Selleys Pro Trade Construction Adhesive Fast Grip

What is Selleys Pro Trade Construction Adhesive Fast Grip, and where should you use it?

Selleys Pro Trade Construction Adhesive Fast Grip is a high strength, water-based construction adhesive that provides strong initial holding power. The water-based formulation is low odour and allows easy water clean-up, and the product is characterised by no drip, sag or stringing — which is what makes it workable overhead and on vertical faces.

The single most important thing to know before choosing it is the scope of use: it is suitable for interior and sheltered exterior applications only. It is not a weather-exposed adhesive. If the bond line will see rain, sun or standing moisture, this is the wrong product.

Technical specification

Property	Typical result
Technology	Water-based
Colour	Beige
Initial cure	24 hours
Cure time	72 hours
Initial bond strength (AS 2329-1999D)	>200 kPa
Bond strength in tensile shear (AS 2329-1999E)	>1.5 MPa
Bond strength in peel (AS 2329-1999F)	~40 N/25mm
Service temperature	Bonds will resist temporary exposure up to 140 °C
VOC content (by calculation)	24 g/L
Paintable	After 12 hours
Packaging	420 g cartridge, beige

Indicative data only, not intended for the preparation of specifications. Allow for longer initial cure and cure times in humid or cooler conditions, or with non-porous surfaces.

What the key numbers mean in practice

Initial cure at 24 hours, full cure at 72 hours. These two figures do different jobs. Twenty-four hours is the minimum set before temporary fasteners or clamping come off — the point where the assembly holds itself. Seventy-two hours is the cure. Loading a joint at the 24-hour mark is loading an adhesive that is one third of the way through its cure.

Both figures stretch under three conditions the data sheet names explicitly: humid conditions, cooler conditions, and non-porous surfaces. That is the nature of a water-based adhesive — it has to lose water to cure, and it sheds that water through a porous substrate and into dry air. High humidity slows evaporation; a sealed substrate gives the water nowhere to go. It is also why the manufacturer says to avoid tightly clamped joints such as cabinet making or joinery.

The three strength figures describe three different failure modes, which is more useful than a single headline number. Initial bond strength greater than 200 kPa (AS 2329-1999D) is the grab available while the job is fresh. Tensile shear greater than 1.5 MPa (AS 2329-1999E) is the developed bond resisting a sliding load — a panel trying to slide down a stud. Peel strength of around 40 N per 25mm (AS 2329-1999F) is resistance to a corner being lifted, which is generally how a sheet or trim actually fails.

Bonds will resist temporary exposure up to 140 °C. Read temporary literally. This is short-term heat tolerance for a cured bond, not a rating for sustained high-temperature service — and it does not override the separate limitation that the adhesive is not for metals heated by direct sunlight, where bonds weaken at higher temperatures.

VOC content of 24 g/L, meeting Green Building Council VOC limits for multipurpose construction adhesives, is the figure that matters on jobs with indoor air quality requirements.

Where to use it

Suitable for use on materials such as:

• Timber, MDF and particleboard
• Plasterboard
• Styrene foam
• Masonry and concrete
• Tiles and ceramics
• Metals
• Plastics — pre-test to determine compatibility
• Rubber
• Glass
• Skirting, cornices and architraves

It sits alongside Pro Trade Construction Adhesive Multipurpose in the trade range, and it is the option chosen for initial grab rather than for exterior durability.

How to apply it

Surface preparation

Surfaces must be clean, dry, and free of dirt, grease, oil or water.

Directions

1. Ensure surfaces are dry and free from oil, grease and dust.
2. Cut the cartridge tip, fit the nozzle and cut it to the desired opening (5mm).
3. Apply a bead along the length of the joist, stud or batten. On broad flat surfaces, apply beads every 40 cm.
4. Bring the surfaces together as soon as possible — within the first 5 minutes. Fix with sufficient nails, screws or clamping to hold the load and achieve contact over the total bond area.
5. Allow the adhesive to set for a minimum of 24 hours before removing any temporary fasteners or clamping. Use with mechanical fasteners in high stress applications.

Getting higher initial grab

For higher initial grab, apply the adhesive to one surface only, press the parts together and pull them apart, then allow them to dry for up to 5 minutes — no longer — before firmly joining. The parenthetical matters: this is a contact-bond technique, and letting the surfaces go past that window means they no longer wet each other on rejoining.

Limitations — where Fast Grip should not be used

• Suitable for interior and sheltered exterior applications only.
• Avoid use in tightly clamped joints, for example cabinet making or joinery.
• Not for use on mirrors. Use Selleys Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal.
• Not for metals heated by direct sunlight — bonds weaken at higher temperatures. Again, Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal is the nominated alternative.
• Do not use as the sole bonding agent for structural bonding.
• Not for use on polyethylene, polypropylene, Teflon or silicone. Pre-test other plastics to determine compatibility.
• Allow for longer cure times in humid or cooler conditions, or with non-porous surfaces.

Clean up and storage

Uncured product may be removed with water. Cured product has to be removed by scraping or sanding. Store in a cool, dry place.

Standards

• Meets Australian Standard AS 2329 (1999).
• Meets Green Building Council VOC limits for multipurpose construction adhesives.

Hazard classification

Classified as hazardous under Safe Work Australia GHS 7, with the signal word Warning.

