Which Selleys adhesive should you use, and what makes them different?

An adhesive is a substance used to stick two materials together, and that is where the simplicity ends. Not all adhesives are equal: some are designed for glass or tiles, others for holding heavy loads, others again for porous timber. Choosing well comes down to three things — what the two materials are, how much load the joint will carry, and whether it gets wet.

The Selleys range spans everything from a repair that needs precise adhesion to a floor that needs to stay put for thirty years. This page is the map; the individual guides go into the detail.

The guides in this section

• Contact adhesives & glues — bonding flat surfaces, Liquid Nails, and flooring adhesives.
• Super glue — what it sticks to, how fast it sets, and where it does not work.
• PVA glue — the wood and craft glue family.
• Wood glue — choosing between the Aquadhere products for interior and exterior work.
• Shoe glue — repairing footwear.
• Glue guide 101 — the general primer.

Adhesives for minor jobs

For smaller repairs and art projects, the Selleys super glue range is the practical choice. Super glues are fast-drying, all-purpose cyanoacrylate adhesives. They are a household essential, and unlike many similar products they are mess-free and dry clear, which makes them well suited to crafts and small repairs.

Set times are measured in seconds — Fix & Go Super Glue sets in 10 seconds — but full cure takes longer. The Super Glue Adjustable Gel, for instance, sets in 30 seconds, reaches sufficient bond strength for practical use after 30 minutes, and has a cure time of 24 to 48 hours.

What super glue will not bond: Teflon, polyethylene and polypropylene. It is also not recommended for repairing the handles of vessels that contain hot liquids.

Adhesives for heavy duty repairs

Where a repair needs a higher level of adhesion, the Selleys Araldite epoxy adhesives are the step up. These are durable, fast-setting two-part products that form a rigid, secure bond between two materials.

Two-part means exactly that: you mix equal portions of resin and hardener, then apply. That mixing step is what gives epoxies their strength and also what limits your working time — Araldite Super Strong 5 Minute stays usable for two to three minutes at 20°C, so mix small amounts.

Its published figures are a 5-minute set time, a 30-minute initial bond time during which you should not apply undue strain, and maximum bond strength after 16 hours. It holds up to 150 kg/cm² when fully cured on a clean, abraded copper surface, and it fixes china, metal, glass, leather, rubber, wood and most plastics.

Araldite 5 Minute holds up to 75 kg/cm² when fully cured on steel, with the same 5-minute set, 30-minute initial bond and 16-hour full cure. Araldite Rapid is a 90-second setting version, and Araldite Extra Time gives 60 minutes of working time for jobs you cannot rush.

Epoxy limits: Araldite will not bond PTFE, polyethylene or polypropylene plastics. The bond softens above 60°C, though strength is restored when the temperature returns to normal. Allow longer bonding times in cold weather, pretest on leather and rubber, and note the product may discolour if exposed to UV. Clean up uncured epoxy with acetone.

Construction adhesives

For larger and sturdier projects, the Liquid Nails range replaces or supplements screws and nails. Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive forms a strong bond after 24 hours, continues strengthening over two to three days, and reaches full cure in seven days. It stays repositionable for up to 20 minutes after fitting, and it is paintable once cured.

Its limits are worth reading before you buy: not suitable for mirrors — use Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal instead; not for metals heated by direct sunlight, where bonds weaken; not suitable for styrene foam, where Liquid Nails Fast Grab is the alternative; not for permanent water immersion; avoid tightly clamped joints such as cabinet making or joinery; and it should not be used as the sole bonding agent for structural bonding.

Wood glues

The Aquadhere range is formulated to bond natural and engineered timbers. Aquadhere Interior is a PVA for interior work — it is not waterproof and not suitable for structural or exterior use. Aquadhere Exterior is an industrial-grade cross-linking PVA that is weatherproof, with clamp times of 30 minutes for softwoods and one hour for hardwoods and maximum strength at 24 hours. Aquadhere Durabond is a solvent-free, moisture-curing polyurethane that bonds wood to almost anything, is heat resistant to 140°C, and expands as it dries so it can bridge small gaps.

