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You need solid glue to do your carpentry work with confidence. Different companies in the market claim to have the best glue for wood surfaces.
But which of them is the best? We’ll find out does gorilla glue work on wood to wood and how it compares to original gorilla super glue.
Despite the versatility and the strength of the gorilla wood glue, there are some situations where it’s not the ideal glue of choice.
We’ll talk about those situations. If you don’t want to use gorilla glue, there are many other choices; we’ll discuss them as well.
Gorilla Glue: Is it effective for wood-to-wood bonding?
The Gorilla wood glue is an excellent option for attaching wood with wood. The Gorilla Wood glue has a water-based PVA formula which makes it easy to maneuver compared to other glues. It bonds very well on wood composites, and it’s great to finish a project within 24 hours.
Can you glue over paint? We tested Gorilla wood glue
Gorilla wood glue is polyvinyl acetate glue. Any PVA wood glue l work if the wood is painted with water-based paint.
However, Gorilla wood glue isn’t the best option for oil-based paint. If the wood has been painted with shellac, varnish, or a sealer, it’ll fail to adhere to the color.
Why should you not use Gorilla Glue on wood?
1. Don’t use regular gorilla glue on wood
Both gorilla super glue and wood glue are products of the gorilla glue company. The original gorilla glue that we know of is polyurethane glue.
It wasn’t the ideal choice for woodwork. The gorilla super glue required moisture to cure, and it expanded as it fixed. That made it difficult to form a strong bond between the wood pieces. It still used to work fine for damp wood.
The white gorilla glue is the super glue that is versatile but not ideal for woodwork. The yellow glue is the gorilla wood glue which is great for working with wood.
The yellow glue forms a strong glue joint when it comes in contact with the wooden surface.
2. Use gorilla wood glue on wood
But Gorilla Glue upped their game by launching the Gorilla Wood Glue. It’s better than many other types of glue in adhesive strength.
The wood glue maintains a tight line when it cures instead of the original gorilla glue, which used to expand. That makes gorilla wood glue an excellent choice for woodwork.
The gorilla wood glue is one of the best wood glue in the market. Here are some situations where you shouldn’t use the gorilla wood glue:
3. Gap-filling glue
The gorilla wood glue isn’t ideal if you need gap-filling glue. Epoxy glue should be your glue of choice in that case.
4. Oil painted wood
The gorilla wood glue is water-based, and it cannot bond with oil-based paints. Using the Gorilla wood glue on oil-based pants is a bad idea. It’ll come apart quickly.
5. Outdoor projects
Gorilla wood glue is water-resistant, but it’s not entirely waterproof. It’ll work fine if the carpentry gets wet occasionally.
But it won’t do an excellent job if it is frequently exposed to water. If you need 100% waterproof glue, you can use traditional gorilla glue.
What are some alternatives to Gorilla Glue for wood projects?
Wood glue is the best choice for gluing wood together. We recommend using gorilla wood glue as it’s a powerful PVA glue. However, there are plenty of good options if you don’t want to use gorilla wood glue. These are:
1. Titebond iii ultimate wood glue
Titebond IIIi wood glue had been around for a long time before gorilla wood glue came into play. It’s the glue of choice for many carpenters.
This glue is impressive as it’s waterproof and sands well. It’s low viscosity glue with a perfect open time.
It’s a better choice than gorilla wood glue for outdoor projects as it is 100% waterproof. Its viscosity is lower than gorilla glue.
That makes it a bit difficult to control it. But cleaning the excess glue is easy-peasy. A gentle wipe using a paper towel will do the job.
The Titebond glue also has a great open time, making it an excellent construction adhesive.
The glue isn’t transparent, and it’ll be light brown when it dries. However, it does match with most of the wooden surfaces out there.
2. Elmer’s wood glue
Elmer’s wood glue is a cheap option compared to the other wood glues in the market. You can get it for a fraction of the cost of other popular wood flues like gorilla glue and Titebond.
Ensure that the carpentry isn’t exposed to water as this glue isn’t water-resistant. The formula of the glue contains wood fibers.
So, you can easily sand it and paint it after applying it. It’s almost transparent when it dries, giving your finished woodwork a great look.
3. Titebond ii premium wood glue
This glue is pretty much on par with gorilla wood glue. It’s also water-resistant glue that is great for woodwork. It has 10-30 mints of clamp time, and it takes 24 hours to cure fully.
It’s effortless to control and spread the Titebond 2 Premium wood glue. The finish of the Titebond glue is almost transparent as well.
4. Grizzly one wood glue
Gorilla wood glue is useless if you want to glue wood painted with oil-based paints. That’s where the grizzly one wood glue comes in.
It’s 100% waterproof glue that is made of polyurethane. It’s powerful glue that will bond with any porous surface.
This polyurethane adhesive has a decent open time of 25-35 minutes and 2-5 hours of clamp time. You can consider this glue to form a strong bond for your next woodwork project – especially if it’s an outdoor project.
5. J-b weld 50151 woodweld epoxy syringe
You need epoxy glue if you want to fill gaps in your woodwork. The JB glue is an excellent tool for doing that.
The bond comes in two tubes with resin and a hardener in another. It’s recommended that you mix them in a 1:1 ratio into epoxy resin before using them. The glue has an open time of 5-6 minutes once you’ve mixed them. That’s not a long window.
So, you have to be very careful and make sure you don’t make any mistakes when applying the glue. It takes only three hours to cure and form a strong joint.
This glue is an excellent option for DIY projects, indoor projects, outdoor projects, and restoring old furniture. You can use this glue to patch up furniture that has gotten loose over time. The glue becomes light tan when it is completely cured.
Final words
The gorilla wood glue is an excellent choice if you’re in the market for wood glue. But if you have an outdoor project, the Titebond of Grizzly glue that we recommended will be the better option for you.
We hope this guide has helped you pick the suitable glue for your next wood project. Happy carpeting, and don’t forget to share the results of your next project with us!
