Thanks for the replies so far.

This is a renovation project. The substrates are varied. I have a
couple of cabinets with unfaced particleboard. I have several of the
new ones that are melamine-faced particleboad. I have some endpanels
that are plywood.

I had picked up water-based contact cement. Am I reading correctly
that this is NOT a good product to use?

Because the cabinets are already mounted, I don't think that PVA wood
glue will work because there will be no way to apply clamping pressure
to most of the panels.

The reason I was asking about a primer coat of the contact cement is
that I've seen laminate unglue from kitchen upper cabinets where a
kettle boiled frequently. I'm thinking the steam was a bad think for
the glue, and I was thinking the primer coat would make a more solid
glue bond.

Steve