What is Gorilla Glue?

[Chris Veitch]

I've just bought an "original" Gorilla Glue for a non-modelling repair (sticking a sole back on a rubber boot) because it seemed like the best bet in that it claims to be flexible and join dissimilar materials.

But...what is it? It doesn't seem to fit any of the common categories of contact adhesive, two-part resin, cyanoacrylate, water-based, etc. Does anyone with a better knowledge of such stuff know what family of adhesives it belongs to? I comes with some fairly serious health warnings and a pair of gloves so presumably it means business!

 

[AndyB]

I think it falls into a fairly new category of polyurethane adhesives.
Said to have longer open time and better waterproofing capabilities than PVA, but more expensive and nastier to remove from skin.
Doesn't contain volatiles like contact adhesives tend to.
Seems to be a vary varied range of opinions, with some saying PU adhesives have been 'over-sold' for uses where they are really not needed.

Not sure what else you want to know.

Andy

 

[Chris Veitch]

Not sure what else you want to know

Thanks, that’s about it - just curious to know what it is.

 

[sjp23480]

If its the clear stuff, I bought a bottle a few years back for some household repairs and was not impressed at all.

The one I had took ages to dry. I was glueing a handle onto a kitchen door, eventually gave up with it after standing there for about 30 minutes holding it in place with no prospect of the stuff actually forming a bond.

Good luck

 

[Tim Birch]

I think it falls into a fairly new category of polyurethane adhesives.
Said to have longer open time and better waterproofing capabilities than PVA, but more expensive and nastier to remove from skin.
Doesn't contain volatiles like contact adhesives tend to.
Seems to be a vary varied range of opinions, with some saying PU adhesives have been 'over-sold' for uses where they are really not needed.

Not sure what else you want to know.

Andy

Perhaps there is a British or European substitute? At present it seems omnipresent, a bit like Starbucks used to be.

 

[Chris Veitch]

If its the clear stuff, I bought a bottle a few years back for some household repairs and was not impressed at all.

The one I had took ages to dry. I was glueing a handle onto a kitchen door, eventually gave up with it after standing there for about 30 minutes holding it in place with no prospect of the stuff actually forming a bond.

Good luck

No, it’s the brown gloop. I’ll keep you informed!

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

It's also worth looking at the Safety Data Sheet.

 

[Chris Veitch]

It's also worth looking at the Safety Data Sheet.

Yes, it doesn’t look very nice and I’ve no intention of using it repeatedly. I made sure I had hand and eye protection - I didn’t use the respirator but can see why you would if you were using it frequently.

The jury is still out on whether it actually works - I’ll find out tomorrow!

 

[J_F_S]

The jury is still out on whether it actually works - I’ll find out tomorrow!

I have used this stuff (assuming we are talking about polurethane - Gorrilla is a brand not a glue!) very extensively on a big woodworking project involving about £10,000 worth of timber... It works very well IFF (and ONLY iff) you use it in exactly the way, and for exactly the purpose it is intended and follow the directions very precisely.

Points to note:-

- you MUST clamp the joint - do not rely on weights - it will expand to shove the weights off the job.
- any squeeze-out turns very quickly into a rapidly expanding foam. If you leave this about 20 hours, it is easy to scrape off. Any sooner and it turns to a treacly mess, any longer and it goes rock-hard.
- if you get any on your fingers, it turns into a black stain which is utterly impossible to remove and remains until you skin wears-out.
- any joint lines tend to be a dark purple colour which can be unsightly in the finished job.
- it claims to have good gap-filling properties, but - although it does expand to fill gaps - the "fill" has very little strength - do not trust gappy joints.

But, that said, it is very strong and completely weather proof - IFF and ONLY IFF - you use in exactly the way it is intended - but I am by no means convinced that the job you are talking about fits that category!!! I would not use it for that job ... ... ...

Howard

 

[Dai88D]

I have used this stuff (assuming we are talking about polurethane - Gorrilla is a brand not a glue!) very extensively on a big woodworking project involving about £10,000 worth of timber... It works very well IFF (and ONLY iff) you use it in exactly the way, and for exactly the purpose it is intended and follow the directions very precisely.