• Sensitisation, skin — Category 1. H317: may cause an allergic skin reaction.

That is the entire classification: one category, one hazard statement. Pro Trade Construction Adhesive Fast Grip is not classified as Dangerous Goods under the Australian Code for the Transport of Dangerous Goods by Road & Rail or New Zealand NZS5433. There is no flammability classification, no eye classification and no narcotic-effects classification.

What is in it

Chemical entity	CAS number	Proportion (w/w)
1,2-Benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one (BIT)	2634-33-5	<0.05%
5-Chloro-2-methyl-4-isothiazolin-3-one (CMIT)	26172-55-4	<0.05%
2-Methyl-2H-isothiazol-3-one (MIT)	2682-20-4	<0.05%
Non-hazardous ingredients	—	Balance

Three declared ingredients, each at under half of one tenth of one per cent, and everything else non-hazardous. That is the composition of a water-based adhesive: the three isothiazolinones are preservatives, present only to stop the product spoiling in the cartridge, and they account for the whole of the hazard classification. It is a genuinely low-hazard product and worth saying so — it will not burn, it is not Dangerous Goods, and it cleans up with water.

The one thing not to wave away is the sensitisation classification, because it does not behave the way the tiny percentages suggest. Skin sensitisation is not irritation. Irritation is direct chemical damage: it hurts, it heals, and the same dose does the same thing next time. Sensitisation is the immune system learning to recognise a molecule. Once that has happened it is generally permanent, and from then on an exposure far below the one that caused it — a smear you would not have noticed — is enough to raise a rash. The isothiazolinone preservatives are, as a class, among the most commonly identified causes of allergic contact dermatitis, which is very likely why this classification is here; the safety data sheet does not attribute it to a specific ingredient, so treat that link as inference from the composition.

What makes it worth a paragraph on a trade product rather than a consumer one is the exposure pattern. Sensitisation is driven by repeated low-level contact, and this is a 420 g cartridge bought by people who will run through many of them. Tooling a bead bare-fingered, wiping the nozzle on a rag, washing the residue off with water at smoko — done a few times, none of that matters; done every working day for a decade, it is precisely the exposure profile that produces sensitisation. The glove is not for today's cartridge.

There is also a small trap in the clean-up. Water removes the uncured adhesive easily, which makes it tempting to handle the product bare-handed because the mess is not a problem. Ease of clean-up says nothing about the sensitisation hazard.

Protection

• Gloves — nitrile rubber is indicated for intermittent contact; make your own final assessment for your conditions and glove construction. This is the control for the one classified hazard the product has.
• Eye protection — safety glasses. There is no eye classification, but overhead and vertical work still puts squeeze-out above a face.
• Clothing — overalls and safety shoes. Take off contaminated clothing and wash it before reuse.
• Wash hands and exposed skin thoroughly after handling, and before eating, drinking, smoking or using the toilet.
• Storage — cool and dry.

First aid

Exposure	What to do
Skin	Effects may be delayed. Remove contaminated clothing and flush skin and hair with running water. If swelling, redness, blistering or irritation occurs, seek medical assistance. If a rash appears, get medical advice — a sensitisation reaction is worth having diagnosed rather than working through.
Eyes	Wash out immediately with water. In all cases of eye contamination it is a sensible precaution to seek medical advice.
Inhalation	Move the person to fresh air without becoming a casualty yourself. Loosen tight clothing, let them rest comfortably and keep them warm until fully recovered. Seek medical advice if effects persist.
Swallowed	Rinse the mouth with water. Do NOT induce vomiting. Give a glass of water. Never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. Seek medical advice.

If poisoning occurs, contact a doctor or the Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand — with the container to hand. Selleys emergency line: 1800 220 770 in Australia, 0800 220 770 in New Zealand.

Common questions about Pro Trade Construction Adhesive Fast Grip

How long before I can remove clamps or temporary fasteners?

A minimum of 24 hours, which is the initial cure. Full cure is 72 hours.

Can I use it outdoors?

Only in sheltered exterior applications. The technical data sheet limits it to interior and sheltered exterior use.

Can I paint over it?

Yes, after 12 hours.

How do I get the strongest initial grab?

Apply to one surface only, press the parts together, pull them apart, allow up to 5 minutes' drying — no longer — then firmly rejoin.

Why is my bond taking longer than 72 hours?

Humid conditions, cooler conditions and non-porous surfaces all extend the cure. It is a water-based adhesive, so it needs a route for the water to leave.

Can I use it to hang a mirror?

No. It is not for use on mirrors — use Selleys Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal.

Can I bond metal with it?

Metals are on the suitable materials list, but not metals heated by direct sunlight, where bonds weaken at higher temperatures.

Will it stick to plastic?

Some plastics, but not polyethylene, polypropylene, Teflon or silicone. Pre-test any plastic before you rely on it.

How much heat will the cured bond take?

Bonds will resist temporary exposure up to 140 °C. That is temporary exposure, not continuous service at that temperature.

Can I use it as the only fixing?

No. It must not be used as the sole bonding agent for structural bonding, and mechanical fasteners should be used in high stress applications.

How do I clean it up?

With water while uncured. Cured product must be scraped or sanded off.

Is it low VOC?

VOC content is 24 g/L by calculation, and it meets Green Building Council VOC limits for multipurpose construction adhesives.

What size does it come in?

A 420 g cartridge, in beige.