Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Hank Knight

I don't know about gluing stones with Gorilla Glue, but I've had a good experience with gluing pressure treated pine with it. 7 or 8 years ago, I built my wife a potting bench with PT yellow pine. I glued the joints with Gorilla Glue and reinforced them with stainless steel screws. It has been outside in the weather all these years and it's still as solid as the day I built it. I have to say that I HATE polyurethane glue and avoid it at all costs. But it was perfect for this application and I would use it again for outdoor work.

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

John lucas

Boy I'm with Hank. Hate gorilla glue or polyurethane glue. It foams if you have the slightest gap and if you get it on you it wwwwill not come off. I haven't found anything it will.do that epoxy or yellow glue won't do equal.or better. I would use epoxy for what you want to . . Do.

Ok that being said I made a bunch of cutting boards when Gorilla glue first came out. The one I kept has been washed an untold number of times and is still solid. The one I gave my mother is also ztill.good. lost track of the others.

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Paul Leuba

Gorilla glue would be a good choice for your outdoor wood project. However, I would prefer using construction adhesive for glueing stones together because of its reduced viscosity. It will not run off the stones before it cures. It is also a polyurethane based adhesive.

Paul in Hunt Valley, MD

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

JohnV

for the stone work, use Liquid Nails concrete adhesive, Not poly glue. Made for hard use jobs. I glued a broken bird bath stand 8 years ago. the joint is stronger than the concrete.

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Jim Dillon

Tim, for the concrete project, like JohnV, I've had good luck with Liquid Nails concrete adhesive on the same project as John - a broken bird bath. Worked great. I have no experience with Gorilla Glue on exterior woodworking projects, bit it sounds like Hank and John have had good experiences. Jim

Possible exception

Ellis Walentine

Many years ago, we did an article about glues and in the course of our research, we learned that polyurethane glue isn't rated for full immersion, presumably so people wouldn't glue their boat hulls with it. I'd have to review the relevant documentation, but I'm pretty sure that was the story. So, as long as your project won't live underwater, you should be okay.

Ellis

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

John McGaw

For the stones, why not just buy an adhesive made specifically for that purpose? It is around $5 at your local big-box store. As for exterior wood, I'd say that polyurethane glue is weatherproof but not waterproof. I have some birdhouses I made 15 years back from western red cedar. They are octagon shaped so there is lots of glue line exposed to the weather and none have failed there (but this didn't keep the grey squirrels from chewing them up).

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Barry Irby

I agree with all of the above.

I built a giant arbor with it about ten or fifteen years ago. Redwood arches on a 12 foot diameter circle on top of ten foot concrete columns. It has held up well. I also used some scraps of Treated Pine to build myself a mail box post. Resawed the TP about a 1/4" thick and bent a 90* curve in it. Spliced a straight piece on both ends. Mailbox on one end and the other end in the ground. It has held up.

I would be reluctant to use it again because of the NASTY factor mentioned above. It foams, it gets on EVERYTHING and will NOT come off.

I agree with the Liquid Nails for the stone. Epoxy or Titebond III for the rest. The Gorilla glue will work but is not worth the extra effort.

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Sgian Dubh

"It foams, it gets on EVERYTHING and will NOT come off."

Barry, along with many others you've noted this tendency of polyurethane glue to foam, and to be difficult to remove. My solution is to wear disposable latex or vinyl gloves when using it if available. They help a great deal, and if I know there's going to be a particularly protracted set of gluing up sessions in a day, I usually also don a pair of overalls. Chuck the gloves in the bin, and simply wash the overalls (if you feel like it, ha, ha).

No gloves? A container of white spirits (mineral spirits) and a couple of rags seem pretty effective at removing the gloop, so long as you get at it whilst it's still reasonably tacky.

I'm not especially convinced of the strength of the adhesive compared to other common types, e.g., PVA, urea formaldehyde, etc. Testing of offcuts from things like edge jointed panels seemed to fail more readily when put together with polyurethane adhesives. I haven't used the stuff for any dry wood gluing up operations for perhaps seventeen or twenty years because of that: by that I mean wood that is dry (<20% MC) and destined for internal use where it will continue to stay dry.

There are two situations where polyurethane adhesive is my first choice.

1. Gluing wet wood or partially air dried used to make artefacts destined for external use, green oak sculptures, benches, arbors, porches, that sort of thing.

2. Air dried wood at somewhere in the region of 16% - 20% MC used in the construction of such items as garden or picnic tables, garden chairs, garden gates, weather exposed ledge, brace and frame doors and the like.

Polyurethane adhesive works well with wet wood, i.e., wood at or above 20% MC unlike most other adhesive types, and in my experience it also holds up well in typical external joinery, e.g., M&Ts used in gates, tables, doors, chairs, etc. Slainte.

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Bill Howatt

I made 2 approx. 36" dia wagon wheels with the rim made out of about 8 segments of softwood joined with 2 biscuits where the segments butted at an angle. Glued up softwood to make a hub and turned and glued spokes into hub and rim.

One was done with polyurethane glue and the other wheel was done with epoxy. They have been used on an outdoor flower cart in summer for probably 15 years now and both wheel's joints are behaving identically.

Bill

Gorilla Glue brown foams  white doesn't

Re: Gorilla Glue --- is it really weatherproof?

Philip Duffy

Gor. G has one application that most pen turners just do not believe me when I post about it but for gluing brass tubes into wood or acrylics. It has no equal. And, if you dip the blank in water before putting the tube into the blank (with the glue ) you cut the cure time by 4x. I have never had a single failure. A friend I put onto GG does 200 pens a week for a class and he marvels at the change since I put him onto the water/GG tip.

Brand Name

Bill Howatt

Gorilla Glue got its widespread fame, I believe, with its polyurethane (foaming) glue but over time they have introduced other types of glue such as PVA and cyanoacrylate under the same brand name. So you have to be more specific than just saying "Gorilla Glue".

Bill