Super strong glue?

As the best known glue company in Ireland, we are often asked ‘what is the strongest glue in the world’. It seems like a simple question, but the answer is somewhat more difficult to explain.

Nature itself provides us with some very sticky glue indeed. For example, the Drosera (pictured right) , more commonly known as the Sundew, excretes a very elastic bio adhesive from the glands on its leaves.

This glue is used to trap insects and recent research, has discovered that the glue contains 96% water, and chains of sugars which are cross-linked by calcium and magnesium ions. Certainly a very strong glue.

In industry, some very strong glues, however, there is no ‘worlds strongest glue’. The strength of a bond between two materials, depends on three factors.

• What materials are being glues.
• How is the glue applied.
• What is being manufactured

For different materials, for example wood, metal, plastics and rubber, different families of glues, do show particular adhesion to these materials.

For bonding small rubber articles, super glue is hard to bead. It is exceptionally strong on most rubbers. Say you want to stick rubber to steel, a two part solvent based glue is the one to go for.

For gluing wood and paper, PVA glue is hard to beat. Gluing metal is a cinch, and depending on the type of metal but more importantly, what it is being used for.

There are families of glue that are exceptionally strong, but only relative to the application. For example, Polyurethane glues, epoxy glues and acrylic glues, are amazingly strong and in many gluing jobs, cannot be beaten. These types of glue are used in many high-end applications, such as gluing car, boat and aircraft body parts.

At the end of the day, the strongest glue really depends on what you want to stick together!

We manufacture and distribute an exceptionally wide range of glues. We will always suggest the strongest glue, for whatever you are gluing!