Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with glue

rubber to steel - high temp adhesive

well_balanced — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:06:16 -0800

I need a recommendation for a particular adhesive. The application is to secure a synthetic rubber(not sure of exact composition) seal or gasket to smooth stainless steel that will remain at temperatures of at least 100C (212F) for 5+ hours at a time. I am trying to re-affix the double wiper seal in the lid of my water distiller's boiling kettle. I have a small Kenmore branded water distiller and after several years use, whatever adhesive was used to secure the gasket in the lid has failed and the gasket just falls out. The gasket itself seems to be in fine shape so I'd like to try just re-affix the gasket. This image shows the seal as it will be mounted to the steel lid.

At minimum the steel is reaching 100C to boil water but the temps may in fact be higher so I would like something that could take high temps for the 5 hour distilling cycle. In addition, I would imagine the adhesive would need to be somewhat elastic to withstand small horizontal and vertical forces as the kettle lid is twisted then lifted to remove and replace for filling. Given that this is for use in water purification it seems wise to avoid anything too toxic.

The present that sticks together.

Anonymous — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:00:25 -0800

Anonymous-cos-they-might-read-it-filter: I want to make some cufflinks for my dad. What sort of glue do I want to bind things onto findings? What do I want for plastic and for metal (say, typewriter keys)? I can't weld or solder, so was wondering how other people made them.

Glue for sheep's wool?

davidriley — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:54:22 -0800

I am trying to glue raw sheep's wool to a felt surface. I'm not sure what type of glue to use. I did spot tests with Elmer's Glue-All and wood glue to no avail. Is there a type of fabric glue that will work for this? The issue seems to be that nothing bonds to the sheep's wool, or that the wool sort of just separates and falls off the bonded area. Thanks! I am making a big puppet. I want to add a removable beard that won't fall off. It needs to be removable because the wool stinks!

Need glue for joystick repair.

archagon — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:28:45 -0800

I need to glue together a plastic joystick that snapped at the base. Joystick will be moved and twisted, and supports force feedback. Most "crazy" glues don't hold up to such activity, in my experience. Brand suggestions?

Something sticky..

Glendale — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 09:34:09 -0800

What specific product should I use to mount a 40 pound slab of slate to the wall? I want to hang it like a picture, so shelves are out... I was picturing a vertical slide glued, epoxied or cemented to the back of it (sort of a long dovetail, with the flare facing the wall) and then a block of wood with that same dovetail routed out of it, that I would screw into the wall.

So, the slate with the dovetail would then slide down into the block that is secured to the wall. The part I'm not sure about is the glueing of the dovetail to the slate. The slate is not perfectly smooth on the back, though I would not consider it rough. It's slightly ripply.. Enough to make me concerned.

Which adhesive product would work best for this? I mean, if this thing falls off the wall, I'm gonna be in a heap of trouble :P Any glue experts out there?

Wither art thou, Slimer?

obiwanwasabi — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:25:47 -0800

Science, why hast thou forsaken me? Help me work out why my PVA slime isn't slimy. School holiday time. Thinking of neat science-y things to do with my seven-year old niece. Slime seemed to be the obvious choice. The recipes online all seem much the same - a 50/50 solution of white PVA glue and some borax solution, combine the two solutions, voila, slime.

The first batch was made according to these instructions. I combined both mixtures and waited. There was a turbulent cloudy effect, after which every drop of food colouring I added to the glue solution was ejected. I was left with a strange white putty they yields to gentle pressure but instantly shears or snaps if you try to stretch it.

Some more googling suggested that adding too much borax solution would cause 'cross linking' in the polymer and create hard putty. Using these instructions, I added the borax solution a teaspoon at a time to a half-cup of glue solution. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Then suddenly, the same fleeing of the food dye and the same goddamned putty in the bottom of the bowl.

Is it the glue? It's just white PVA wood glue. Help me, science geeks!

Melty glue, make my plastic good as new.

GleepGlop — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 10:23:12 -0800

When hard plastic breaks is there any adhesive that will 'weld' it back together so it won't just snap again at the glue point under pressure? You know how when hard plastic breaks it usually does so in a random topographical pattern such that you can fit the pieces back together perfectly, if only there was a glue that would hold them indefinitely?
I know there are all types of glue out there for all types of solutions. I am wondering if for broken hard plastic there is any glue that will make it at least as good as new if not better.

