In our homes and offices we have plenty of metal items and should they break our first thought is to replace them. Often, however, it may be possible to repair the item using a suitable glue designed to bond metal, a non-porous material.
It isn’t just home and office that can benefit from using a good glue. If you choose a good product for metal, you can fix other metal items such as cars and bikes. The applications for glueing metal are far-reaching. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at how you should go about choosing the right glue.
Three types of metal glue
There are, in essence, three types of metal glue. Depending on the task at hand, you should choose one of these glues:
- Super Glue– This is great for smaller jobs, and the better glues are fast-acting and dry transparent. It works great on saucepan handles that keep working free. Just screw them back up and use superglue to hold the screw in place. Their ethyl cyanoacrylate composition ensures they can bond the metal to metal surface with few issues. They are not suitable for filling gaps but for everything else they are wonderful.
- Polyurethanes– This is a good, practical glue with UV and water-resistant properties. Unlike epoxy, polyurethane-based glue is single part, and so there is no mixing involved before applying. The glues can withstand some extreme temperatures, and once the glue has dried, it can be sanded and or painted to give a better finish. Many use this glue to repair household and office-based items such as radiators and oven doors.
- Epoxy – Epoxy glues are the strongest glue on the market and can be used to fill gaps in metal and stone as well as bonding metal surfaces together. The composition of epoxy glues is in two parts, a hardener and a resin. Once mixed, you have a powerful glue that has a wide range of heavy-duty applications. Some of these glues are quick-drying; others take 24 hours to bond permanently.
Practical applications
Here are examples of practical, real-world applications when a good metal glue can repair an item and avoid replacement, often saving you money:
- Garden Furniture– Metal chairs and furniture can and do break. When this happens, we tend just to throw it away. Instead, use a good strong glue to bond the broken parts back together.
- Lawnmowers– The handles of lawnmowers often break or work free. This can be highly annoying, not least as you can’t cut the grass. Instead of buying a new one, use a good metal glue to bond the handle back together or hold it to the body of the mower itself.
- Tables – Metal legs and bolts can work free from the tabletop itself. A good glue here can do the trick, holding the tabletop in place where it should be. A good glue can work with different materials so glueing metal legs to a wooden table shouldn’t be an issue.
Metal glue has a variety of uses. Next time you need to repair metal take a look at the range of glues to see if you can repair rather than replace.
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