Modern Adhesives

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rokosz

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Gorilla Glue, Monster Tape, PL Premium. They've been around awhile. Personally, never used GG. I generally like MT and PLP. I have a task now (glueing deckpost caps (back on) to posts. The original adhesive was PLP 12 years ago. It was good/great in the beginning, but I thought the bond would be longer term.

Given chemistry and tech changes, whats the strongest/durablest adhesive out there these days? I've been tempted to try "FlexSeal"(??) the TV advertised "float a boat with a hole in it" product. But I shy away from tonics on TV.

Anyway, any opinions of the latest,greatest (caulk/tape) adhesives? Thanks folks!
 
I am not impressed with Flexseal tape. Put some on a lawnmower seat and it leaks.
 
I like PL polyurethane for almost everything exterior.

Sometimes it helps to lightly mist one surface before gluing, if the surface is pretty smooth or not absorbent.
 
For wood, I'm with Jeff --- PL Premium.

On your deck posts, did the adhesive fail, or did the wood that it was bonded to deteriorate ? I am figuring on the latter.
 
I'm replacing "stained glass" (plastic) pyramids (you may have seen them in past years at either big blue or orange) which have a flat square plastic base and previously had 4 ( what I'm presuming are PT) wood pieces stapled to the plastic. the 4 pieces had tiny tacks. <12 year lifespan on those. The deckpost tops are fine (cedar) no punk at all -- the plp is still stuck pretty securely to that. So much so i can cut/flick the dried excess that oozed out on installation. The PLP released from the plastic bases.

I'm not attempting to tack the 4 wood pieces back in place but do want to reuse the pyramids. Enter the modern glue so I can glue the pyramids to the top of garden raised bed retaining posts. The deck posts (will)have translucent glass but thats another fastening issue and LED project.

Any others out there? I'll take a look at PLPU. thanks.
 
Gorilla Glue is very strong stuff, indoors or out.

BUT!

It tends to foam and slowly ooze out as some polyurethanes do.

So plan on attending to the project for at least 15 to 20 mins after gluing, to carefully wipe up or scrape away stray squeeze-out of foam, it is much harder to deal with after it sets.

Some projects need clamping also, or else the GG can push pieces out of position.
 
Plastic can be difficult to adhere to. When gluing plastics, I often try to make a mechanical connection. For example drill a few holes in the plastic for the PL Premium to fill into and create a mechanical connection.
 
ahhh, thank you Jeff and Steve! excess control and some drill holes (esp. since I'm not so concerned about the pyramids given their second hand nature.
 
I'm with Jeff Handy on the PL Polyurethane. Great stuff. I believe it's also paintable. I agree on the Gorilla Glue also. It does foam... a lot of you use too much. However, you can cut away the extra once it is dried. Because it foams it can also be gap filming if you want to close some unslightly gaps. I once made some doors for a cabinet and my joints were a little loose. So instead of using traditional wood glue I use some gorilla glue and it tightened up those gaps real nice.
 
I am suddenly a big fan of Total Boat Thixo Flex epoxy. It comes in a standard caulk gun tube with replaceable tips. If it has been a couple of weeks since you last used the tube, just replace the tip and go back to work. As a test, I cut a 3 ft piece of 3" x 3/4" redwood in half, applied Thixo to one cut end and butted it to the other. 24 hrs later I fixed the piece to my workbench with the joint just off the edge. It took considerable pressure, enough for noticeable bend in the wood, before the joint broke. Downside: it is not cheap at $29 for the tube. I don't know about long term performance yet but since it is made for use on joints on wood boats where flexing is expected I have high hopes. Total Boat recommends using a high thrust ratio caulking gun - and I agree. I will make a separate post about that.
 
I'm with Jeff Handy on the PL Polyurethane. Great stuff. I believe it's also paintable. I agree on the Gorilla Glue also. It does foam... a lot of you use too much. However, you can cut away the extra once it is dried. Because it foams it can also be gap filming if you want to close some unslightly gaps. I once made some doors for a cabinet and my joints were a little loose. So instead of using traditional wood glue I use some gorilla glue and it tightened up those gaps real nice.
*Gap filling :)
 
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