How can I NOT set this craft on fire?

cranberrymonger — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 11:51:03 -0800

I'm trying to figure out how to colour some clear glass tea light holders to maximize sexiness and avoid flames. I'm trying to figure out how best to dimly light my bedroom. I have a set of clear glass tea light holders that look like this but are contained in a thin metal frame like these ones. Note that the tea lights are shorter than the holders so the light shines through the sides of the glass, not out of the top like in the second example.

They produce a good level of light but it's so yellow/white that it's not flattering. I think a pink, purple or red hue would work better, but I want to know how I should colour these holders.

Would tissue or thin decorative paper and decoupage work? Would paint? Are either of these likely to catch fire if I applied them to the inside of the holders? Any other suggestions?

Before I duct tape it back together...

slightlybewildered — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:25:38 -0800

How can I stick a control panel back on a slow cooker that gets hot? The plastic mount for my Russell Hobbs slow cooker is hanging off the front of it. It's a simple cooker; the controls are just a knob to choose Auto, High, or Low, and there's a lightbulb to say it's on. And that is still all working. I'd like to stick it back where it belongs so it's not dangling sadly an inch off the front. What sort of glue could I use, on something that gets very hot, to connect a plastic control panel and the metal case of the cooker?

GlueFilter

yoyo_nyc — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:27:53 -0800

Looking for removeable glue I often see paper sheets of postcars in magazines glued with a removeable glue (picture).

* What is the name of this stuff and
* Where can I buy it?

How do I remove this strange glue from my previously carpeted hardwood?

bradn — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:37:36 -0800

How do I remove this strange glue from my previously carpeted hardwood? Here's a photo.

Just bought a house, tore out nasty carpet. Other rooms are fine, but in the living room, the outside perimeter of the carpet pad was glued to the floor with dots of this fibrous, brownish glue. "Oops" only makes it harder and doesn't seem to dissolve it at all. Same with laquer thinner. Tried a glue remover specifically meant for carpet glue on hardwood and that didn't work either. Fine sandpaper and steel wool don't take it off, we need something that will dissolve it.

We plan to refinish eventually, but the floor looks terrible with these glue dots all over and I'm not sure we can live with it like this for long. Anyone seen this type of glue before?

Can you paint over wallpaper glue/backing? And can you "seal" the paint?

adipocere — Thu, 22 May 2008 20:09:10 -0800

Can you paint over wallpaper glue/backing? And can you "seal" the paint? In the ongoing game of "I'll help you fix up your bathroom if you'll help me fix up mine" between a friend and I, wall surfaces have finally come to the fore.

I'm taking down ugly beige wallpaper older than I am, in a badly-added bathroom, and it's clear that the wallpaper was applied with some level of enthusiasm. The paper comes off, nice and easy (I could probably pull off all of the paper in about five minutes), but only about two-thirds of it (the top layer) - leaving a lightly furry thin layer of paper (backing?) plus what appears to be a walloping amount of glue. A steamer (granted, it was a crappy Steam Buddy) did not speed things along. Warm, soapy water did not go any faster. Nor did using hot water with fabric softener. It's about a minute to do a square inch. The prospect of trying to scrape all of this off (time-consuming, I'm guessing a couple of days) without taking off the surface of the drywall (which is not even greenboard!) has made me wonder if I can't simply paint over the fur/glue. I'd have to mud in a couple of areas (the seams), but otherwise, are there compelling reasons not to do mud, then a coat or two of primer, then paint? Some sites say it isn't an issue, others act as if death itself is on the line. Is it just one of those "this is going to take ridiculous amounts of time, and is one of the reason why, when you search on AskMe for previous related questions, you get about five times as many hits relating to desktop wallpaper images for computers?" kinds of jobs?

In this thread, it seems as if all of the glue and backing were already gone, and in this thread, it seems as if they're planning to take off the whole wall - which is way beyond my skill level.

My friend's bathroom has a different issue - he has painted his and he has a four year old boy. One of the reasons the military does not employ four year old boys as snipers is, aside from the naptimes, that they have really lousy aim. Consequently, the wall nearest the toilet has taken a somewhat *wince* yellowish haze. He does not actually hit it directly, from what I can tell, he just creates a fine urine mist. Can you somehow seal paint with a thin coat of something transparent, so it can be wiped down easily? I know the problem will get better at some point as the child grows up, but the question remains - can you "seal" paint in bathrooms for these purposes, and are there good points as to why you should not do so?

Recommend Industrial Hot Glue Guns

Murray M — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:04:18 -0800

Hot glue: I need a REALLY INDUSTRIAL hot glue gun. Something that puts the glue out like nobodies business. Something that won't make my fingers tired either if I'm doing it all day, if possible. I can spend up to $150. What works?

