For your production line
You bond, coat or seal in your own factory and need something that runs on your line and passes your tests.
HPL or laminate to board, without a press
The bond has to form on contact, so the choice is between contact adhesive chemistries — and the service conditions decide which one.
Confirm first
- Flat panels only, or post-formed and curved edges
- Board type — MDF, particleboard or plywood — and its moisture content
- Brush and roller, or spray gun
- Workshop temperature and humidity when coating and closing
- Heat in service: kitchen worktops, appliances, hot containers in transit
Rules it out
- PVAc or VAE wood glue — it needs clamping pressure until it sets
- SBS where the finished panel will see heat
- Water-based if drying time, temperature or humidity cannot be controlled
Candidate systems
Before production: Bond your actual laminate to your actual board, check for bubbles and edge lift, and repeat after heat exposure if the panel will see it. Compare candidates only under the same conditions.
HPL or veneer to board, with a cold or hot press
A press opens up PVAc and VAE adhesives, which usually cost less per square metre — at the price of press time.
Confirm first
- Cold or hot press, and the press time you can give each load
- Flat panels only, or edges that the press does not reach
- Output per shift
- Required water resistance of the bond line, for example an EN 204 durability class
- Heat in service
Rules it out
- PVAc or VAE on post-formed edges the press cannot hold
- Reading EN 204 D3 or D4 as a general quality ranking — the class describes water resistance, not heat resistance or strength
Candidate systems
| System | Why consider it | Status |
|---|
| PVAc or VAE press adhesive | Single-sided spread and no waiting between coats; needs press time. | Assessed on request |
| Contact adhesive | No press time; suits post-formed edges, small batches and repairs. | Listed product line |
Before production: Run a press trial with your board, laminate and press cycle, then check the bond line after conditioning and after any water or heat exposure your product must survive.
PU foam to fabric — sofas, mattresses and seating
Throughput, glue-line softness and strike-through on light fabrics decide this more than bond strength does.
Confirm first
- Foam type and density — standard, high-resilience or memory foam
- Fabric weight, and whether adhesive could show through
- Bulk spray gun or aerosol, and output per shift
- Whether the glue line must stay soft
- Odour or emission requirements on the finished product
Rules it out
- Aerosol cans as the main format on a production line
- A heavy coat on thin or light-coloured fabric
- A solvent grade not yet checked on memory foam
Candidate systems
Before production: Test on your foam and fabric for strike-through, edge hardness and bond after repeated compression, and compare coverage and overspray waste per square metre.
EPS or XPS insulation board to wall, metal or board
Polystyrene dissolves in many solvents, so compatibility comes before strength.
Confirm first
- EPS or XPS, and any facing on the board
- The surface it goes onto
- Interior or exterior, and service temperature
- Whether the adhesive is the fixing or a hold under mechanical fixings the insulation system specifies
Rules it out
- General solvent-borne contact adhesive
- One-component PU gap-filling foam used as a board adhesive
- Adhesive alone where the insulation system specifies mechanical fixings
Candidate systems
| System | Why consider it | Status |
|---|
| Polystyrene-compatible foam spray adhesive | Solvent blend chosen not to attack polystyrene — still confirm on your board. | Listed product line |
| Water-based adhesive | No solvent attack; slower grab and drying. | Assessed on request |
| Board adhesive or mortar specified by a façade insulation system | Required where the wall system is tested and approved as a whole. | Not in our catalogue |
Before production: Patch-test on the actual board and check the surface after the solvent has flashed off, then pull-test after cure.
EVA, rubber or TPR sole to a synthetic or leather upper
The adhesive is one part of a system: cleaning, halogenation or primer, activation and pressing decide the bond as much as the glue.
