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You’re a fan of urethane?

Urethane adhesives: tough, strong and versatile glues

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You’ve probably heard of polyurethane adhesives, but what about urethane adhesives? This short guide gives you the basics about these strong adhesives and outlines two projects for your floor.

What are urethane adhesives?

Urethane adhesive glues are structural adhesives consisting of hard and soft segments, which makes them very tough. They are available in one-component and two-component formulas and are ideal for bonding surfaces, such as metal, plastic, and composites.

Urethane adhesive glues resist impact while demonstrating great peel strength and shear strength. If you’ve worked with epoxies like Loctite Plastic Bonder, you’re already familiar with high-shear-strength adhesives. However, the combination of shear and peel strength in urethane adhesives lets you use them in certain applications where epoxies won’t work, including many DIY projects.

Finding the right urethane adhesive

Generally, urethane adhesives bond well with many impermeable and permeable materials, from glass and ceramic to wood and many fabrics, and they bond extremely well with plastics. However, when selecting a urethane adhesive for your project, you need to check the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure the product you are considering is suitable for the surfaces you want to bond.

There are many urethane adhesives available for specific purposes. These products include urethane floor adhesives, some of which are specially formulated for wood (see below). There are also urethane window and urethane windshield adhesives, which you can use on glass around the house or on your car, as well as urethane sealants, which are great for sealing floors subject to high levels of foot traffic or larger spills. Urethane sealants are also available in caulk form for sealing joins in bathrooms and kitchens.

Using urethane adhesives on your floors

This short guide cannot address all urethane adhesive applications, so we decided to focus on two easy projects for your floor. Whatever your job, use your urethane adhesive in a well-ventilated area, and wear gloves and goggles to protect your hands and eyes.

Using urethane adhesives on your floors

  1. Preparation. The substrate/subfloor must be clean (free of dirt and residue), dry, and structurally sound. 
  2. Apply adhesive. Trowel the urethane adhesive onto the floor. Depending on whether you use the “wet lay” or “flashed” method, you can install the wood flooring into the wet adhesive immediately or let the adhesive flash for the recommended amount of time before installing the wood.
  3. Mind the open time. If you exceed the adhesive’s open time (see the product information), it will either bond less effectively or not at all.
  4. Clean-up. When installing the flooring, immediately wipe any adhesive off your tools and flooring using mineral spirits before it cures.

Using urethane sealant to seal cracks in concrete floors

  1. Get your materials. You need a cartridge of self-leveling urethane sealant and a caulking gun.
  2. Clean the surface. Remove all loose materials and impurities from the surface, and make sure it is dry.
  3. Fill the crack. Dispense the urethane sealant into the deepest part of the repair area and slightly overfill—after all, the product is self-leveling.
  4. Finishing touches. Check your manufacturer’s instructions to find out if and when you can paint your product and how to remove rough edges. Sanding them away is often a good option.

Products used

  • Loctite Plastics Bonder Super Glue 2g Tube
    Loctite Super Glue Plastics Bonding System

    Permanent bonding of plastic surfaces. 2-part system with Activator and Adhesive.

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