What's the surest way to repair the broken handle of my favorite mug?

Riverine — Mon, 12 May 2008 08:43:12 -0800

What's the surest way to repair the broken handle of my favorite mug? While dishwashing, the handle of my favorite cup broke into three pieces. MeFi, what suggests do you have for glues, gluing techniques, or other things I should keep in mind? Or do you feel that repaired handles will never be trustworthy again?

Is a glue stick technically food?

ben242 — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:34:12 -0800

How many calories are there in a glue stick? This question came up in a discussion with a chef about at what point edible things cease to be food. The chef felt that the substance must contain some kind of nutritional content. Is a glue stick food if it has calories? What about elmer's glue?

Superglue for food processor workbowl repair?

sirion — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 05:17:20 -0800

What glue can I repair my food processor work bowl with? Can I use super glue? I dropped my food processor work bowl and put a big crack through half of it. How do I repair it? Superglue would be the easiest, but I'd rather not have toxic chemicals leeching into my sauces. I'd need to use a thin liquid glue of some sort to get inside the crack.

Replacing the work bowl isn't a decent option, unfortunately. I'm in Austria, and bought a multifunction cheapie blender/food processor/mixer, and I might as well buy a whole new one if I need to replace it.

If you give glue brands, please give as much info on the chemicals as possible, as they won't have the same brands out here (also the labels will be in German, and my chemistry vocabulary isn't exactly great in German! :)

Safe way to remove dried super glue from lid of aluminum Macbook?

CharlieChu — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 03:03:56 -0800

Help! I had some super glue drip onto the lid of my Macbook Pro. Is acetone based nail remover a wildly dangerous thing to try to use on the aluminum surface of my precious laptop?

I like breathing formaldehyde as much as the next person, but...

misanthropicsarah — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 06:41:16 -0800

How do I get rid of that horrible new carpet smell? My office had new carpet put down in the hallways last Thursday through Tuesday. It's industrial carpet glued to concrete floor. The glue smell gives me horrible headaches. Plus, I'm sure it's toxic.

My coworkers (there's only 2 of them) don't grok that this smell is causing a serious problem for me; somehow they can't smell it or it doesn't bother them. I had the hall windows open yesterday, but it's all of 20° today and they'll whine about it being cold if I open the windows again.

So, how can I get this horrible smell to go away? I'd prefer to eliminate or neutralize it instead of covering it up with something (Febreze also not an option because that gives me headaches too).

Photo collages: the sticky and the permanent

lisa g — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:32:09 -0800

I'm starting a series of collages where I'm attaching bits of photos to other photos, and I'm curious about the best adhesives and sealants for archival purposes. The photos in question are C-prints, not inkjets. Some will be digital C-prints from a lab, and some might be from a darkroom -- but they'll all be on Fuji Crystal Archive paper.

My goal is to have the adhesive be as permanent as possible and for the sealant to dry clear and stay clear over the years (and not alter the colors of the photos).

I'm new to collage, so I'm learning as I go along. I've done some Googling and looked at various web forums (like this and this), but none seem to deal specifically with photos on photos. I guess I've got it easier than some collagists (sp?), as I'm dealing with relatively thick photos and not thin old newsprint, but of course photos have issues of their own.

I've done a few test runs with Crafter's Pick brand "Decoupage and Collage Gel," which says it's archival; it dries clear and seems fine. But I know there's a ton of stuff out there.

Bonus: If I mount these collages on wood or aluminum or cintra, what's the best permanent adhesive for that? I've previously had some C-prints professionally mounted on cintra, and a few are beginning to unstick at the corners after only a few years. Though maybe it was just a bad mounting job. I'm not sure what adhesive they used.

thanks for any help!

Adhering tissue paper in the very best way possible?

actionpact — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 16:01:00 -0800

I want to glue and layer tissue paper to bristol board. Help me pick out the right kind of adhesive! I got really inspired by Eric Carle this morning and now I really want to play around with gluing and overlaying painted tissue paper. But I haven't done this before and am a)impatient and b) on a bit of a budget and c) wanting to be as kind to the environment as I can in the process.

Reading about Eric Carle's process, he says he brushes on wallpaper paste. But I read that such paste is harmful for the environment. I'd like to get a glue that will glue flimsy papers down flat without being really harsh chemically if I can. I've used Yes! glue in school but no place around here carries it, and I don't think Elmer's or Mod Podge are going to do that well with it, though I could be wrong.

