What roller covers for contact cement?

[Brian Elfert]

I am currently applying a bunch of the high VOC contact cement for a project. About a gallon worth so far. I bought a batch of 12 cheap roller covers from Amazon. The mine ones about four inches wide with just a metal rod.

My problem is the roller covers keep coming apart. I used up five covers last night for about 1/2 gallon of contact cement. Any recommendations for a better roller cover considering I probably have ten days left of applying contact cement? I bought a dozen roller covers considering I would use one per day and toss it when done for the day.

[Roger Feeley]

Yikes! I hope you have plenty of ventilation.

you didn’t say if the surface is horizontal or vertical. If horizontal, I would pour it out and use a hard rubber roller or squeegee to spread. If vertical, they make special roller covers for adhesive, epoxy, and polyester resins.

Contact Adhesive Rollers 9" Long With A 1/8" Nap
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LY4YM8N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_RPRkFb4S6W2G6

[john bateman]

Around here Home Depot carries two adhesive roller covers, 1/4" or 1/8". They are $5 each and you would probably need to discard at the end of the day.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I don't know about contact cement but I used foam roller covers to spread epoxy when I built a couple of canoes a few years ago. I bought 9" roller covers and cut them into thirds with a utility knife as it was cheaper to do that than buy the short ones.

[Brian Elfert]

Yikes! I hope you have plenty of ventilation.

you didn’t say if the surface is horizontal or vertical. If horizontal, I would pour it out and use a hard rubber roller or squeegee to spread. If vertical, they make special roller covers for adhesive, epoxy, and polyester resins.


Horizontal application. What I did was make a frame of 1x3 pine and then I am laminating 1/8" hardboard to the frame. At this point a roller works best for putting contact cement on the frames. I am only putting contact cement on the hardboard where the frames will touch. I will be putting laminate on the hardboard and it might make sense to use a different method for spreading the glue then.

Yes, lots of ventilation. Fan blowing air out one window and sucking in from window across the room. I found $5 adhesive rollers at Home Depot that I could cut in half.

[Brian Elfert]

Getting a bit off topic now, but would water based contact cement be good enough for sticking laminate (Formica) to hardboard? I saw a lot of reviews that the water based stuff doesn't stick thing together like the high VOC contact cement. I wanted maximum bond between the hardboard and my pine frames.

[Paul F Franklin]

The non-flammable formulations have improved, but I think it's fair to say the flammable type is still superior. Having said that, I avoid the flammable version because of the flash fire danger, and I've not had any issues with delamination of laminate as long as I follow the directions to the letter. And I always use two coats on on any porous substrate.

I'd be careful even using fans with the flammable stuff, any little spark can set it off.

[Lisa Starr]

Per Paul's post above, yes the non-flammable versions are better than they used to be but....still not as good as the flammable ones. Even the reduced VOC versions of flammable ones fall short of the "full strength" version. I use Bonding Adhesive made for commercial roofing, as it is just contact cement on steroids and I have ready access to 5 gallon pails of it. It works great, but boy does it require ventilation. I use regular 1/4" nap 8" roller covers from a borg. If used daily, you can get a day or two out of the same cover.

[Mark Bolton]

You may want to switch to a spray option. Cheap HVLP gravity cup gun from HF is what we keep in the shop to spray Wilsonart 950 all the time. It beats the roller hands down. I wouldnt toss the rollers out at the end of the day though, just seal them up in a ziplock baggie tight, if its going to be a while toss them in the fridge and they will last for a long time.

You may want to make sure your OK with contact/laminate over tempered hardboard. I cant recall for sure but I think I remember reading about some issues applying laminate over hardboard but not sure. Waterbased contact would be fine (like Wilsonart H2O) but it definitely doesnt have the bulletproof reputation nor the speed of high solvent. The big issue with the H20 is the longer dry time.

We just laminated about 180 4 ply hardboard panels with straight PVA but you'd have to be able to clamp them for 30 minutes or so.

[Brian Elfert]

You may want to make sure your OK with contact/laminate over tempered hardboard. I cant recall for sure but I think I remember reading about some issues applying laminate over hardboard but not sure. Waterbased contact would be fine (like Wilsonart H2O) but it definitely doesnt have the bulletproof reputation nor the speed of high solvent. The big issue with the H20 is the longer dry time.


