What Is Polyurethane Glue For Wood? (Definition & Steps)
When talking about carpentry and its issues, there comes a time in every carpenter’s career when they will be frustrated with choosing glue.
Choosing the suitable substance for your project is crucial because otherwise, there is a risk of building the whole project again.
But worry not because today we are here with solutions.
But first, you have to know the central concept of this article.
Several types of glues and substances can help you glue two pieces of wood together. Now, there are lots of factors that define a proper glue.
We will be discussing all of them; however, our experiment and review are on the Polyurethane glues and their usage in the wood.
Let’s get into the article and see what polyurethane glue is for wood, right?
Why do we need wood glue?
As you know, in carpentry, sometimes we have to combine two pieces of wood; a process is usually done with the joints, screws, or nails; however, using these gadgets makes our project look bad.
Maybe using screws is not the best option for specific projects.
In that case, the glue is the perfect replacement. However, you have to remember that the glue will not be as durable as screws or nails, but it gets the job done by any means.
Here are some examples that you have to use glue instead of screws:
- Photo frames
- Slim wooden door projects
- Any corners if you want them to look nicer
And so on.
So now you know that sometimes it’s urgent to use glue instead of anything else.
Now that you know why we are using glue, let’s see what the wood glues are?
Wood glues: Pros & Cons
A significant part of the woodworking industry includes tools; nothing is possible without them.
There are several types of substances, and we think that you can call them to glue. However, they are pretty different from each other.
Here are three examples:
- Epoxies
- Wood glue
- Polyurethane glues
These three are the market’s most used glues in the woodworking field, but just in case you are not familiar with these will briefly explain each, and at the end of this section, you can find the chart that compares these three types of glue.
Epoxies
We will tell you more as we know you have heard about epoxies and their uses.
Have you ever seen an enormous fish tank with clear glue on the sides that make the tank stay together?
That is the epoxies usually, most of them are clear, but some types of epoxies look like a white shade.
Wood glue
Unlike the epoxies, the wood glues are always white and have a strange smell that would harm your lungs over time, so when using the wood glue, make sure to have a dust mask on for protection.
Wood glue is a single-purpose product meaning that you can only use it to glue a piece of wood to another part of the wood.
Polyurethane glues
The last one is the prime subject of our article, and there is a lot to say about this glue.
There is a company called Gorilla, which is specialized in creating high-durability products like phone screens and glue.
The gorilla glues are polyurethane-based, and they have one of the most strengths in the world of glues that is multi-purpose, meaning that there are many uses to a glue like this.
Such as:
- Sticking wood
- Metal
- Concrete
- Glass
And so much more.
Overall, polyurethane is an excellent option for wood.
Now that you are familiar with these types of glue, let’s take a look at the chart:
| Polyurethane glue | Wood glue | Epoxies |
| Maximum strength | More toxic | Average strength |
| waterproof | Waterproof | waterproof |
| Multi-purpose | Single-purpose | Multi-purpose |
| Perfect for wood | Perfect for wood | Perfect for glass |
Now that you see the brief story of the wood glues let’s see how you can apply the polyurethane glue on wood?
How to apply the polyurethane glue?
One of the biggest obstacles is using wood glue, so if you are ready, get started.
Step 1
The surface you are trying to glue should be clean; if dust particles land on the wood surface, the glue won’t stick properly. So you have to use cleaning substances to clean the surface of the wood.
Step 2
You have to use sandpaper to prepare the surface for applying the glue.
A rough surface is the best condition for the glue to stick to the surface of your project.
Step 3
Use high amounts of glue to get the best result; remember that when it comes to wood glue, too much is what you are looking for.
If the glue you used on the wood isn’t enough, it will break.
As you can see, applying polyurethane glue on wood is pretty straightforward. However, you must remember that the instructions we just gave you can improve your outcome.
Now that you have all of the information on polyurethane glues for wood let’s see what the article’s bottom line has to say.
The bottom line
One of the most used tools in carpentry and woodworking is the glue used when you cannot use screws or other attachment tools to get the pieces of wood together.
The special glue we discussed in this article is the polyurethane glue for wood, a product of the Gorilla Company, and then we compared it to some of the other wood glues on the market.
If you read this article with more attention, you can make a great decision on choosing the suitable glue for your project.
And even the using process will be easy if you follow our tutorial.
In the end, we appreciate you staying with us until the end of the “What is polyurethane glue for wood?” article; if you have anything to add to this article, don’t hesitate to contact us via the comment section below.
