We talked about our favorite “dry” adhesives last Thursday…today I’d like to share with you a little about those adhesives we use specifically in “wet” applications.
There are two primary glues that we use in this way:
1) The first is polymer medium. I use polymer gloss medium primarily, as I like the glossy look – but you can also purchase it in a matte finish, as well as a semi-gloss.
In addition, the medium comes in a wide variety of thicknesses. I primarily use soft gel, as I like the way that the glue when applied with a brush holds its shape – but isn’t too stiff to work with.
Some of the options for thickness/texture include heavy gel; self-leveling gel; granular gel; molding paste, etc. All of these provide terrific additions to collage work you might be doing, as you can see below. Since our primary purpose is adhesion, however, we pretty much stick with the basic, every-day variety!
The typical application for this type of adhesive is quite similar to mod podge (but without the smell!); or wallpaper glue – it works very well with anything that won’t ripple from the water content. I typically layer a small amount of adhesive under the paper, lay down the paper and carefully smooth it out - then layer more medium over the paper in order to completely secure the paper to the object.
The most common place to purchase polymer medium is at an art supply store, but some of the larger chains like Michael’s and Hobby Lobby carry it too. If you’ll use it in quantity, you can even buy it in gallon jugs like we do (as in the MONDO version below)!
2) I also promised last Thursday to let you in on the secret of a non-toxic super glue…and for those not yet initiated into the use of “Crafter’s Pick”, you need to go out and get yourself some! It really does hold amazingly well – perhaps not quite as good as crazy glue…but it is water-based; and it has no smell at all.
We use this fantastic product for attaching ribbon to frames, boxes, etc.; and for adding any other embellishments, such as flowers, beads, etc. It dries clear, is easy to get off your hands, and comes in both large and small bottles. I highly recommend investing in it – I’ve just not found anything else that works as well while still remaining non-toxic and relatively eco-friendly. It works on metal, plastic, glass, etc. – truly worth our highest endorsement.
With these two adhesives at our fingertips, all of our needs for wet adhesives are covered – so the next time you find yourself looking for just the right glue to use in an art project, refer to our Adhesive Tutorials 1 & 2 for more info – happy glue-ing!
