As 360renos owner and contractor there is a wide array of glues and adhesives available that can be daunting. Use the wrong one on a project and it may not work as intended or worse yet ruin the materials your are fastening.
A little help form and a great article courtesy of Jon Eakes
Although I was showing about 20 glues at the Laval show, here are the ones that caught people's attention:
Quick Grab glue for moldings -- with "Quick Grab" or "Instant Grab" written on the container, these adhesives are specially formulated for putting on moldings with few or no nails. They are very thick and create great suction when pushed into place. Unlike
regular construction adhesives, they do not slip or pull away, unless the wall or molding is very crooked. Usually one or two nails, or wood supports for about an hour is all that is required to get them to hold. Give them 24 hours to totally cure before playing with the molding. Prior to these glues coming on the market we could only do this with contact cement, and that was touchy because you cannot reposition to get it in exactly the right place.
Water based contact cement -- Speaking of contact cement, water based contact cement is thinner than solvent based, doesn't smell (or_burn) and is actually stronger than solvent based contact cement. It costs more per can but less per square inch because it spreads further. For some reason people always think that the old solvent based contact cement is better -- not true. Always prime the edge of particle board with a coat of water based contact cement several hours before trying to apply iron on tapes to the edges. It will soak deep into the fibres and present an ideal anchored surface to the tape iron on adhesive -- never to come off again.
Underwater glues -- Yes you can fix things in the rain, or inside the swimming pool. Although some Marine epoxies are now in the stores, the best formulations I have ever found are only found on the web,www.MrStickys.com with rigid and flexible formulations that really work. There are two important details to working underwater -- use steel wool to clean and scrape the surface first, otherwise you are trying to glue to the algae -- work the epoxy mix onto the surface, slowly pushing away the water. At first it "skates" across the surface and then it begins to adhere because you are pushing the water out of the way. You can see and feel when you are getting adhesion. Without that "working in" there is water between you and the surface, and no long term adhesion. The water won't bother the epoxy but you do need to squeeze it out of the clean joint.
PLPremium vs PLPolyurethane -- PLPremium adhesive (we tend to call it an adhesive not glue when we get to construction applications, but the two words are really the same) is considered the Cadillac of construction adhesives. Waterproof when cured, it cures rock_hard so it can fill gaps or even support objects, is sandable and paintable and now comes in an "extreme" formulation 4 times stronger again! So what is PLPolyurethane that looks the same? This is the same basic material, but formulated to cure like a piece of flexible rubber. Although it adheres magnificently like glue, its flexibility makes it unsuitable for any structural use -- but it is the best of the caulkings (also called sealants) when used to seal up a building gap because it can stretch with building movement without breaking loose and will last 50 years.
A little help form and a great article courtesy of Jon Eakes
Choosing Glue:
Before you_buy any glue you need to consider the following questions:
IS THIS GLUE_JOB STRUCTURAL OR NON-STRUCTURAL?
Some glues are rigid after curing while others remain flexible. No flexible glue should be used for a structural joint as it can slip. Hence no flexible glues like silicone or contact cement for building the structure of a chair.
WHAT ENVIRONMENT ARE YOU IN WHEN YOU USE THIS GLUE -- TEMPERATURE - HUMIDITY - WATER?
All glues have upper and lower temperature limitations, read the labels.
Some glues evaporate off solvents or water to cure -- too high humidity in the_room can slow or stop such evaporation. Some glues have chemical reactions that cure differently with different air temperatures but humidity has no affect on the cure -- like the epoxies. Other actually require humidity and will not cure without a minimum of humidity -- like silicone and polyurethane. In really dry environments, like Calgary, you may have to mist the surface first or mist the glue or sealant after application to start the cure.
HOW WELL DO THE TWO PIECES FIT TOGETHER?
Some glues are able to fill gaps and still be strong, like PL Premium (Polyurethane) and epoxies -- while others require a very tight fitting joint, like white glue, contact cement and super glues.
DOES THE GLUE YOU CHOOSE ADHERE TO BOTH THE PIECES TO BE JOINED?
