Foam guns.

[Chris Bacon]

Never had one before. Haveused hand held cans.

This?

[newshound]

I'd be interested in a review too.

[Pancho]

I bought a foam gun. If I partially used a can and left it on the gun, the gun blocked up.

So I took a partially used can off to clean the gun and the can then emptied the rest of its foam adhesive contents in the vicinity of my kitchen sink. On balance I think I prefer hand held cans.

Anyway, If you want to get a gun, I would recommend buy a can of gun cleaner, always wear safety glasses (same for hand held), change canisters outside where it doesn't matter.

[alan_m]

I highly recommend foam guns of this type. They work a lot better the toy gun that comes with a can.

The downside they need cleaning. In my experience you can leave the can of foam on the gun for repeated use over a relatively short period, say, a week but if storing they need to be cleaned. A can of pressurised cleaning fluid (acetone) can be fitted to the gun in the same way as a can of foam. Even between uses I squirt some cleaning fluid on the tip of the gun to remove any foam that may be stuck to it and before it gets hard.

Cleaning Fluid

Note that it only cleans uncured foam - once its gone off the cleaner will not remove it

Screwfix no nonsense gun is cheaper and all metal (apart from adjustment knob)

[alan_m]

There is no two ways about it - you do need a can of cleaner.

You can remove a partially used can of foam and the valve on the can should seal but +1 for changing cans outside. If the valve on the can sticks open there will be foam everywhere - as demonstrated by the DG window fitter when fitting my windows.

[John Rumm]

Not tried that particular one, but in general I am a big fan of foam guns... I would never consider going back to the normal cans.

The important bit is the hermetic seal on the gun (basically a rod that runs up the centre of the delivery tube that retracts when you pull the trigger).

That allows you to leave a partially used can on the gun for a few days[1]. You may need to slice any set foam off the tip of the tube on next use, but IME, they are normally then good to go.

Application is easier (more ergonomic and less fatiguing), and delivery more accurate.

[1] Leave it weeks and it will set in the gun - that then takes more disassembly and cleaning!

[Adam Funk]

Same here, although I have learned your [1] below the hard way and gave up on the first gun.

As someone else said, unscrew the can and clean the gun outdoors --- I'd add to that preferably near or over the black bin.

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

I've never needed to remove cans that aren't completely empty from the gun. As long as the sealing rod is doing its job the thing is still useable many many months later. Removing the can part way through gives more problems than waiting until it's empty in my experience.

Only on my second one now after the first got to the point where it wasn't sealing at the tip any more. A combination of wear from contact with stonework and removing soild foam with a Stanly knife time after time (not having a tin of cleaner to hand at the end of each use).

For me everything is stuck with gun foam, an atomiser water spray and a bit of pressure to prevent excessive expansion these days.

Pete

[alan_m]

I should have added that cleaning uncured foam from the gun takes 30 seconds. Unscrew the foam can - which should seal itself. Squirt some cleaner around the can mating surface and on the outside tip of the rod. Then screw the can of pressurised cleaner into the gun and press the trigger - this will remove all the uncured foam from the internals of the gun. Unscrew the cleaner - the can should seal itself. The screwfix cleaner comes with the small finger trigger so the can be used in the same way as a rattle can paint canister.

It is also advisable to just squirt some cleaner on the foam can valve to remove any uncured foam on the outside although in my experience a partially used can of foam cannot be stored for any long length of time.

All bets are off regards cleaning if the foam has cured in the gun.

Also make sure that the cans of foam are those that fit the gun. Screwfix refer to them as gun grade which has the correct interface for a gun.

[nothanks]

I've got two of these: "EVERBUILD P45 MEDIUM DUTY METAL FOAM GUN EXPANDING PU APPLICATOR CHROME" (about £14), one for adhesive and one for gap-filling. The cans don't come off until they're empty and I've not had any problems with blockage. Previously I had another (cheaper) gun which blocked if the can stayed on so I used to take them off, twice the valves on the can didn't shut-off - the mess and clean-up is something you really don't want to experience.

