Gary RV_Wizard
MR
Site Team
RV LIFE Pro
More than you want to know about adhesives:
Some adhesives set by drying of the solvent, leaving the adhesive stuck behind, while others "cure", meaning a chemical reaction within the adhesive forms the bond. An epoxy is the classic type of a cure type adhesive, but not the only example. A solvent that dries can evaporate into the air if one of the two surfaces being bonded is porous to the solvent, or can be absorbed into either of the materials itself. In either case, at least one of the surfaces must be porous to the solvent in order to bond. Highly volatile solvents like benzene can easily pass through many materials, while water as a solvent is rather limited because the H2O molecules are so big. Raw wood has big open pores that easily absorb water; plastic cannot. Anything that plugs the pores in wood make drying type adhesives less effective.
Adhesives with longer working times are typically the drying type while the curing type can be anywhere from instant to a few minutes.
Some adhesives set by drying of the solvent, leaving the adhesive stuck behind, while others "cure", meaning a chemical reaction within the adhesive forms the bond. An epoxy is the classic type of a cure type adhesive, but not the only example. A solvent that dries can evaporate into the air if one of the two surfaces being bonded is porous to the solvent, or can be absorbed into either of the materials itself. In either case, at least one of the surfaces must be porous to the solvent in order to bond. Highly volatile solvents like benzene can easily pass through many materials, while water as a solvent is rather limited because the H2O molecules are so big. Raw wood has big open pores that easily absorb water; plastic cannot. Anything that plugs the pores in wood make drying type adhesives less effective.
Adhesives with longer working times are typically the drying type while the curing type can be anywhere from instant to a few minutes.
