This is a parallel question to the post 96533.1:
I’m using Bostik’s Best adhesive to glue cork acoustic underlayment to an OSB subfloor, and then stranded bamboo (5/8″) to the cork. I’ve got the cork down and the glue was kind of a nightmare… I wonder if anyone has tips or tricks to suggest for using the glue, short of showering with mineral spirits afterwards. Mainly, I need good ideas for moving about a quart at a time from the bucket to the working surface – the stuff is viscous and glops all over.
Also, what kind of coverage do folks use for the bamboo – I think a 3/32″ square-notch trowel should be fine (which I used for the cork-OSB bond) but Bostik’s suggestion (for hardwood) is a 1/4″ square – seems like a real waste of (expensive) glue.
Thanks,
Tanaya
Replies
Welcome to Breaktime. Never used that glue, but I have heard several horror stories about getting it in places it doesn't belong.
"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Hey T
I glued a bamboo floor with that stuff and can commiserate w/ you. It is certainly a mess if not carefully handled. I wore one rubber glove on my left and used a scoop to pull it out of the bucket. Put in only two rows at a time and you don't need to spread it all the way to the edges. That way when you put in the strips it doesn't squeeze up the t&g joint. I would mark a line two boards wide and stay inside of it with the glue.
Use throw away plastic spreaders and keep the lid on the bucket as much as possible so the glue won't stiffen. 3/32 trowel should be good if you keep it perpendicular to the floor when final spreading in order to create a good ridge of glue.
Min. spirits and lots of rags are good but be careful not to scrub the finish of the bamboo to hard.
Good luck
Hi,
Thanks for the detailed advice!
Did you use a mortarboard or a hawk? During step 1, my mudpan just got glue all over my knuckles when I tried to dip the trowel, so I just started to scoop glue straight from the pail onto the subfloor... which works, I guess, but it ain't pretty.-Tanaya
Following on from nuvue, I used a 3/32 and kept a 2" margin trowel handy. I'd mark lines at 21" off the prior edge, pour onto the floor directly from the bucket, cut the drips from the bucket with the margin trowel and cover it, spread it with care to not get too close to the already-glued boards (nothing messier than cleaning the tongue/groove if glue smooshes in there), and lay all those rows at once. I precut as much as possible for those rows so that the glue didn't have time to skin over and I didn't get my knuckles and tape measure into the glue. I always worked barefoot, too, because I could better tell if I stepped in the glue than with shoes.Keep the bucket covered, and make sure you have fresh glue. The stuff has expiration dates, and old glue handles MUCH worse than new. Try to finish a buck at the end of a day. The less you handle it, the better, which is why I didn't mess with other buckets, hawks, or anything like that. Just straight out of the bucket onto the floor, which is made easier by doing 21" or more, and not just 2 rows.
Looking back, the 3/32 was probably a bit thin on glue, since I had almost no squeeze-through. But the bond seems solid enough a few days later. I actually worked in shoes & socks, which gave me two layers to take off when I naturally did step in the glue. The straps miraculously did OK. I didn't notice any skinning over - gluing the whole thing took about 4 hours and in our low-humidity (25%), curing is super-slow. But I'd definitely worry if I were living in, say, Houston. (I'd cut all the pieces and dry-racked them the last weekend. The room's too weird a shape to do otherwise.)By the way, it would be awesome if places that recycle building materials would also recycle an odd gallon of urethane adhesive. Anyone know of such a thing? I'd have bought 5 people's castoffs instead of a new 5-gal bucket, if they weren't too old.
Edited 12/4/2007 12:58 pm ET by tanaya
>I'd have bought 5 people's castoffs instead of a new 5-gal bucket, if I could.I wouldn't, aside from the fact that I used way more buckets than that. Open glue, even closed carefully again, ages quickly and badly.
Update, in case future forum users find it handy.
I used a long bricklayers' trowel to "scoop" glue out of the bucket onto the floor - twirl it around first to eliminate drips. The 3/32 square-notch works great to spread it, and since my rows were short I could do 3 at a time.
The glue, after it cures, will peel nicely off plastic surfaces. For metal surfaces a razor blade at a glancing angle works ok. As for skin, I found that rubbing my hands with a mineral-spirits rag is a good start, then use vaseline - rub it into your hands and then wash off with a strong soap.
I can see why this glue is recommended - it's quite elastic well after curing!
So, how many times did the straps fall into the frersh glue?"Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt