I hate Gorilla Glue

Frank Fusco

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Mountain Home, Arkansas
I really hate Gorilla Glue.
#1: It doesn't keep. Expensive and usually a one use deal for a bottle.
#2: See #1.

Had to use some for a special project today. Nothing else seemed to work. The bottle had been used once but had become 99% solid. I did squeeze out a couple drops for this use then in the trash it went.
I would probably have better things to say about it if it were sold in little tiny tubes like some CA.

#3 reason I hate GG: see #1
 
I've found it keeps OK if I squeeze ALL the air out of the bottle after each use. That said, I don't like the stuff either.
 
I like it when I need it. Buy the size bottle to suit your most recient needs. Also replace the cap asap and when finished squeeze out as much air as possible.
 
...and store the bottle upside-down in a little corn can that has a bit of mineral spirits at the bottom. The MS keeps moisture (which catalyzes the polyurethane glue) away from the glue.

Barring the one spectacular event I had with the stuff, I like it for lots of things so I've got a couple half-pint bottles here & there in my shop. Larger bottles are harder to handle.
 
I just use generic-brand polyurethane glue.

Cyanoacrylate is the worst. The good stuff has maybe a two-month lifespan, tops - and unless you're ordering it from China, it costs a mint.
 
Not to change the topic (too much), but something that may be helpful: I keep cyanoacrylate glue in the freezer. My current tube is probably a year or two old, and still going strong. Glues fine too, on those occasions that I need a drop or two.

As for PU glue, as others commented, I squeeze out most of the air for storage. Longest I've used a bottle has been around 8 - 10 months, not because the glue set up, but I'd used it all up. That said, I don't like the mess PU glue makes if you get it in places it shouldn't be (fingers being one). Yellow glue works for me, unless the application really needs something else (the gap-filling of PU glue comes in handy sometimes to cover my lack of sawing skills :eek:).

-Rob-
 
I agree......I am now trying a new epoxy glue for a front entry I am designing and building. It is West Sytem epoxy....it is a 2 part system resin + hardner and it can bought with their specially measured pumps (soap like dispensers). I am told the glue itself has a very long shelf life

Paul
 
I'm not a fan either... if I think I need it, then I buy the smallest bottles I can find - I don't use it often... it a way too messy for me... usually wind up with as much on my fingers and clothes (I tend to wipe my hands on my clothes - LOML hates it when I do that). I have a small bottle in the shop that I haven't looked at in months... probably by now it's hard enough that I could turn a bottle stopper or something from it...
 
I like it for things like laminated canoe paddles and some cutting boards where waterproof is a good thing. Works great for that, but otherwise, there are usually better choices. I buy a small bottle to suit the project, and when no project is going on, I don't own any. Works for me anyway.
 
...West Sytem epoxy....it is a 2 part system resin + hardner and it can bought with their specially measured pumps (soap like dispensers). I am told the glue itself has a very long shelf life

Paul

The pumps will clog if left unused for too long, but the epoxy seems to last just shy of forever. It will crystalize a bit over time, but just warming it a bit in a pan of hot warer will dissolve the crystals back into the resin.

I have some that's about five years old, and just used some (successfully) last week.
 
I used the stuff on one project & would never use it again. It's way too messy, the foam up stuff serves no purpose except to contribute to the mess, and the cleanup...yeow, what a pain...
and, if you go to Fine Woodworking Mag, they did a glue review & it's definitely NOT the strongest stuff on the planet. In fact, as I remember, even good old been around forever hide glue beat it in strength. Yeah, it's waterproof, so's other stuff that's stronger & far less messy.
 
I used the stuff on one project & would never use it again. It's way too messy, the foam up stuff serves no purpose except to contribute to the mess, and the cleanup...yeow, what a pain...

For composite and ultra-lightweight applications, it's brilliant - R/C modellers swear by the stuff. However, wood, unlike most of the stuff that tiny R/C airplanes are made of, does not suddenly dissolve into a very smelly soup if exposed to most solvents. It is, in my opinion, a major selling point of the material. :)
 
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