Putting It All Together:
Tried and True Adhesives -A Master’s List
An indispensable guide to adhesives and how useful they are on your project!Use the letter of your material’s particular type and find a corresponding adhesive below which fits your level of skill.
SKILL LEVELS
1)– Very easy to use, one might say foolproof.
2) – Moderately easy, usually needs special attention like clamping time, etc.
3) – Special attention usually necessary, care must be taken. Might be messy.
4) - Tricky as all get-out. Usually needs fast action, high skill and/or a gas mask.
MATERIAL TYPES
a) Paper, wood, cardboard, cloth (a plethora of plant-pulp products)
b) Rigid Foam (polystyrene, urea, Great Stuff) and rigid plastic (Mylar, polystyrene, etc.)
c) “Slick” or semi-rigid plastic (vinyl, polyethylene, PETE, Nylon, etc.)
d) Flexible Foam (Urethane, Polyurethane)
e) Glass and Brittle Plastics
f) Metal (heavy pieces) – Don’t kid yourself, get it welded.
g) Metal (Foils, aluminum, wires, etc.)
OVERALL USEFULNESS
Use this rating as a general guide when planning your toolkit or any work on-site.
Trim - useful for light materials joining and finishing.
Structure - useful for building larger, bulky or complex outfits.
Emergency - useful in your toolbox for unexpected mishaps. A good indicator of relative tack-time.
ADHESIVES MASTER LIST:
Caseinate or Horsey Glues – commonly known as Elmer’s™ or White Glue. Very useful for light fastening, usually non-toxic, water-soluble, clamping over 20 minutes required. Some grades recommend ventilation. Very high structural strength in rigid assemblies. Skill required: 3 Materials: a, b Overall usefulness: Trim (dress garb) – 4, Structure – 2, Emergencies – 0
Rubber Cement – The type you see at craft stores with a brush in the bottle.Useful only for non- and semi-permanent light paper and cardboard. Highly volatile and flammable, ventilation required. No structural strength whatsoever. Skill required: 2 Materials: a, g Overall usefulness:T-2, S-0 E-3
Duct Tape – Best brands have fabric embedded within the adhesive. Beware all-plastic phonies. Very useful for flexible areas. This kind of tape always leaves sticky residue and does not age well. High strength in flexible areas. Skill required: 1 Materials: ALL. Overall usefulness: T-0, S-2, E-4 ½
Construction adhesive (mastic) – commonly known as DAP™ or Liquid Nails®. Very strong, semi-flexible glue fills large gaps and does not smell awful. Usually applied with a caulking gun. Clamping over 15 minutes required. Skill required: 2 Materials: ALL Overall usefulness: T-1, S-4, E-1
Goop – rubber bonding glues commonly known as Shoe-goo, liquid rubber. This adhesive is messy, smelly, and only works well on some rubbers and water-resistant clothing materials like canvas and nylon. Ventilation is mandatory. And clamping time is usually pretty bad, like overnight. Skill required: 3 – NOTE – SMELLS AWFUL, FLAMMABLE Materials:a, b, c, d Overall usefulness: T-2 S-2, E-0
Hot-melt or Box glue – high or low temp, plastic sticks melted in a heater gun and dripped onto materials to be bonded. No ventilation is necessary, works on virtually everything that can hold up to the heat, and fills large gaps. Skill required:2 – NOTE- VERY HOT Materials: a, b(some), e, f, g. Overall usefulness: T-4, S-4, E-4
Cyano-acrylate – commonly known as Super Glue or Krazy Glue ™. Comes in liquid or gel, dries within two minutes. Bonds anything non-porous with little or no gap to fill. Great for jewelry. Skill required: 4 – NOTE – POISON, BONDS SKIN VERY EASILY. Materials: b, c, f, g. Last resort for most. Overall usefulness: T-4, S-3, E-4
Auto Trim Adhesive – brands like 3M, Permatex™, nickname ‘Yellow Death’. This works on everything we have tried it on except for certain slick plastics like PETE, PTFE and Teflon. I was really impressed, and you will be, too. Comes in a tube, apply kinda like contact cement and needs clamping for 1-5 minutes. This is the only glue for flexible foams. Skill required: 2 – NOTE – usually messy and smelly. Materials: ALL Overall usefulness: T-3, S-3, E-3
Spray Insulation foam – commonly known as Great Stuff™. Expanding foam which cures rigid and fills very large gaps. This material, when used properly, makes a very good adhesive for just about everything except wet materials and some slick plastics. Ventilation required until foam loses its tack (about 30 minutes). Cures rigid overnight. Ventilation recommended. Skill required: Lots Materials: a, b, d, e, f, g Overall usefulness: T-0, S-4, E-1
Liquid Latex adhesive – the staple of the Make-up Artist. Best adhesive for applying flexible rubber to skin for make-up effects, but very little else. Allegedly non-toxic, fumes are moderately obnoxious. Skill required: Lots, special Materials: b, d, e, skin
Overall usefulness T-2 ½, S-0, E-3