Adhesives, glue and tape are sticky stuff. Post-It notes are meant to be sticky. Self-seal envelopes stick without licking any glue. Sometimes hot, humid weather is described as muggy, steamy and sticky. Some people say issues are sticky. The following information is all about glues and adhesives.
Q&A: Are glues and adhesives the same (interchangeable) or different?
Traditional (historic) glues are prepared from natural sources that are animal based (bone, fish or hide glue) or plant-based sources (pine/balsam resins, gum arabic, starch…)
Synthetic glues are modern and include PVA glue, hot melt glue, rubber cement, Gorilla Glue, and can be acrylic based or polymer based. Superglue and Krazy Glue are Cyanoacrylates. Hot melt glues are Ethylene-vinyl acetates. Other glues are classified as Polyethylene and Polyurethane (Gorilla Glue).
PVA glue is Polyvinyl acetate. It is commonly known as wood glue, carpenter’s glue and school glue. PVA glue is sold as white glue and also as yellow glue. The yellow glue is ideal for exterior use because it is water-resistant. The white glue can break down over time.
Today people describe glue as any fluid adhesive.
Visit a great website: THIS to THAT.com. It has a simple drop down menu that lists different glues or adhesives you use to attach things. There are two lists and each list includes ceramic, glass, paper, wood, metal leather, rubber and vinyl. The site helps you choose the right glue. They say: every glue has its pros and cons (every glue they list tells you if it’s safe to use and under what conditions you should use it). They say: the primary principle of glue is much like a relationship: the adhesive must fit the adherend.
At the drop down menu (glue of the month), I learned EGGS are a protean that works well as an adhesive (use the whites only because the yolks can stain). The say ancient Egyptians used egg whites to adhere gold leaf, and native North Americans may have used eggs as an adhesive in building canoes. Egg whites (known as albumin) are waterproof when dry. You must store egg white glue in the fridge.
At the drop down menu (Trivia), I learned that first cyanoacrylate (super/krazy glue) was discovered when chemists at Eastman-Kodak accidentally glued two prisms together when testing new organic compounds for light refracting properties. I don’t use Krazy Glue.
People who prepare and restore books (book artists and book archivists) often make their own wheat paste glue (cooked on the stove). They need to work with a glue that can be reversed – where you can unglue papers if you need to. The glue is called archival.
PVA glue is not archival. The things you glue with PVA cannot be separated when the glue is dry.
Q&A: What makes glue, paste or tape stick to things?
Wood paper, and many other materials have tiny cracks and holes in them. When the glue seeps into the tiny openings and hardens, the materials stick together. It’s a chemical reaction: molecules on the surface of an object get tangled up with the glue molecules and the objects stick together.
Q&A: What 10 ways can you make a project without glue or adhesives?
Use brads, stitching, clips and other hardware, staples, paper folding, cutting and paper crimping, magnets, Velcro, sealing wax…