Which glue to choose?

At first glance, it may seem that glue's choice is quite simple, especially for the paper (cardboard). But, when you get feedback from both the children and their parents, whether everything turned out to be glued together, the situation becomes ambiguous.
The wrong choice of glue when you first meet with paper modeling can forever discourage interest in this creativity.

To choose the glue, you need to understand:
1. What type of glue is right for us?
2. Choose a suitable glue manufacturer.
For example, glue-PVA from different manufacturers will vary greatly in price and, accordingly, in quality.
What kind of glue is suitable for gluing parts of polyhedra from the Magic Edges sets? What can you buy in the store for work? First, we will clarify the characteristics of the material that will be glued. All parts of the Magic Edge sets are made of thick white paper (cardboard) with a thickness of 0.15 to 0.29 microns. For comparison, this is a much heavier paper, 3-4 times denser than regular office paper, and even more dense than paper used in school notebooks. This characteristic immediately allows you to narrow the range of suitable types of glue. Therefore, we leave in our list only those types of glue that are suitable for gluing thick paper (cardboard). Of course, you can use more "powerful" adhesives up to epoxy, but this approach's economic feasibility is questionable. Secondly, among all the characteristics of glue for us, the most important are two: 1. Gluing speed - pressed, held, released and everything stuck. 2. The strength of the connection after the glue dries - so that the model does not fall apart in the hands if, after a couple of days, we take it from the shelf.

Glue stick (any manufacturers) - not suitable.

The reason - the glue is not designed to work with thick paper.

The strength of the connection of parts after drying is deficient.

 

 

Office glue or liquid glue - not suitable (any manufacturers).

The reason - the glue is not designed to work with thick paper.

The strength of the connection of parts after drying is deficient. Also, the glue leaves a white mealy bloom, which eventually turns yellow.

 

 

PVA glue can be found in any office supply store, produced by several companies (Comus, Attache, Kores, Polipax, etc.).
It is packaged in tubes 65-85 gr. Pros:
- accessibility - went to the nearest store and bought it.
Minuses:
- gluing speed 15 - 20 seconds. Imagine that you need to press the surface firmly for bonding with each other for 15 seconds and leave them stationary. The slightest displacement and the operation of applying glue and gluing will have to be repeated. And if this “tight pressing” operation is repeated 100 times, for example, to assemble the “Great stellated dodecahedron” polyhedron, then the assembly is delayed for many hours.

 

PVA glue is carpentry, produced under the general brand "Moment". The manufacturer German company, "Henkel".
It is packaged in bottles of 750 gr. Pros:
- gluing speed 3 sec;
- removed by water;
- easy to wash off with water.
Minuses:
- after drying, the layer remaining on the surface remains white.

 

Super-PVA, produced under the general brand "Moment". The manufacturer German company, "Henkel".
It is packaged in bottles of 750 gr. Pros:
- gluing speed 3 sec;
- after drying, the layer remaining on the surface becomes transparent;
- removed by water;
- hands are easily rinsed with water;
- frost resistant. If you take out the glued model of a polyhedron in the cold, it will not fall apart.
Minuses:
- not installed.

 

Glue Super-PVA-D, produced under the general brand "Moment". The manufacturer German company, "Henkel".
It is packaged in bottles of 750 gr. Pros:
- gluing speed 3 sec;
- heavy-duty bonding;
- after drying, the layer remaining on the surface becomes transparent;
- removed by water;
- hands are easily rinsed with water;
- frost resistant. If you take out the glued model of a polyhedron in the cold, it will not fall apart.
Minuses:
- not installed.

 

Glue "Moment-Classic." The glue originates from the USSR and has long been synonymous with quality and speed of bonding. The manufacturer German company, "Henkel".
It is packaged in tubes of 30 ml. Pros:
- gluing speed 3 sec;
- resistant to temperature changes.
Minuses:
- quite expensive glue;
- is not removed from the surface of the polyhedron with the help of water.

 

Glue Alleskleber is produced under the general brand "UHU". The manufacturer German company "UHU GmbH & Co. KG.
It is packaged in tubes of 7, 35, and 60 ml. Pros:
- gluing speed 10 sec.
Minuses:
- expensive glue;
- hard to find in stores;
- possesses a smell (a glue basis - polyvinyl ester);
- is not removed from the surface of the polyhedron with the help of water.

 

Twist & Glue glue, produced under the general brand "UHU". The manufacturer German company "UHU GmbH & Co. KG.
It is packaged in tubes of 35 and 90 ml. Pros:
- gluing speed 10 sec;
- a very convenient cap with a lock that prevents the glue from setting inside the nozzle.
Minuses:
- quite expensive glue;
- hard to find in stores;
- has a smell (adhesive base - polyvinyl stearate copolymer);
- is not removed from the surface of the polyhedron with the help of water.

Summing up, we can say the following, if you are set to glue the polyhedron quickly and accurately, then choose a fast-setting adhesive from a reliable manufacturer!