work to warm up the relief in this way.

Corner design

If you need to glue only on a plane without bends, you can do without heating. It will only be necessary to cut the film around the edge. It is better to do this with a clerical or wallpaper knife. Use a new blade, set it at a 45° angle, and cut off the excess in one motion along the edge.

If you need to paste over a rounded corner, it is difficult to do without heating: you have to make cuts, stick fragments one on top of the other. It is necessary to warm up the film on the fold and after that it can be pulled so that it fits the corner – concave or convex – without strong tails. If the self-adhesive film is of good quality, it can also be stretched on the usual one – at a 90 ° angle and the sidewalls will be even. There are no cuts, it will only be necessary to cut off the excess film along the bottom edge.

Without heating, there are two ways to paste over a furniture corner with a self-adhesive film. The first one is more common. It is necessary to paste over the sidewalls, wrapping the canvas down. At the corner, the film is cut, trimmed, leaving a small “overlap” on the other side of a few millimeters. On the other hand, we do the same.

The second way allows you to do the same, but in a shorter way. When gluing the sidewalls, glue the film in the corners so that even corners are obtained. We cut off the excess, but not close to the corner, but stepping back 3-4 mm. Look at the photo below – it will become clearer.

Then, peeling off a little one of the sides, glue one part, then over the second. The seam at the corner, of course, is visible, but not so much that it was critical. To make everything “subside” better, the glued place can be warmed up.

How to connect two canvases

Sticking two pieces of self-adhesive back to back so that it is imperceptible is a lot of effort. In the case of wood imitation, this is still real, but with plain canvases it is unlikely to work. Unless on glass or plastic and with good dexterity.

It is more realistic to make the junction of two canvases invisible by cutting through two layers of film. To do this, two parts are glued with a slight overlap of one canvas on the other – about a centimeter should overlap. The edge that goes to the second film is not glued, not pressed. He lies freely. Take a long ruler and a sharp knife. Apply approximately in the middle of the “overlap” and cut through two films. Remove the cut strips by lifting the loosely glued edge. Be very careful with it so it doesn’t stretch. Then return it to its place, iron it. The match is perfect. And if you then also warm it up with a hairdryer, the junction can only be seen from a very close distance. So the self-adhesive film can be pasted on large surfaces.