Hi all,

I am aboutto start building my new EPP glider kit. It is supplied with Gorilla glue, which I have never used before, & I wondered if anyone has any tips on using this?

I understand that it needs moisture to get it to react & cure, & it foams aswell, but is it a real job to sand it off, or a way of preventing this from happening?


Many thanks,

Ian.

Be careful not to use too much. It expands a lot. Hard to explain what "too much" is, I'm afraid.

make sure that you can clamp or hold the parts together the best you can.  As per amounts to use,  it expands to about 3 times the amount.  I always keep an eye on stuff that i glue with it.  There will be squeeze out, so you will probably have to wipe it off every few mins.  Its great stuff, just a little tricky to get used to.

How long does a bottle last after it is opened?

Ive had mine for a while now.  I always try and squeeze the air out of the bottle then put the cap back on.  The moisture in the air may cause it to start to set up.  As long as its a nice golden brown color and not milky looking, it should be fine.  I worked in a plant that made tiles out of recycled tires, and we used this stuff to make the tiles.  If the tote of glue was milky looking, the tiles never turned out good.  Also, dont let it freeze.

Ihave a bottle on my bench that is two years old and still working like new. I live in a no moisture climate though so that may have something to do with it.
When I use it Igo out to my shop about every hour and with a damp rag Iwipe off the expansion, after a while it has quit expanding. Not sure about sanding it though, I only use it for a few things these days. Very good stuff and very strong, just a pain to use sometimes.

The Gorilla glue you are using is it brown or white? If its white it doesn't need any moisture ...use striaght from the bottle and it works like tite bond ;only better....and it doesn't expand. If its brown it will expand and moisture will help expand it
LShaver1

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-size: medium">Personally I wouldn't use it on a plane. It is to messy and doesn't sand well. It just balls up and with the expansion problems Ijust use it for making styrafoam fuselage supports. It is good for that because it doesn't matter what they look like. I always use wood glue/Carpenters glue, epoxy,and Ca. on all my builds. Plus Gorilla glue is heavy.

JMHO,

Barry
www.canopyrailsforwarbirds.com </span></span>

I use Gorilla Glue (brown) on all my hinges. Vasoline up the knuckle on the hinges and Gor. Glue in the hinge pockets. It fills any voids on your bond. As it expands carefully remove the excess. It will not stick to the Vasoline. Never had a hinge glued like this pull out or loosen up. Stuka Jon

<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS"><span style="font-size: small">I have to reconside now that John brought up the hinges. When I used to build smaller planes and I used Dubro pinned hinges I did use Gorilla glue if I had to make the hole bigger because I positioned it wrong first. It is good for that type of application because it fills the hole but I think like John said hinges are about the only place for it. I still had a mess because I used to much of it. I couldn't keep up to all the hinges oozing on the top and bottom of the stab so I kept the top clean and used an x-acto knife to cut the overflow off on the bottom. It came out OK but if I ever use it again it will be sparingly.

Barry</span></span>

The foaming variety ia also good for skinning balsa sheeted foam wings, when ready to glue your sheet to the core spread it thinly on the balsa sheet,  lightly mist the foam core put them together and quickly get them clamped up/ wieghted down.   works well       .http://tysplanes.com/how_to_videos      there's a section showing how to.

Hi again all,

Thanks for all of your useful replies!

I shall have a couple of test runs with some scrap pieces first, as I have plenty of EPP wing skins that are scrap.

Thanks again.

Ian.

 I sill think there are some things this glue does better than anything else, just practice to see how far it will grow, and try not get it where it will need sanding as suggested above... 

I works well with anything that has to do with foam. Notice that no one has ever complained about using too little of it, mainly because it is impossible to spread it out too thin to do the job. It gives a resillient glue joint that is not fragile like CA.

You can use the expanding nature of Gorilla glue to your advantage. If you have a joint that is sloppy and needs filling you can put some of it in a cup add a drop or two of water and stir it up. Then apply to the joint and watch it fill all those voids and creep into all the crevices.

Naturally you have to visit it every ten or fifteen minutes to wipe off the excess that oozes out.

I use it all the time. Great on foam for sure. Mainly when gluing wing halves togeather on a main spar dihedral brace, nothing better no matter what kind of epoxy you use. If you have a woodpecker it works even better. Works great for mounting horizontal and vertical surfaces to the fuse too. I usually use tape on the joint to force the foaming action back down into the joint. The main caution is to clamp your parts securely because the foam action will jack the pieces apart. Works good for skinning balsa to foam too.

I firmly disagree that it is heavy, definately not any more weight than epoxy over the same area of contact and fill. It's awsome glue.

I know this is about an electric glider, but when using Gorilla glue on glow planes, it's good to remember that it's not fuel proof.

Hi again,

Thanks for all of the very useful replies!

I have another question now to Vicman, regarding this point though.

The instructions in my kit do suggest taping the joints as an option aswell, saying that it gives a better finish to the glue. I know I have to weigh down the EPP wing halves on a plastic sheet, but what is the best tape to use for this, &amp; will I be able to get the tape off afterwards? Is there a clear tape strong enough for this, as I need to check that the joints wont force apart.

Thanks again,

Ian,

Use the handyman's secret weapon..... Duct Tape!</p>

Just kidding, i use masking tape, and lots of it. It usually comes off, but sometimes there are little bits stuck to the glue itself.  U can try packing tape, the glue might not stick to it.  On a build posted on youtube (BIGWINGS) a guy uses epoxy and gorrila glue.  He uses 5min to tack the foam together, and it sets up and holds the foam in place before the gorrila glue sets up.</p>

There is the EXPANDING Gorilla glue http://www.gorillatough.com/glues/go...lue/index.aspx and there is Gorilla WOOD glue http://www.gorillatough.com/glues/woodglue/index.aspx which doesn't expand.

They also make a Super Glue.

I use the blue masking tape for my foamy repairs and all joint gluing that have covering on them. The next morning or evening when I return to the shop I pull the blobs off with a pair of pliers and peel the tape back leaving a very clean joint for covered surfaces. the foamies just have a little brown seam where the glue did its thing.

I've got glow planes that have firewalls, hinges,and tail sections glued with GG that have been in service for over 6 years with no problems to report yet.