Sorry the kitchen updates are coming in so infrequently, but the progress has been slow. It's actually finished save the new countertops which were just ordered through a new Home Deopt countertop program where they're offering 2cm SileStone (which we prefer) for $63/sf with all sorts of free cut-outs and install. Unfortunately, the temporary counters made of particleboard do not make for very good photos (especially when stained with spaghetti sauce), so we'll hold off for a while on a final photoshoot... but it's done. Well, mostly.
Anyway, one of the nice things about the Ikea Nexus Yellow-Brown is that it's been very easy to work with. Granted, we have had quite a few pieces come in damaged or not matched well (lighter, darker, more grain) -- but for the most part, it's been very do-able.
One of the nice things about this pattern -- which I can't say for the others -- is that it's been easy to remanufacture pieces on the fly... In a kitchen like this, nothing is ever really out-of-the-box. Edging the boards has been one element which I've found to go smoothly specifically because of the pattern. Nexus is based on an oak veneer and stained to give it the colors in the range. The yellow-brown is just a shade off from MinWax's Early American stain (somewhere between this and Pecan, but it's close enough that custom blending would be a waste of time and money).
Using hot-melt edge banding available at most woodworking stores, I've been able to give an edge to some inside pieces (no heavy wear) that would have otherwise looked a bit odd if left as particleboard after the saw cut -- places like tops, bottoms and interior edges of filler pieces and the inside of the oven cut-out (where you can see the edge through the vent holes). The Ikea edgebanding is a bit thicker than the hot-melt type, but for an interior edge, you can't tell... plus the added finishing gives the particleboard some protection.
So, a "garage" iron ($10), some edgebanding ($5), a hand edge trimmer ($4) some stain ($4) and some Deft ($5) has made easy work of the process. I prefer Deft as it dries super fast with its alkyd base -- it's easy to work with and rarely runs or drips. I can finish an edge from saw cut to installation in about an hour and a half... likely sooner than Deft would like me to mention, but I can get 3-4 coats of Deft and a final wipe/buff with wax and steelwool in this timeframe. Makes for an easy finishing and installation.
The picture below is the newly finished edge.
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