Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Using the Right Glue

Most of us have about 2-3 forms of glue/adhesive in the house. School glue, hot glue, glue sticks, mod podge, gum on the bottom of your shoe, etc. I don't know about the rest of you, but it seems like whenever I get started on a project I learn that I don't quite have the right kind of glue. Consequently, over the last 2 years I've ended up with an adhesives drawer in my craft room. It has fabric glue, rubber cement, hot glue, school glue, glue sticks, tacky glue, spray on adhesive, mod podge (in glossy and matte), ticky-tac, double sided tape, cheap tape, duct tape, packing tape, masking tape, and washi tape. Yet with all of those, inevitably I get going with a craft project and either don't have the right kind of glue or I don't know which glue to use and end up using the wrong glue.

The glue can make or break a project. Megan learned this with her recent DIY project. She was hoping to end up with cute button thumbtacks like these:

http://www.inspiredbycharm.com/2014/02/diy-button-thumb-tacks.html
Gathering her supplies though, Megan found she didn't have the E6000 glue the project instructions called for. However, she did have hot glue and figured that would work. All seemed to go well until she went to pull one of the button thumbtacks off the corkboard.






I probably would have made this exact mistake. In my head hot glue works for everything when in reality, it does not. So how do you know what glue to use? I found an awesome site that will help us out with this one.

http://www.dreamalittlebigger.com/post/glue-guide-use-the-right-glue-for-the-job.html
This post is seriously fantastic. She goes over 23 glues and how/when to use them. She also created this handy chart:

http://www.dreamalittlebigger.com/post/glue-guide-use-the-right-glue-for-the-job.html
Need to know which glue is best? Check the chart. Still not sure, go read about a specific glue in her seriously awesome post! I know this is a post I will be referring to in my crafting adventures many times.








P.S. Em and I are working on a few new ideas and announcements! Those will be coming to you soon we hope. Stay tuned!

8 comments:

  1. I would be very grateful if someone listed the main ingredients in tacky glue. We don't use these names here and nobody was able to explain to me clearly what it is and I couldn't find the information anywhere. E-6000 is another mystery to me. It seems like the perfect strong and clear drying glue for jewellery but I can't even begin to look for a substitute. Also, I thought white glue and wood glue are the same thing. Dad always glues his woodwork with white (PVA) glue.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Aleene's Tacky Glue is a white, or synthetic glue. Also known as PVA glue, it contains polyvinyl acetate. This is the primary component in Aleene's and a number of other white glues. PVA is a synthetic polymer made from petroleum by-products. Aleene's is also water-based for easy clean up." -http://collectibles.answers.com/repairs/what-is-aleenes-tacky-glue

      I had a hard time finding much information on the E-6000, but you can get the safety sheets and some more detailed information here: http://www.eclecticproducts.com/ae6.htm.

      There's a good comparison of White Glue (or PVA glue) and wood (or carpenter's) glue at this site: http://www.bobvila.com/articles/979-quick-tip-working-with-wood-glues/#.VBoFh_ldWa8

      Delete
    2. Thank you! Apparently, white glue and tacky glue are the same thing =) I normally use white glue, superglue and "universal" glue (rubbery, clear, stinks up the whole place) in my crafts, but sadly none of these work for glass or rhinestones. I'm still looking to complete my glue collection.

      Delete
  2. My husband got to laughing when I listed all the adhesives I have. Except for rubber cement. I should look into getting some; a few of my crafting friends swear by it. I would like to know, once and for all, what adhesive is waterproof. Like for making snowglobes. What's best to stick the scene items to the bottom of the lid that will constantly be wet with water/glycerin. I've had some luck w/ gorilla glue but it foams up and the glitter snow sticks to it. I used E6000 on flat backed glass marbles to stick to DVDs that have been outside all summer and that held up well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm on the fence with rubber cement. Sometimes it works great and sometimes it doesn't. One thing it always does though is makes a mess and fumes up the room. But it's fun to coat on paper.

      Martha Stewart suggests using clear epoxy for making snowglobes: http://www.marthastewart.com/273254/snow-globes#. That would definitely be waterproof.

      Delete
  3. I always use www.thistothat.com. It will tell you what glue to use and has some nice tips to make the gluing go easier!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ironically, this wouldn't have helped your button tacks, since there is not column for plastic and hot glue is listed under "permanent"... using this chart it's possible that you would have still used hot glue. :P

    ReplyDelete
  5. One thing the artile didn't quite get right is that not all E-6000 dries clear. There are three different formulas- clear, white, and black. So if you want it to dry clear, you *must* buy the clear formula.

    E-6000 is my go-to adhesive. If you can handle the smell (which doesn't bother me at all) it's the most versatile bang-for-your-buck

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.