[RJH]

I've got the Screwfix basic version - wouldn't be without it. I find if you turn off the valve the foam keeps - well, forever. I go several months between changes. Definitely give it a good clean with acetone though come the time.

I did block a gun once when I forgot to turn off the valve and the foam set. I couldn't work out how to clean it so I had to scrap it. Lesson learned :-)

[rick]

Have had 2 foam guns .... they both suffer same issue, on paper you leave go of the trigger, foam stops and you can put gun away until next time.

Ahhh .... that would be a No ....

The foam sets solid in the gun, difficult to say if that takes a few days or weeks - but certainly by next time its no good.

So you can buy a can of foam gun cleaner, the idea being when job is finished, you take the foam can off ..... that in itself is messy ....... and if the valve has stuck (which they do) then it creates a hell of a mess.

The idea being you attach the can squirt through the cleaner and its all pristine for next time - it does some cleaning but not really good enough.

The part of the gun that screw onto the can has a ball bearing activated one way valve - that is the part that messes up easily, once that gets some solid foam on it, it can very very difficult to recover. It also then sticks open (usually) again causing a mess.

The guns are good ...... I had a load of 150mm Celotex foam in walls and on floor .... it was great to poke between the joint every 150mm apply a controlled squirt and stitch all the sheets together. They do provide controlled use & placement of the foam ... but cleaning the gun is the issue.

[rick]

sort of related ...

My neighbour asked me the recommended way to bed down a stone resin cast shower tray. I advised on a semi dry mix of 4:1 sand cement.

He ignored and instead emptied a can of foam on the floor put shower tray on it and levelled it with a spirit level ...... about 15 mins later the tray took on a life of its own ..... rising up, left right, front back ..... he was piling on concrete blocks and rolls of roofing lead to tray and keep it down ..... When it finally set the tray was way to high and levels way out ... and a right messy job to put right ........ be warned.

[Andy Burns]

I've had one that's essentially the same as that, worked ok for a couple of years, then it started getting gunked-up.

Some people say you can leave a can of foam attached between jobs, I tend to think that's what did for mine, I'd say blast it out with gun-cleaner (acetone) every time.

[Andy Burns]

Always wear at least one disposable glove.

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

The screwfix guns are the same ones I use. I always screw the rear flow control screw in after ever application. Could be that the adjuster puts greater pressure on the seal than relying on trigger spring pressure alone.

Oh there was a time between gun 1 and gun 2 that I was caught out and screfix etc didn't have the proper guns so I had to buy an orange plastic one from B&Q.... That one worked for a day and the following day it had leakes around the valve and the can/gun seal. Completely useless.

[www.GymRatZ.co.uk]

Ha...

When my freshly laid floor tiles (ceramic short planks) all detatched from the underfloor heated chipboard floor (bathroom/hall area) I cleaned off the tile adhesive and used low expansion foam to glue them down, 1 tile lifted, cleaned and stuck at a time as and when they started to rattle so there was always a firm reference point all around the edge. Some thick blocks spanning the tiles either side to ensure correct level and plenty of weight. a few 20kg Olympic weights were perfect. It doesnt need to expand to stick and it won't expand if sufficiently restricted.

Not had a single tile come loose in 2 years. Even the grout has remained intact.

Skirting boards are stuck the same way and when I had to remove one recently it was a simple matter of slipping a thin blade behind the skirting and cutting the foam bond.

Far easer than "gripfill" or plugs/screws.

[rick]

I had the same thing when removing a can ..... the valve often sticks so it does not seal

[Chris Bacon]

Well, I've used it for the first time today, running beads of "sticky" foam around polystyrene sheets to secure them in place.

Screwing th tin of foam on is easy enough, the threads engage well bfore the cartridge is activated, starting to screw the cartridge on and then tightening it positively works well. I thon't think there's a need to tighten it very firmly.

The adjustment is pretty fine. Plenty od opportunity to fine-tune the foam output.

It's comfy to hold.

Foam feed switches "off" instantly.

Can't think of much more to say. It's good.

[Andrew]

It's called Foaming PU adhesive, to distinguish it from expanding foam filler which is an entirely different product with a different purpose.