Which glue works on which material?
Six adhesives that cover almost everything, and why the surface matters more than the glue.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 15 min
- Read
- 2 min
- Safety
- warning
Short answer
PVA for wood, epoxy for anything structural or mixed materials, superglue for small rigid repairs, contact adhesive for large flat surfaces, and a flexible polymer adhesive for anything that moves or gets wet. Clean, dry and roughened is what makes any of them work.
Most failed repairs are not the wrong glue but the wrong preparation. That said, glues are genuinely specific, and using PVA on plastic or superglue on a load-bearing joint fails regardless of how well you prepared.
Safety
Step by step
- Prepare the surface first.Clean, dry, free of grease and old adhesive, and lightly roughened if it is smooth. This does more for the bond than the choice of glue, and it is what people skip.
- Use PVA wood glue for wood to wood.Stronger than the wood itself when clamped properly. Interior and exterior grades exist — use exterior for anything damp. It needs clamping and it needs a close-fitting joint.
- Use epoxy for strength and mixed materials.Two parts mixed together. Bonds metal, ceramic, glass, stone and most plastics, fills small gaps, and is genuinely structural. Slower-setting versions are stronger than the five-minute kind.
- Use superglue for small rigid repairs.Fast, strong in tension, brittle under impact and poor at filling gaps. Ideal for a snapped ceramic handle, useless for anything that flexes or bears weight.
- Use contact adhesive for large flat areas.Applied to both surfaces, left until touch-dry, then pressed together. Instant grab and no clamping — laminate, veneer, worktop edging. There is no repositioning, so align it carefully.
- Use a flexible polymer adhesive for movement and damp.Hybrid polymer or grab adhesives. They stay slightly flexible, bond almost anything to almost anything, and tolerate water. The right choice for outdoors and for joints that move.
- Match the glue to plastics carefully.Plastics are the hardest case. Polypropylene and polyethylene resist almost everything without a primer. Check the recycling symbol and the glue's stated compatibility before starting.
- Clamp and respect the cure time.Most adhesives need pressure while setting and full strength comes hours later. Handling strength is not full strength — read the tube and wait.
Tips
- Expanding polyurethane glue foams as it cures and fills gaps, which is useful outdoors. It also expands out of the joint, so clamp firmly and expect to trim the excess.
- Keep glue somewhere cool and check the date. Most adhesives have a shelf life and an old tube of epoxy simply will not set.
- For anything load-bearing or safety-critical, a mechanical fixing plus adhesive is more reliable than adhesive alone.
Questions people ask
What glue works on plastic?
It depends on the plastic. Epoxy or a plastic-specific cement works on many; polypropylene and polyethylene resist nearly everything without a primer. Check the recycling symbol against the glue's compatibility list.
Why did my glued repair fail?
Usually preparation — grease, dust or a smooth unroughened surface — or insufficient clamping. Both matter more than which adhesive you chose.