What are your ideas? Bonus points if they're things I can find easily at a chain store or art supply store (Home Depot/Lowe's are also good options) or are mixtures I could make myself using household ingredients. (wheatpaste? I'm clueless, so advice is appreciated.) I'd rather not blow a lot of money experimenting with glues I'll probably not use otherwise. Hoping I won't have to go ordering through the internet on this one!

Will gluing together a laptop's LCD screen panels work?

cog_nate — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 13:49:31 -0800

Will using superglue or gorilla glue to glue together the LCD screen case on a laptop computer work? I bought an old beater laptop for my wife to use for at least one month. The laptop works fine, LCD looks great, but the outer panel edges around the screen's case are a bit loose (and are currently being held together by not-very-confidence-inspiring tape). Can I use a few drops of super glue or gorilla glue to fasten the edges together? Or will it off-gas and/or turn solvent and somehow damage the plastics and/or electronics? (This is a Sony Vaio GRZ610, if that makes any difference.)

Thanks in advance.

make her bigger basket better

amtho — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:01:36 -0800

woodworkers and/or adhesive experts: Is there some way to "seal" a thin piece of cedar wood so that it won't split? I'm making my own bicycle baskets (after giving up on finding my ideal for sale). I've already finished one, and it's awesome. Basically, it's made of a top and bottom cedar frame connected by three dowels and a bunch of cane (cane as is found in chair seats).

The top and bottom frames are made by cutting roughly-rectangular shapes from a 3/4" cedar board, then cutting out the center of the shapes, so that what's left is about 3/4" wide edge. I drill holes in this to take the dowels and the cane.

It works pretty well, though, as I expected I did get some splitting. With the holes I'm making, the wood is pretty thin, and cedar seems pretty grainy in general. I was able to glue the splits I got successfully with wood glue, but it made me wonder if I could just apply a substance to the entire frame (soaking it?) to make the whole thing less likely to split.

I did stain the frames, and seal them, but this seems more designed to prevent moisture penetrating than to augment the existing bonds between the wood fibers -- I think this latter is what I really want.

I should add that I also thought of wrapping the whole thing with cane or something similar, but as this is for a bike, I want to keep things light, if possible. And the cane I have doesn't seem that well-suited to that use.

Soaking the whole thing in wood glue occurred to me, but I'm not sure it would work, I worry about warpage, and I'm pretty sure I'd like something waterproof. Bonus if it won't interfere with staining.

I chose cedar on the advice of a wood sculptor friend; it is nice and light -- I wouldn't want anything heavier -- and the first basket is reasonably successful. I'd just like to avoid future splitting, and it would be great if I could make the frame even lighter. I'm not using the traditional thin-slice-of-wood-looped-around approach because I wanted some small degree of structural support in case of the bike falling over (with, for instance, a laptop inside). It won't protect from a major collision, but I think it's the right degree of rigidity.

I tried a Google search for [seal wood split] without success.

[Also, if there's some great way to glue the cane ends to their terminal holes, I'd love to know about that too.]

mounting paper to wood

logic vs love — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:50:47 -0800

What is the best way to mount paper to wood? The paper would be either photo paper or canvas paper. It needs to be permanent and professional-looking, and hopefully not crazy-expensive.

Need REALLY STRONG glue to fix a chair

beammeup4 — Thu, 24 May 2007 10:40:59 -0800

Need something stronger than epoxy to fix a plastic office chair arm I've got an office chair consisting of rigid plastic armrests that are sort of rounded rectangle shape (the bottom and one side are bolted to the seat and back of the chair itself.

The armrest broke, so I put epoxy on it and wrapped a bungee cord around it so it would hold its shape. Unfortunately, the epoxy wasn't strong enough to withstand the pressure of its own shape and of me leaning back in the chair and promptly broke.

What do you recommend I use to fix this armrest that will be able to withstand the force of me leaning back on it. I'm surprised because the epoxy says it can withstand 1000+ lbs. of force

What are good adhesive to bond rubber/latex and cloth to aluminum?

h2 — Thu, 03 May 2007 12:46:44 -0800

What are good adhesives to bond rubber/latex and cloth to aluminum? I'm looking for good clean strong adhesives to bond latex or rubber and cloth to bare aluminum. The rubber/latex and cloth will not need to be bonded to eachother, only to the aluminum. The adhesive will have to endure traffic pulling on the latex/rubber with several pounds of force (~10lbs) over several years. Also, how do I go about finding (and contracting?) a factory or place of assembly to assemble the said materials?