A Dynamic Guide To Adhesives

Room Design

David Spira

5 October 2019

1–2 minutes

So… this is the coolest utility website that I didn’t know existed:

This To That, a source for all things glue.

Solving Adhesive Woes

Sticking things to other things is a struggle… especially if you need them to last… especially especially if you need the bond to withstand the weapons-grade destructive force of an escape room team.

Solving the puzzle of “which glue do I use for this problem” is a function of chemistry and This To That solves it with two dropdown menus.

Screenshot: This To That reads, "Because people have a need to glue things to other things." There are two dropdowns to choose what to merge.

Do you need to attach ceramic to leather or metal to rubber? Apparently E6000 is your non-flammable solution.

How about adhering glass to fabric? Weldbond is your solution.

So many of the possible combinations on This To That never occurred to me… but the answer is there waiting for that special day when I have a desperate need to stick leather to glass.

Silicone II… for what it’s worth.

Check out This To That to solve your sticky situations.

Support Room Escape Artist’s Mission

There are lots of ways to support Room Escape Artist, like buying from Amazon or Etsy after clicking into the links included in this post or backing us on Patreon.

The money that we make from these helps us to grow the site and continue to add more value to the community that we love so much.

3 responses to “A Dynamic Guide To Adhesives”

Daniel Egnor

October 6, 2019 at 1:29 pm

That site is wonderful in its organization and functional purpose but I’ve often found it lacking when actually facing a bonding question, and eventually gave up actually using it. At best it provides some ideas, but often it’s missing some important info.

I also don’t think it’s been updated in 15 years, and adhesive technology has undergone a quiet revolution since then, specifically with pressure sensitive adhesives, most generally available in 3M’s “Very High Bond” (VHB) tapes (technically not glue, I suppose, but serving the same this-to-that purpose), which are magical.

I would _love_ an updated, more comprehensive version of this site, because adhesive selection is quite a dark art to which the only good answer I’ve found is “ask a 3M applications engineer”….

Loading…

Reply
1. David Spira
  
  October 6, 2019 at 4:26 pm
  
  That’s a good insight. This might be a thing that I dive deeper into at some point.
  
  Loading…
  
  Reply
Justin Nevins

October 7, 2019 at 3:14 pm

YES! E6000 is an amazing glue and what I’ve used for Cryptex making for 15 years. I’m glad they are getting some recognition. It is phenomenal for gluing brass end caps to aluminum middle tubes or brass security tubes. Gluing roughened aluminum to polycarbonate spacer rings is generally good with about 2% failure rate in escape rooms (but easily fixable). I’ve tried a ton of other glues, but E6000 is the best glue I’ve ever found (I buy it by the case).

Loading…

Reply

🖋️ Author

Written by

David Spira

Co-Founder of Room Escape Artist & Co-Host of Reality Escape Pod. David conceived of Room Escape Artist because he saw the potential of this new entertainment medium back in 2014. From the start, he applied his professional skills as a digital experience designer to the burgeoning industry of escape rooms. David is full of ideas: from in-depth research pieces to new content types… like cute animals solving puzzles. He is always pushing REA to try new things, take risks, and be something more.