Confirm first
- Sole material and compound, including release agents
- Upper material
- Cleaning, halogenation or primer steps you run now
- Activation equipment, and the film temperature it actually reaches — not the oven setting
- The brand’s bond test method and pass values
Rules it out
- Choosing the adhesive without the surface treatment it depends on
- Comparing peel figures produced by different methods
- Treating the oven setting as the film temperature
Candidate systems
Before production: Bond pairs on your sole and upper, and test fresh and aged pairs to the brand’s method — flex durability separately from bond strength.
Moving a shoe line from solvent-based to water-based
The adhesive swap is the easy part; drying capacity, activation and the brand’s ageing tests decide whether the line keeps its speed.
Confirm first
- Which operations are switching — sole attaching, lasting or insole
- Drying tunnel length and temperature, and line speed
- Activation equipment
- Primer and hardener compatibility
- Brand chemical restrictions, such as a ZDHC MRSL, and test protocol
Rules it out
- Switching without the drying capacity the water has to leave through
- Expecting the same open time as the solvent grade
- Approving on fresh pairs only — hydrolysis shows up after ageing
Candidate systems
Before production: Trial the same operation at production speed, then test fresh and aged pairs against the brand method.
Paper labels on HDPE bottles in cold or frozen storage
Application temperature, service temperature and condensation are three separate requirements, and a curved low-energy surface adds a fourth.
Confirm first
- Face stock
- Container material and curvature
- Temperature at labelling, and temperature in storage
- Condensation or ice on the container when labelled
- Permanent or removable
- Coater type, target dry coat weight and line speed
Rules it out
- Selecting on peel data measured on a steel panel
- Reading the minimum service temperature as the minimum labelling temperature
- A standard permanent grade on a wet or iced surface
Candidate systems
Before production: Label the real bottle at your labelling temperature, store it at service temperature through condensation cycles, and check lifting and flagging on the curve.
Protective film on stainless steel, aluminium or plastic sheet
The requirement is the result at removal — no lifting during fabrication and no residue afterwards — not a tack level.
Confirm first
- Surface and finish — brushed or mirror stainless, coated aluminium, PMMA or polycarbonate
- Film backing
- Fabrication: laser cutting, bending, deep drawing
- How long the film stays on, indoors or outdoors, with heat or UV
- Removal speed and what counts as residue
Rules it out
- "Low tack" as the whole specification
- Approving after 24 hours when the real dwell time is months
- Ignoring outdoor storage of the finished parts
Candidate systems
| System | Why consider it | Status |
|---|
| Low-tack water-based acrylic on PE film | The common protective-film chemistry; peel build-up over time is the property to control. | Assessed on request |
| Solvent-borne acrylic or rubber-based film adhesive | Used for some demanding surfaces and processes. | Not in our catalogue |
Before production: Apply on the actual surface, age at the real dwell time, temperature and UV, remove at production speed and inspect for residue and staining.
Coating tape — balancing tack against holding power
Tack, peel and shear pull against each other, and each value only means something with its method and coat weight.
Confirm first
- Backing and release liner
- Single or double-sided, permanent or removable
- Surfaces the tape must hold, load and temperature
- Coating method and dry coat weight
- Your customer’s test methods — FINAT, PSTC or ASTM
Rules it out
- Comparing values measured with different methods or at different coat weights
- PVC backings or foams without a plasticiser-resistance check
Candidate systems
Before production: Measure tack, peel and shear at your coat weight with your customer’s methods, before and after heat ageing.
Sealing against natural stone or mirrors, or a structural glazing joint
Neutral cure removes the acid attack but does not by itself make a sealant safe on stone, compatible with a mirror backing, or structural.
Confirm first
- Exact substrate — marble, granite or limestone; the mirror backing
- Joint width and movement
- Interior or exterior
- Whether the sealant carries load, as in structural glazing
- The standard your project specification names
Rules it out
- Acetoxy silicone on stone, mirrors, metal or concrete
- Assuming a general-purpose neutral grade is non-staining
- A weatherproofing sealant in a structural glazing joint
Candidate systems
Before production: Get the staining report for that stone or the mirror maker’s compatibility confirmation, and an adhesion test on the project substrates.
