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silicone or construction adhesive, which is better?

petepaz

petepaz

New Member
i was reading another thread where someone suggested construction adhesive instead of silicone and i was wondering which is better or why you would use one over the other.
i am installing some cut alum letters this weekend and normally i just use silicone on the studs and in the holes. never had any issues but if the construction adhesive will hold better i should probably use that?
 
skyhigh

skyhigh

New Member
I'm a firm believer in Silicone!!!
A quick story.....
We were un-installing an awning at a local restaurant. Awning was up for about 5 years. When we had all fasteners removed, we still had a hard time removing the awning, as they had run a bead of silicone along the top edge. One guy actually stood on the frame, without it coming loose.

won't the construction adhesive get brittle?
 
petepaz

petepaz

New Member
like i said i have always used silicone so just wondering which was better and now i know...thanks
 
artbot

artbot

New Member

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fresh

New Member
artbot said:
i used construction adhesive for the first 20 years of my fabrication. i think that almost all of them have 10% to 100% failure. it dries out and shrinks. it also won't flex with thermal expansion on large sheets. the best silicone i've come across is sika-bond.


http://www.buildingtalk.com/buildin...sikabond-at-universal-adhesive/402684.article
Click to expand...

My partner (and husband) refuses to understand that construction adhesive is not the best solution. It DRIVES me crazy. Do you have any specific instances where you point to the construction adhesive being the reason for failure? Maybe I can convince him once and for all that it is not the correct material to use.
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
any single part longer than 10" will struggle over time with construction adhesive. in about five years this adhesive will be crunchy dry. as the substrates expand and contract (all my work is indoor and it is failing at about the 10 year mark) the bond will split in half. yes it sticks to wood, acrylic, aluminum, etc. but it doesn't have any elastic quality. so when you see the failed part. it hasn't let go of either substrate. the bond has broken down the middle. for years it seemed like a great inexpensive adhesive. but now it's not coming near my work. i've found that a $9 cartridge of sika-bond lasts as long as two $4 polyurethane cartridges. the material just seems to flow different and make better contact because it's so elastic that it gap fills better. and it's not completely silicone it's a mix of silicone and polyurethane. i believe that's why it sticks so much better than standard silicone. it's the best of both worlds. sika-bond is stocked at my local lowe's. i've found that it often shows up and then is cleaned out in a few days. other pros know how well it works and just take all of them. i've started to grab what i can when i see it.
 
A

a77

New Member
skyhigh said:
I'm a firm believer in Silicone!!!
We were un-installing an awning at a local restaurant. Awning was up for about 5 years. When we had all fasteners removed, we still had a hard time removing the awning, as they had run a bead of silicone along the top edge. One guy actually stood on the frame, without it coming loose.
Click to expand...

Just removed an awning 2 weeks ago - same thing.. it was held up by a (large bead) of silicone under the top frame bar. Just ran a knife along it and then it popped off.

Not sure how or why you had a guy standing on the frame?!?!?! What if it came off?
 
artbot

artbot

New Member
that stuff is a must try. it's like liquid VHB. would be great for places where long perfectly straight walls are possible. curved walls are always a disaster for monolithic pieces. this stuff would just be "squish it on" and go.
 
Mike Paul

Mike Paul

Super Active Member
petepaz said:
i was reading another thread where someone suggested construction adhesive instead of silicone and i was wondering which is better or why you would use one over the other.
i am installing some cut alum letters this weekend and normally i just use silicone on the studs and in the holes. never had any issues but if the construction adhesive will hold better i should probably use that?
Click to expand...


Silicone.

The studs hold all the weight. Silicone just keeps them from working out over the years and keeps moisture out.

Just make sure you blow the dust out of the holes first...
 
TyrantDesigner

TyrantDesigner

Art! Hot and fresh.
While I love silicone, I've actually been looking for an alternative since some signage is going to be temporary and once you cut free the silicone attached sign, it almost always leaves a layer that takes forever for some maint. guy to sand off an interior hang space before painting.

I've heard wd-40 works to remove silicone ... but i've never seen it work on old silicone. Have you guys tried acrylic impregnated silicone caulk to attach? what about that entirely waterbased acrylic stuff? I read that you can use just rubbing alcohol on the waterbased one ... sound concept too since the alcohol breaks apart the bond in acrylics and latex paints temporarily. (try rubbing 91% iso alcohol on a wall ... if it's not oil ... it transfers the paint to the rag you are using ... it dries in the rag and bonds with the rag like it was always there.)
 
Rojo

Rojo

New Member
I'd really like to try out this Siroflex Mighty Grip and Grab. Anyone know of a distributer in the USA?
 
skyhigh

skyhigh

New Member
a77 said:
Just removed an awning 2 weeks ago - same thing.. it was held up by a (large bead) of silicone under the top frame bar. Just ran a knife along it and then it popped off.

Not sure how or why you had a guy standing on the frame?!?!?! What if it came off?
Click to expand...

What can I say.....he's a 23 year old accident waiting to happen. It wasn't my idea, and he did catch hell. No excuse, but he did have ahold of the straps attached to the awning. :rolleyes:

And I didn't laugh until later.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Just did a job this morning of 12" & 8" Gemini Minnesota letters and we were not allowed to stud mount, so after checking with my guy, got something called MS35. This stuff sets up in like a minute. It's tremendous and it's use is for almost anything.

We taped a plastic grooved strip for each line with the spacing predetermined for the letters. Put the schmutz on the pads, pressed it in place and held it there for like 30 seconds and went to the next letter. Til I got three letters down, they were 100% in place and holding perfect. No taping was needed.

Washing the wall first with soap and water and then alcohol, making our grid lines and taping guides in place, then putting the schmutz on setting them in place and removing the guides and then mounting the 8" x 96" sign for the gallery in solid steel took us from the time we got there until we left, less than 1-1/2 hours.

We even used the MS35 on the back of the gallery sign to hold it in place and then drilled 3 screws in for a little extra measure. It held that sign in place without the physical fasteners, but we just wanted to play it safe.

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