Seeking Glue Wisdom

Bruce Papier

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Apr 25, 2011
Posts
1,063
A customer has a Batman emblem which is 18 x 48 and made of 2" thick foam rubber. They want it to be mounted to a frame containing a Batman themed jersey. I'm going to need to mount a masonite backing to the emblem to stiffen it and give me something solid to screw into. What glue will stick foam to masonite? Gorilla Glue and a couple different construction adhesives say they will work. Do any of you have a recommendation?
 
That is a risky business unless it is easily replaceable. It is hard to know the composition of the material. Some foams will deteriorate to a flat, mushy mess when encountering solvents.

Maybe...maybe...you would be better off using PVA since it does not have petroleum-based solvents. I would test before trying this. But it won't have to hold a lot of weight.

Wait for smarter people to answer. :) I have used Cornerweld on lots of things, but never foam specifically.
 
This to That web site. You enter the two items and they give the best adhesive for the variables.

 
Not sure about this to that website.
It recommends Spray adhesive for about half of the Fabric options.
Not sure I trust any of it's advice after seeing that.
 
Pretty sure they are only considering general-purpose or DIY home projects.
Your right, they are not likely taking into account the special requirements of professional framing techniques.
But still, some good information to have at hand for non-archival gluing tasks.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to have to do some research into just what kind of foam this thing's made of before I go any further.
 
You might consider something like a VHB foam tape instead of glue. If the emblem is stiff enough to mostly support itself, you might not even need the masonite.

James
 
My problem is that you have to know more about the types of foam than I know or can figure out from internet research. I would be nervous without the ability to test or a foam expert to advise me.
 
As noted by several others, chemistry may be an issue, so it would be best to keep the framing package as "clean" as possible, chemically. Rather than introducing potentially-reactive chemistry of hardboard and solvent-based adhesive, I suggest using a backer of fluted polypropylene (aka Coroplast brand) or aluminum composite material (aka DiBond, ePanel or similar brands) and a water-borne polymer adhesive. Ordinary acrylic gel medium might work well, or you might need to use one of the conservation-grade adhesives available from the suppliers of conservation materials.
 
I'm pretty sure I'm going to use 1/4" plywood as a backer because I need the stiffness and I'm going to have to glue wooden blocks on to hold the hangers. The size and weight of this thing is the real troublemaker. It's made out of kind of the same stuff that a soft foam life jacket might be made of and it's 2" thick. I think I'm going to need some pretty firm adhesion. I may just not be able to do it.
 
I'm pretty sure I'm going to use 1/4" plywood as a backer because I need the stiffness and I'm going to have to glue wooden blocks on to hold the hangers. The size and weight of this thing is the real troublemaker. It's made out of kind of the same stuff that a soft foam life jacket might be made of and it's 2" thick. I think I'm going to need some pretty firm adhesion. I may just not be able to do it.
I always play it safe when confronted with a challenge I'm not up to.
Better to admit that it's out of your scope of ability then to risk ruining an irreplaceable item.
Try helping the customer by contacting other framers that might be familiar with the techniques required?
 
I'm pretty sure I'm going to use 1/4" plywood as a backer because I need the stiffness and I'm going to have to glue wooden blocks on to hold the hangers. The size and weight of this thing is the real troublemaker.
Plywood is about as chemically nasty as anything you could find It's loaded with lignin and other nasties, as well as the adhesive layers. Fluted polypropylene is quite rigid, parallel with the flutes, and you could use two layers with crossed flutes. IMHO, 2 mm or 3 mm ACM would be perfect; it's lightweight, thin, very rigid, smooth and easy to work with.
 
Okay, I'll use the Coroplast. Does that change the candidates for the adhesive?
Possibly...The fluted polypropylene is non-porous, so avoid adhesives requiring a porous surface, which includes most of the water-borne glues. I know that acrylic gel medium (water-borne acrylic emulsion) works on many non-porous surfaces, but it takes a long time to dry.

Whatever your selected adhesive, I suggest you test it on scraps of similar material before using it to bond the customer's property.
 
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