Household glue

[hubops]

[Wayne Boatwright]

On Tue 25 Sep 2018 02:22:55a, told us...

LOL

[Dean Hoffman]

No damage or removable wall hangers. Duct tape or its clear equivalent.

[Frank]

Cleanliness is important with the syringes as cross contamination can initiate hardening. Separate tubes will last forever.

Looking through thread and thinking what I have are epoxy, PVA, hot melt and PVA pipe glue. Latter 2 had not been mentioned. Wife has some super glue but I generally find joint does not last and don't use it.

[rbowman]

Just don't get too carried away with the heat. I've patched leaky exhaust systems with polystyrene resin and glass tape with good results. At the time of one project we were potting electronic components and had filled epoxy by the gallon tub so I used it. The job was going great until I started the car and the epoxy melted.

We were using low heat for the cure as well as spicing up the mix with Polycat. In that application you need to be careful or shrinkage while curing will fracture components.

I can tell you tertiary amines aren't hand cream. I'd rather deal with MEK.

[rbowman]

People use it on inappropriate materials and poorly prepared joints and then say it's worthless. A lot of things in life are like that.

[Logan MacEwens]

You named useful glues so let's gather some information about them.

• contact cement = we may have covered this as latex rubber cement

• super glue = we covered this as ethyl cyano acrylate

• hot melt glue

• carpenter's glue = we covered this as poly vinyl alcohol

• gorilla glue (foamy)

• sho goo = we covered this as styrene-butadiene rubber

• jb weld = we covered this as poly epoxide 2-part epoxies

The two new glues were:

• gorilla glue (foamy)

• hot melt glue

Gorilla is a meaningless brand name, so we have only the "foamy" to go on.

The "wood" glue is apparently polyvinyl acetate polymer which we covered.

The "foamy" stuff might be polyurethane, which I think is new to the list.

The "hot melt" stuff is apparently a "thermoplastic" adhesive.

Unfortunately there are a acore of different types where each may be very different in its properties (which is all that really matters).

• Ethylene-vinyl acetate

• Ethylene-acrylate

• Polyolefins

• Polybutene

• Amorphous polyolefin

• Polyamides

• Polyesters

• Polyurethanes

• Styrene-butadiene-styrene

• Styrene-isoprene-styrene

• Styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene

• Styrene-ethylene/propylene (SEP)

• Polycaprolactone

• Polycarbonates

• Fluoropolymers

• Silicone rubbers

• Polypyrrole

Given this new helpful information, I'll add these two to the list of common household glues.

• polyurethane glue (foamy?)

• generic hot-melt glue (sticks)

Thanks! That's exactly the kind of good information I was seeking.

I don't use either of those two types. What types of things do those two glues repair best?

[Logan MacEwens]

Thanks for reminding me of a common missing "glue" like substance!

Industrially, I've done solvent bonding of plexiglass, where you simply wipe on the solvent and then stick the plexiglass parts together.

In the home, there's not a lot of plexiglass I don't think - but there is plenty of PVC pipe. So I'll add that to the home "glue" kit, thanks to your suggestion.

There seem to be three kinds of PVC pipe, each with a different "glue".

• PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride)

• CPVC (Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride)

• ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene)

Apparently it gets more complicated, in a way, with label colors

• blue label = quick sets.

• orange label = cold weather sets

• aqua blue label = wet sets

• green label = ?

• purple label = dissolver

• brown label = ?

• yellow label = ?

It seems these are the main types sold, where I'll use brand names since you kind of have to buy this stuff in matched sets it seems.

• Weld-On brand PVC cement

• Oatey brand PVC cement

• Gorilla brand PVC cement

Some links for the three above are

From the little experience I have with PVC cement, we will need to add two cans, one which is the "primer" and the other which is the "solvent".

Thanks for adding this important item to the common household glue list!

[Frank]

I find it annoying when someone like the Gorilla glue people use their brand on a different polymer. I just found a similar thing with the pesticide Sevin which was carbaryl but not on all their products today. The quart container I used to buy kills hundred of different insects but is not recommended for the one bothering me.