Points to note:-

- you MUST clamp the joint - do not rely on weights - it will expand to shove the weights off the job.
- any squeeze-out turns very quickly into a rapidly expanding foam. If you leave this about 20 hours, it is easy to scrape off. Any sooner and it turns to a treacly mess, any longer and it goes rock-hard.
- if you get any on your fingers, it turns into a black stain which is utterly impossible to remove and remains until you skin wears-out.
- any joint lines tend to be a dark purple colour which can be unsightly in the finished job.
- it claims to have good gap-filling properties, but - although it does expand to fill gaps - the "fill" has very little strength - do not trust gappy joints.

But, that said, it is very strong and completely weather proof - IFF and ONLY IFF - you use in exactly the way it is intended - but I am by no means convinced that the job you are talking about fits that category!!! I would not use it for that job ... ... ...

Howard

Haven’t seen double ff in IFF for ages, and used in the way I was taught. I hope I don’t seem pedantic here, I’m just chuffed to see it!

 

[DavidB]

I bought some to repair a pastry board. It worked for a while, then gave way. However, when I went to use it again after a few months, the bottle had set solid, so it did not keep. I was very careful to ensure the bottle was sealed. Very disappointing.

 

[J_F_S]

Haven’t seen double ff in IFF

Glad you recognised it - I thought people might be unfamiliar; hence spelling out what it means ...

 

[daifly]

Glad you recognised it - I thought people might be unfamiliar; hence spelling out what it means ...

On the subject of spelling, if and only if.

Dave

 

[J_F_S]

I was very careful to ensure the bottle was sealed.

Well of course it would set solid - it is not about sealing the bottle; that alone can never work. The information clearly says that it sets using moisture as a catalyst, so to keep it fresh, you have to squeeze ALL the air (and hence atmospheric moisture) out of the bottle before putting the top on. You can buy concertina bottles to keep smaller quantities fresh.

Let me stress that I am NOT trying to sell this stuff (it is American after all!), but I do get more than a bit fed up with people rubbishing any product because it does not do what they imagine it should. When the heck did we become a nation apparently completely incapable of understanding the meaning behind a set of instructions? Very disappointing. (not a personal rant at you David - but a rant nonetheless )

Just to mention that the proper way to repair a split in a pastry/cutting board is to plane mating rebates in each half, or even - if you have the tools - a tongue and groove. That way they never come apart, otherwise, it you just plane (joint) the edges then glue, the mechanism by which it originally failed will simply repeat itself.

 

[DavidB]

Point (forthright) taken but then as the bottle was quite stiff it was impossible to remove all the air. I had not used a large quantity, so it was not helpful to sell such a (relatively) large quantity in a stiff bottle. Smaller bottles were not available. It seems one would have to use most of it quite quickly in order to get your money's worth. The shelf life would appear to be very short.

I won't buy it again.

Incidentally, cyano also sets much faster with some moisture but it does not set in the bottle, or at least mine doesn't.

 

[richard carr]

You want some Evo Stik impact adhesive for sticking the sole back on a boot, my grandad was a cobbler, that's what he always used.

Gorilla glue is fine for wood work and Howard has already given you the low down on how it should be used, I doubt that's going to work for your boot.

Richard

 

[simond]

I bought some shoe soling glue, along with some soles from Amazon.. Despite expectations the glue was Polish, rather like contact adhesive, and used in the same way.

We are a bit careful with glues at work. Always get a copy of the SDS.

If you want to stick wood to wood, Cascamite is the right stuff.

eg Cascamite Wood Glue | Powdered Resin Wood Glue

 

[James Spooner]

I bought some shoe soling glue, along with some soles from Amazon.. Despite expectations the glue was Polish, rather like contact adhesive, and used in the same way.

We are a bit careful with glues at work. Always get a copy of the SDS.

If you want to stick wood to wood, Cascamite is the right stuff.

eg Cascamite Wood Glue | Powdered Resin Wood Glue

I think in the early days of the Ffestiniog restoration a cascamite and sawdust mix was used judiciously to get some of the carriages into service…. Fortunately we’ve moved on a long way since then!

Nigel

 

[Jordan or Plymouth Mad]

If you want to stick wood to wood, Cascamite is the right stuff.

eg Cascamite Wood Glue | Powdered Resin Wood Glue

The late John Allinson wrote once in the Railway Modeller about mixing dry cascamite powder with ballast before spreading over track, then wetting it in place. First time I'd ever heard of it.

 

[David B]

We tried the Cascamite ballast idea on my dad’s old OO loft layout - it set rock hard and amplified the sound of the trains to a whole new level. Track alterations needed a mallet and chisel….