Gorilla Glue has come out with new clear-drying wood glue.
The company says that their new glue can be used for both indoors and outdoors projects, and passes tests for ANSI/HPVA Type II water resistance.
It dries clear, “offering an invisible bond on wood surfaces.”
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It’s paintable and can be sanded, but cannot be stained.
It sets with 20-30 minutes of clamp-time, and is fully cured in 24 hours.
This is a water-based PVA-type glue. Gorilla says it can be thinned by adding water, but not to exceed 5% by weight.
Buried in the FAQs on their website, Gorilla confirms that, once cured, the glue “complies with FDA #CFR21 175.105 for indirect food contact and can be used on projects such as salad bowls and cutting boards.”
Gorilla has had “natural” tan color wood glue on the market for a while, although I’ve never tried it. This looks to be similar, but clear-drying.
Price $10 for 2x 4oz bottles
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MFC
Your statement that this glue is non-stainable got me wondering if there was a glue that was. I looked it up and Elmer’s Carpenter Wood Glue Max is reportedly stainable. Have you (or anyone) ever used it or another stainable wood glue? If it was able to take a stain decently enough to hide those lines that can show up from wiping glue away, then it could be helpful with certain projects.
I know this isn’t about Elmer’s, but made me curious.
fred
Interesting thought. Wiping – even with a solvent (usually water) soaked rag will leave glue behind and even force some squeeze out into wood pores making later staining problematical. I’ve always been luckier letting squeezed out glue fully dry then scraping away any residue. Even if the residue is stainable – will it take the stain the same as adjoining wood?
Stuart
Great question! I have never looked into this before.
This is what Gorilla says about their wood glue (not this one):
Gorilla Wood Glue can be stained and dyed. However, the color may be a shade off the wood being glued. Water-soluble food coloring type dyes and water based stains can be mixed into the glue before the glue is applied to the wood to get a closer color match.
The point of this formulation is to dry clear, but from their claims, the regular tan-colored version can be dyed/stained to at least some degree if mixed prior to application.
fred
Glue spots can mess up an otherwise perfect finish. After I scrape the dried squeeze out – i often wipe down the area with some denatured alcohol that helps spot glue that I missed. Too little glue and/or too much clamping pressure results in a starved glue joint. Too much glue and you have a mess to clean up. It takes some practice. Furniture finishing artistes (the professionals that do museum restorations) can seemingly cover up all sorts of imperfections like old hide glue drips, water stains etc. But they have a better eye than I do – and use a combination of dyes, glazes, shellac sticks, stains and waxes thinned with various solvents to match imperfections to the rest of the piece.
John
Hide glue is stainable like Old Brown glue or Titebond Hide glue.
fred
I’ll often heat up my Hold-Heet glue pot and prepare a batch of hide glue. Very forgiving stuff – but water is it enemy – so not good for outdoor use or for tables you plan to wash down. Great for some of the reproduction furniture I build – and once the several coats of shellac and wax (French Polish) are applied the glue and joints should last for ages – unless someone careless pours a bottle of 151-proof rum on it.
John
I really like Titebond Quick & Thick glue, it dries clear and is sandable in a short timeframe. It’s great for moulding and small joints where you want to get it done promptly.
Bonnie
I’ve recently been introduced to that glue and it’s been growing on me. The clear drying feels like a solution in search of a problem though, as any visible glue is likely to screw up your finish. Even a clear lacquer or water based poly will show a difference over glue, clear or otherwise.
Steven+B
Isn’t the goal for your glue NOT to show? 🙂
I read this and bought some immediately. In general, I do all I can to hide glue if finishing is involved.
However, my favorite projects are not fine-finish ones, but utility ones. I really love building handy things out of 2x4s, like custom organizers. Clear looks better than brown.
Also, I am very curious to if this can be used as filler. Today, I use epoxy when there’s a knot or gap in the board. For example, I have a walnut desk, but there was a small knot hole I plugged with clear epoxy. I actually like the look. The shadows hide the clear aspect and it blends quite naturally, even after applying poly.
Plain+grainy
I noticed “This Old House” suggests a stainable PVA. One is Elmer’s carpenter wood glue Max. It’s the same formula as the regular yellow PVA, with the addition of wood fibers. They also suggest using scrap pieces to test the stain ability & desired look. I’m thinking about trying Gorilla glue ultimate for a shed door project. I’m certainly no expert on glue. I would have typed more, but my fingers are stuck together.
JR Ramos
I’ve used their tan glue – it’s ok, no better or worse than other PVA wood glues. It – and Franklin and others I’ve used over the years – does not stain well. It’ll take a little but rather than “a shade off” it’s like 3-4 shades off at best. If you use dyes it does a tad better. Better to finish before assembly, be careful with application and wipe carefully after clamping. Use a tint lacquer (etc) to help even things out if the glue lines can’t be managed well.
I’ve not used the current dye powders but the old aniline dyes were great in whatever you added them to. I may have to try the food coloring in the glue – hadn’t thought to use that.
If you work with exotic woods that tend to bleed color you can also create and save some fine sawdust from those to mix into glue/epoxy for patches or even just normal joints. Let it marinate for awhile and don’t overdo it. Also works great with denatured alcohol for a stain/dye of sorts – not very lightfast but it can be fun and unique to repurpose the dust that way.
JR Ramos
Real hide glue does seem to stain ok. I haven’t used anything but the bottled liquid from Franklin, and that did not seem to accept stain as well (about the same as PVA), and I’ve heard that all pre-liquid hide glues are like that. But the real stuff does much better (moreso when it’s just thin layers rather than ooze or buildup).
Steven+B
This stuff is GARBAGE for woodworking! I saw this article and ordered it right away.
I was edge gluing a panel and the working time is much less than 1 minute. It’s more like superglue than woodglue.
I glued 2 pieces and by the time I tightened the clamp screw, I couldn’t move the pieces. (and the boards had shifted a hair and I was trying to adjust them).
I’m going back to Titebond 3. It gives me enough time to set pieces and fix any piece migrations due to clamping pressure.
This might be OK for a superglue scenario, but I am not sure what it offers that superglue doesn’t.
FYI, I found it surprisingly easy to break. I can’t break titebond 2 or 3 when glued and clamped. With this, I dropped the ruined piece on the floor accidentally and the glue joint broke cleanly and perfectly…meaning it was the glue that failed and not the wood that broke. It had only cured for an hour, but still…given that it gives only a few seconds of working time, you’d think it would at least be stronger.