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Ten Things Related to Working With Contact Adhesive

November 18th, 2009 Leave a comment Go to comments

There are many things that we should know about working with contact clue adhesives. This article will outline a few important things that we must know about working with this sticky substance.

• It does, can and will cause brain damage if you are continually exposed to inhaling the substance. This is a highly potent chemical that causes horrible lightheadedness whenever there is not proper ventilation in the room.
• Once this material dries on your hands, it is very difficult to get off. You may be considering using rubber gloves, but my experience has been that they are just a huge hindrance to any project that I am trying to accomplish with the contact adhesive. The best rule of thumb is to not get any glue on you. Just be careful!
• There is absolutely no way to get the substance out of your clothes. We must make sure that we are not trying to even do a small project without wearing our work duds. I’ve ruined plenty of shirts and pants because of getting the contact adhesive on them. Try all that you want with lacquer thinner or paint reducer and you will not get the glue off of the clothes. Even “Goo Gone” won’t save you from the mess you have made. Protect your shoes as well.


• Bearing the previous point in mind, the contact adhesive will destroy carpet and seep into the cracks of linoleum. Be cautious to lay down drop cloths when you are working with the contact glue.
• Contact glue containers contain highly flammable and combustible chemicals. If the contents of the storage containers get exposed to direct sunlight, or even summertime temperatures, they may explode in your face when removing lids. Be extra careful when taking the caps and lids off of the contact glue containers when they are under pressure from rising temperatures. The force of the pressure could splatter contact glue all over you.
• Always store the contact adhesive in a metal storage area. There are special cabinets designed for combustible materials. Firemen will greatly appreciate the additional safety standard that you implemented if there is ever a fire in your work shop.
• If you encounter a spill in the shop, you must wipe it up right away. If left to set, it will adhere to the flooring and be near impossible to remove. The substance will cause a rise to occur in the walking area and really become a difficult thing to work around. You will be constantly tripping over the pile of hardened contact adhesive.
• Another problem is trying to keep the spray equipment clean. It’s not really necessary to empty out spray guns every day if you are using it on a daily basis to spray the contact adhesive out of. I do recommend that if you are using a spray gun with a container, purchase a cheap throw away model. They can usually be purchased for less than fifty dollars. Use the gun for a year of so and throw it away and buy a new one to replace it.
• You can clean your contact adhesive spray guns when they start having problems with lacquer thinner solvent. Remove the tip, needle and all loose parts and soak them in a container filled with lacquer thinner. Then use a rag to wipe off the contact adhesive from the spray gun parts.

Most commonly, contact adhesive is used in manufacturing Formica cabinetry. Many of the potential problems that I have listed I this article were learned through twenty nine years of hands on cabinet making experience in laminating Formica parts with the contact adhesive. Carpet layers and boat builders are other tradesmen who use the glue on a daily basis as well. Just be careful and do not get in any kind of a hurry when you are working with the substance and you will be fine. You can purchase a professional respirator to protect your lungs if you plan o using the adhesive for extended periods of time on a daily basis.

  1. December 4th, 2009 at 06:58 | #1

    Great article. The article is very helpful while dealing with contact adhesive.

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