As others point out some glues are good for most things but none are good for everything and often specialized glues are needed.

[Tekkie®]

Logan MacEwens posted for all of us...

Hey Arlen, is this you?

[Vic Smith]

Exactly. I don't use much glue, but when I do, it works.

[catalpa]

You have to be joking. All this glue will be sniffed before it dries out.

[rbowman]

"Because rubber cements are designed to peel easily or rub off without damaging the paper or leaving any trace of adhesive behind, they are ideal for use in paste-up work where excess cement might need to be removed."

I will be very disappointed if the Weldwood contact cement I'm using to repair the scree cuffs on my boots peels easily. The chemistry is similar but the usage is quite different.

I have two species of Gorillas on the shelf: PVA wood glue, and the foaming (polyurethane) white glue. The wood glue specifically says on the label that it doesn't foam.

PU glues need to be used correctly. Yes, they foam and no, they aren't made to fill that 1/8" gap. Used sparingly and tightly clamped the foaming will help to ensure you don't have a glue starved joint. They are arguably a little better on end grain joints than PVA. For a properly glued long grain joint either PVA or PU will usually tear the wood apart so the 'strength' of the glue itself is moot.

[rbowman]

I'm a little strange. I actually have a sheet of plexiglass leaning against the refrigerator for various projects. Acetone is my solvent of choice.

Another off label use for acetone that I've found is refreshing my motorcycle saddlebags. They are ABS with a leather like pattern molded in. Strange to say the company is called LeatherLyke:

Anyway the get a bit gray over time. Reflowing the surface with acetone eliminates the gray nicely without destroying the molded in pattern.

[rbowman]

There is another acrylate that I have in various flavors -- methacrylate. I know you don't like brand names but it is commonly referred to as Loctite. Of course Loctite has a wide range of products other than threadlockers just to confuse the issue.

Probably not something kids renting an apartment would need unless they get sick of the setscrew on a old doorknob backing out.

[Logan MacEwens]

Thanks for this improved list, with brand name examples!

10 most common household "adhesives"

• poly vinyl alcohol ("Elmers", white, yellow, for rigid wood, cardboard)

• styrene butadiene rubber ("Shoe Goo", flexible leather cloth repair)

• poly epoxide ("JB-Weld, 2-part, for porcelain)

• ethyl cyano acrylate ("Krazy", fast repairs, tight fit)

• latex rubber cement ("brand?", paper that can't get wet, easily removed)

• thermoplastic ("brand?", hot-melt glue)

• polyurethane ("Gorilla", foamy, water cured)

• pvc cement ("Oatey", 2 part, primer + solvent)

How does the list look? (Did I include everyone's suggestions?)

[Frank]

Cyanoacrylates differ from methacrylates as the methyl group is replaced by a cyano group.

There are methacrylate adhesives but require a second part with catalyst. Cyanoacrylate cure is initiated by moisture.

[dpb]

On 9/25/2018 9:53 PM, [e-mail] wrote: ...

I've seen the same test several places with the Gorilla polyurethane always the weakest with highest percentage of joint failure; order of the others generally had one of the newer yellow or the Weldwood T II or T III ahead of the white but not sufficiently as to make much real, practical difference.

What is significant in choice is whether the application needs more water resistance or not.

I will not use the polyurethane (one-part) at all, ever, for woodworking purposes; it's just too much mess to deal with.

[Frank]

I just thought of the old Duco cement which is nitro cellulose.

[Logan MacEwens]

Thanks for that idea.

Is this the stuff?

Certainly it's nitro cellulose, which is different than what we've covered

Any idea what this "nitro cellulose" adhesive is particularly good for? The advertising seems similar to most glues. Bonds: Wood, China, Leather, Glass, Paper, Ceramic, Metal

Although I didn't check it against tensile strength claims of the others

• 200 psi (glass to glass)

• 700 psi (metal to metal)

• 1200 psi (wood to wood)