Contact adhesives

For joining large flat surfaces — laminates, veneers, upholstery — a contact adhesive is the right family. Kwik Grip Vertical Gel is applied to both surfaces, which are then kept apart for approximately 20 minutes (no more than 40) before being pressed together, at which point it grabs immediately. Full cure is 24 hours, heat resistance is 130°C, and coverage is 0.25m² per 40g of one surface depending on porosity. Do not use it below 10°C.

Safety: a fourth question to ask alongside the other three

Materials, load and water decide which adhesive works. There is a fourth question worth asking at the same time, because it sometimes decides between two products that both work: what is this one classified as? The spread across this page is wider than the shelf suggests.

Within the Aquadhere family it runs from nothing to everything. Aquadhere Interior and Aquadhere Exterior are not classified as hazardous under Safe Work Australia GHS 7 — no signal word, no hazard statements. Aquadhere Durabond carries Danger and is the most heavily classified adhesive in the range: H334, may cause allergy or asthma symptoms or breathing difficulties if inhaled (Category 1A); H351, suspected of causing cancer; H373, may cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure; along with H332, H317, H335, H315 and H319. Durabond is on this page because it bonds wood to metal, glass, ceramics and masonry, and that capability is what it is classified for. On a wood-to-wood joint the unclassified product does the job.

H334 deserves a sentence of its own, because respiratory sensitisation is widely misread as a strong irritation. It is not. It is the immune system learning the substance; it is generally permanent once acquired; and afterwards far smaller exposures set off the asthma response. It is built by long, enclosed or repeated exposure, so the person at risk is not someone who uses it once but someone who reaches for it every weekend in a closed garage.

Among the construction adhesives the divide is solvent versus moisture cure. Liquid Nails Construction Adhesive carries H225, highly flammable liquid and vapour, with H315 and H319. The vapour is the hazard, it is heavier than air, and it travels — which matters because this product gets used in subfloors, stud walls and behind baths, enclosed spaces that are frequently where the pilot light is. Liquid Nails Fast Grab carries Warning and a single classification, H317, with no flammability classification at all.

Among the specialist glues, All Plastics carries H225, H319 and H336 (may cause drowsiness or dizziness). It is the answer for polyethylene and polypropylene and there is no unclassified substitute for that job, so the control is ventilation: open the room, and remember the exposure continues while the primer and the glue flash off, not just while you are applying them.

Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.

Common questions about choosing an adhesive

What is the strongest Selleys glue?

Among the household products, the Araldite epoxies carry the highest published figures — Araldite Super Strong at up to 150 kg/cm² on abraded copper, Araldite 5 Minute at up to 75 kg/cm² on steel. Both figures are per square centimetre of properly prepared bond area, so surface preparation matters as much as the product.

Which glues will not stick to plastic?

Polyethylene, polypropylene and PTFE (Teflon) defeat most of the range — super glues, Araldite epoxies, Kwik Grip and Hold Up all list them as exclusions. Selleys All Plastics is the product for those.

Do I need to clamp?

For epoxies, hold the join with tape or weights and avoid strain for 30 minutes. For PVA wood glues, clamp — 30 minutes for softwoods, an hour for hardwoods with Aquadhere Exterior. For construction adhesives, allow at least 24 hours before removing temporary fasteners.

What cleans up uncured adhesive?

Acetone for epoxies and super glues, water for PVA wood glues, mineral turps for contact and construction adhesives. Cured adhesive generally has to be scraped, cut or sanded off.

Can I use adhesive instead of screws?

For many jobs, yes — that is what construction adhesives are for. But Liquid Nails Original states it should not be used as the sole bonding agent for structural bonding, so anything carrying real load still needs mechanical fixing.

Which adhesive works underwater?

Selleys Marine Flex can be applied and will cure under water — it is the product for pool and spa repairs without draining.

Which glue for mirrors?

Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal. The general construction adhesives specifically exclude mirrors, because they can damage the silvered backing.