Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Adhesives: Which One Should I Use?

With a vast variety of adhesives, choosing the right one for your project can be a little overwhelming.

How do you know which adhesive to use for...

Paper? 
Wood? 
Glass? 
Fabric?


A few of our own, Joy, Mary Anne, Melody, and Pershette, share their favorite adhesives for crafting.

Joy's Go-To Adhesives


  1. Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi-Medium in Matte. I love this product! I use it as a glue and a sealant. It is ideal for decoupaging.
  2. Tombow MONO Adhesive Permanent. This is what I use for paper to paper crafts.
  3. Pioneer Embellishment Glue Stick. Great for gluing embellishments to paper.
  4. Scor-Pal Scor-Tape. This is an essential for me because this is what I use to create washi tape.
  5. Beacon Fabri-Tac. This is great for fabric and felt. It dries quickly and does not seep through. 
  6. Beacon 527 Multi-Use Glue. This is an aggressive, heavy duty glue for heavy duty projects that use wood, glass, metal, etc. It's thinner than E-6000 but just as strong.

 Mary Anne's Go-To Adhesives


  1. HERMA Classic Vario Adhesive Squares. I use these for photos because all it takes is a couple of adhesive squares to stick photos onto paper.
  2. Tombow MONO Multi Liquid Glue. Great for adhering paper to paper and it does not cause the paper to ripple.
  3. Aleene's Tacky Glue. This tacky glue is great for crafting with kids because it is easy for them to use.
  4. Scotch ATG 700. This framing adhesive is what you use for book projects.
  5. Beacon Zip Dry. I use this to create chipboard word albums.

Melody's Go-To Adhesives


  1. Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi-Medium in Matte. I love Claudine Hellmuth! You can basically use it for everything. I love the way it goes on and I have not ever experienced the dreaded "rippling" effect. I use it on jewelry, glass, paper, and wood.
  2. Beacon Zip Dry. Great for adhering paper to paper. It dries clear and quickly, and a little goes a long way.
  3. Beacon 527 Multi-Use Glue. This is for heavy duty projects and has less odor than E-6000 but just as strong. Great for non-porous surfaces.
  4. Beacon Fabri-Tac. This is the best fabric glue to use. Period.
  5. Scor-Pal Scor-Tape. This thin double-sided tape is perfect for book bindings and creating your own washi tape. It is also great for adhering paper and photos to paper.
  6. Inkssentials Wondertape. This double-sided tape is a little thicker than Scor-Tape. I use this tape for embellishments by placing the tape onto glass or paper, then covering it with glitter or small beads.
  7. Gorilla Glue. This glue is for major projects and great for gluing wood to wood.

Pershette's Go-To Adhesives


  1. E-6000. I love this glue! I practically use it for almost all my crafts. It is great for adhering unlike items like glass to wood, or metal to glass. It dries clear and will not break down over time. This is a very heavy duty glue so make sure you are using it in a well ventilated area.
  2. Beacon 3-in-1 Glue. This is not as strong as the E-6000 and it has less odor, but the 3-in-1 can be used for multiple projects that has paper, glass, wood, etc.
  3. Beacon Zip Dry. This is the perfect paper glue. I use it to adhere paper to paper and all my paper projects.
  4. Beacon Fabri-Tac. This dries fairly fast and can be used on any type of fabric.
  5. FloraCraft StyroGlue. This the only glue that will not ruin the STYROFOAM™ you may be using for your project.

What are your favorite adhesives to use for crafting?
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5 comments:

  1. pleiades357April 2, 2013 at 8:41 AM

    Thank you! Nothing like working on a project and getting to the point where you find out... your adhesive isn't working for some reason.
    I have a project going, I don't like the way the black of my wedge flip flops comes off on my feet when I have lotion on, I glued craft foam to the walking surface of the sandal (thick foam type), it works pretty well but I used E-6000 and it was really hard to spread. I need a a thin even coat that won't set up until I position the craft foam. Needs to flex too. What would you recommend, spreadable but sticks to dense foam/plastic flip flop sole and to craft foam?
    I've tried for years to find an adhesive that holds shrink art shapes to plastic "grasp" type hair clips too... still drilling holes and using wire to attach, seems nothing sticks to these clips...
    Thank you...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ben Franklin Crafts and Frame ShopApril 2, 2013 at 12:00 PM

      For foam, try using Creative Hands Foam Glue. For everything else, we use E-6000 as it seems to be the best type of adhesive for all the surfaces we use here. There is also Plastic Cement by Elmer's if you haven't tried that for your hair clips.

      Delete
  2. UnknownJune 7, 2016 at 5:45 PM

    I am wanting to decorate a plastic-like trash can with rhinestones/gems and pearls but I have no idea which glue will work best to keep the gems and pearls on it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ben Franklin Crafts and Frame ShopJune 8, 2016 at 10:32 AM

    E-6000 is a great heavy duty glue.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 7, 2016 at 9:13 AM

    I am trying to mount foam letters on a wall. I was using blue paint tape, triple folded which works on paper to wall. The foam letters are falling off the blue tape. Help.

    ReplyDelete

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