Only contact cement will glue leather to glass well, white glue can do it fairly. Foam insulation will not accept any solvent based adhesive. Check compatibility.
HOW FAST DO YOU NEED THE GLUE TO GRAB, THEN TO CURE?
This is the basic difference between white and yellow woodworking glues. If you need a lot of time to put several pieces together, use the White glue -- if you need to liberate your clamps quickly, use the Yellow glue. Yes Yellow is stronger than White, but both are stronger than wood so strength is a non-issue.
Some glues are really instant -- like the super glues -- others have a quick grab and then a longer cure, like the thick glues for attaching molding without nails -- some are actually timed for the grab, like 5 minute or 60 minute epoxy, both of which require 24 hours for cure.
MUST IT BE WATERPROOF AFTER THE CURE?
Most glues cannot hold up to a lot of rain, but some are made for outdoor use and others even for underwater applications.
Answer all of those questions and your choice for the proper adhesive will be quickly narrowed down. Yes there are some almost universal glues, but these never do the_job quite as well as a specialty glue made for what you want to do.
IS THIS GLUE_JOB STRUCTURAL OR NON-STRUCTURAL?
Some glues are rigid after curing while others remain flexible. No flexible glue should be used for a structural joint as it can slip. Hence no flexible glues like silicone or contact cement for building the structure of a chair.
WHAT ENVIRONMENT ARE YOU IN WHEN YOU USE THIS GLUE -- TEMPERATURE - HUMIDITY - WATER?
All glues have upper and lower temperature limitations, read the labels.
Some glues evaporate off solvents or water to cure -- too high humidity in the_room can slow or stop such evaporation. Some glues have chemical reactions that cure differently with different air temperatures but humidity has no affect on the cure -- like the epoxies. Other actually require humidity and will not cure without a minimum of humidity -- like silicone and polyurethane. In really dry environments, like Calgary, you may have to mist the surface first or mist the glue or sealant after application to start the cure.
HOW WELL DO THE TWO PIECES FIT TOGETHER?
Some glues are able to fill gaps and still be strong, like PL Premium (Polyurethane) and epoxies -- while others require a very tight fitting joint, like white glue, contact cement and super glues.
DOES THE GLUE YOU CHOOSE ADHERE TO BOTH THE PIECES TO BE JOINED?
Only contact cement will glue leather to glass well, white glue can do it fairly. Foam insulation will not accept any solvent based adhesive. Check compatibility.
HOW FAST DO YOU NEED THE GLUE TO GRAB, THEN TO CURE?
This is the basic difference between white and yellow woodworking glues. If you need a lot of time to put several pieces together, use the White glue -- if you need to liberate your clamps quickly, use the Yellow glue. Yes Yellow is stronger than White, but both are stronger than wood so strength is a non-issue.
Some glues are really instant -- like the super glues -- others have a quick grab and then a longer cure, like the thick glues for attaching molding without nails -- some are actually timed for the grab, like 5 minute or 60 minute epoxy, both of which require 24 hours for cure.
MUST IT BE WATERPROOF AFTER THE CURE?
Most glues cannot hold up to a lot of rain, but some are made for outdoor use and others even for underwater applications.
Answer all of those questions and your choice for the proper adhesive will be quickly narrowed down. Yes there are some almost universal glues, but these never do the_job quite as well as a specialty glue made for what you want to do.
Some Important Glues:
Quick Grab glue for moldings -- with "Quick Grab" or "Instant Grab" written on the container, these adhesives are specially formulated for putting on moldings with few or no nails. They are very thick and create great suction when pushed into place. Unlike
They even have a clean "Quick Grab" double sided tape available.
Dave Bennett
Owner
phone 613.429.5000
mobile 613.282.2124
email dbennett@360renos.ca
www.360renos.ca
"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso
phone 613.429.5000
mobile 613.282.2124
email dbennett@360renos.ca
www.360renos.ca
"Everything you can imagine is real" - Pablo Picasso
No comments:
Post a Comment