What is Selleys Ask an Expert, and how do you use it?

Ask an Expert is Selleys' library of real questions from real customers, each with the answer Selleys gave. It is not a product catalogue and it is not a set of general how-to guides. Every entry starts with a specific problem someone actually had — a broken tail light, a mirror that needs to come off a wall, a floating floor whose instructions demand a D3 PVA — and gives the Selleys technical response to that problem.

That makes it the fastest place to look when your question is which product, for this exact combination of materials. If your question is how do I do this job, the step-by-step guides in Home Improvement are the better starting point, and if you already know the product you want, go straight to the product pages for its technical data.

How the questions are organised

Questions are grouped by the kind of product that answers them, rather than by the room you are working in. There are six sections:

• Adhesives — bonding one material to another. This is the largest section, and most of it is substrate-pair questions: aluminium to MDF, granite to timber, brass to sandstone, EVA foam to aluminium.
• Sealants — silicones and sealants, curing times, water exposure and where a particular cure chemistry is or is not safe.
• Flexible fillers — gap fillers that need to move with the building.
• Rigid fillers — wall and timber fillers that are sanded and painted.
• Painting — questions about painting over Selleys products, and preparation.
• Cleaning — removing dried product, and cleaning-chemical questions.

Getting a useful answer faster

The answers here are short by design, and they are almost always driven by three things. If you have those three things clear before you search, you will find the right entry much more quickly.

Name both materials. Adhesive selection is decided by the pair, not by one side of it. "Glue for metal" has no single answer; "aluminium to MDF" does. Most entries in the adhesives section are titled by the pair for exactly this reason.

Say whether the joint is wet, hot, outdoors, or moving. These are the four things that most often rule a product out. A great many Selleys technical data sheets carry limits such as "not recommended for continuous submersion or below water line use", or a service temperature ceiling, or a stated joint movement capability — and those limits, not bond strength, are usually what decides the answer.

Check whether something else has already decided it for you. Several answers in this library come back to the same point: where a shower screen manufacturer, a benchtop supplier, a flooring maker or a mirror supplier publishes installation directions, those directions take precedence. Selleys will tell you which of its products suits the job, but it will not override the manufacturer of the thing you are installing.

What these answers are and are not

Each answer is a product recommendation and, where relevant, the working detail that goes with it — clamping, curing, whether to support the job while it sets. They are not a substitute for the technical data sheet. Where you need the actual numbers — skin time, cure rate, movement capability, service temperature, and above all the limitations section — the product page carries them, and it is the limitations section that is worth reading before you buy.

Where an answer here and a current technical data sheet differ, the data sheet is the authority. Product formulations and names change over the life of a range, and some questions in this library are older than the current pack on the shelf.

Common questions about Ask an Expert

What is Ask an Expert?

A searchable library of frequently answered questions, each one a customer's real problem with the Selleys answer to it.

How do I find my question?

Use the frequently answered questions search on this page, or browse the six sections — adhesives, sealants, flexible fillers, rigid fillers, painting and cleaning.

Which section should I look in for a bonding question?

Adhesives. It is the largest section and most entries are named after the two materials being joined.

Where do I find curing and water-exposure questions?

In Sealants, which covers silicone cure times, when a seal can be exposed to water, and which cure chemistry suits which surface.

Is this the same as the how-to guides?

No. Ask an Expert answers a single question; Home Improvement walks through a whole job step by step.

Where are the technical figures?

On the product pages under Products, which carry the technical data sheet figures and, importantly, each product's stated limitations.

Why do several answers tell me to check the manufacturer's instructions?

Because for jobs such as fixing a benchtop to a cabinet carcase or installing a shower screen, mechanical fasteners are often required and the manufacturer is specific about where and how adhesive may be used. Their directions come first.

Can I ask a new question?

This page is where Selleys publishes its answers to customer questions. Use the search here first, as the question you have has often already been asked.