I can't find anything online specifically about laminate or Formica over hardboard. The hardboard bonded just fine to my pine frames with contact cement. I was wondering if I might need to scuff the surface of the hardboard to make the laminate stick. I did not scuff the hardboard before attaching it to the pine.

[Brian Elfert]

DAP Weldwood non flammable contact cement says that one surface must be porous. I know laminate is not porous and hardboard doesn't really seem to be porous either. That seems to disqualify the DAP product. The 60 minute time before the parts can be assembled is also an issue. I probably have to do two coats on the hardboard so it takes over two hours for a single sheet of laminate.

I would use the Wilsonart H2O contact cement, but I wouldn't get it for at least a week if I ordered it. There are only a few online sources for the product and most of them state it doesn't ship for several days. I have no idea where to get the stuff locally. I doubt any distributor will sell to me.

[Mark Bolton]

DAP Weldwood non flammable contact cement says that one surface must be porous. I know laminate is not porous and hardboard doesn't really seem to be porous either. That seems to disqualify the DAP product. The 60 minute time before the parts can be assembled is also an issue. I probably have to do two coats on the hardboard so it takes over two hours for a single sheet of laminate.

I would use the Wilsonart H2O contact cement, but I wouldn't get it for at least a week if I ordered it. There are only a few online sources for the product and most of them state it doesn't ship for several days. I have no idea where to get the stuff locally. I doubt any distributor will sell to me.

Good catch on the porosity, no go for H2O, I forgot that one.

[Brian Elfert]

Good catch on the porosity, no go for H2O, I forgot that one.

None of the information I could find on the H2O contact cement said anything about porosity. It was only the DAP product that said that. Good thing I didn't order any of the H20 product then.

[Mark Bolton]

Additionally that was a concern of ours with these 4 ply panels even with PVA but talking with franklin and having done test mockups over 3 years ago we just fast scuffed with 80 grit and pressed them but again this was just straight PVA (TB Original).

I was concerned with whatever oily type surface there is on the hardboard but the mockups held for 3 years and Franklin said they had had zero issues in their tests with hardboard. Makes the H2O contact issue seem a little odd and makes you wonder what amount of porosity is required. The reasons you mention with the water borne contact, and that it has some serious constraints with regards to spraying is why I havent switched. Im not saying the flammability issue isnt a major one but when you spray contact its nothing like spraying a solvent finish. There is ZERO overspray hanging in the air. It comes out of the gun in a stringy spray. I most definitely wouldnt be careless but I also wouldnt be a chicken little about it either. Good setup of your area, good ventilation, and its fine. Its so much faster its worth it because the mere air flow of spraying speeds the dry time and you dont wind up chasing dry spots, thick and thin, etc..

[Mark Bolton]

None of the information I could find on the H2O contact cement said anything about porosity. It was only the DAP product that said that. Good thing I didn't order any of the H20 product then.

Right when I read your post I remembered a conversation with our Wilsonart rep who caught me on that when I was going to use it but spaced it. Im pretty sure all the waterborne contacts are just some variation of PVA (basically wood glue) and the water has to be able to go somewhere because it wont be mostly gone even with the long dry times.

[Brian Elfert]

What about the 3M Fastbond 30NF contact cement? The technical data sheet from 3M even mentions hardboard so I would hope it would work. It is very expensive at three to four times what regular DAP flammable contact cement sells for. It is available through Amazon Prime.

The easy choice would be to just keep using the regular contact cement. It should work just fine. It just needs a lot of ventilation to use. The dew point and temperature have been unusually low for the past few days so bringing in lots of fresh air has not been an issue. The dew point will be back up into the 60s by tomorrow so bringing lots of humid air inside is not a great idea. I will probably move the operation outside to keep the chemicals outside.

[Mark Bolton]

What about the 3M Fastbond 30NF contact cement? The technical data sheet from 3M even mentions hardboard so I would hope it would work. It is very expensive at three to four times what regular DAP flammable contact cement sells for. It is available through Amazon Prime.

The easy choice would be to just keep using the regular contact cement. It should work just fine. It just needs a lot of ventilation to use. The dew point and temperature have been unusually low for the past few days so bringing in lots of fresh air has not been an issue. The dew point will be back up into the 60s by tomorrow so bringing lots of humid air inside is not a great idea. I will probably move the operation outside to keep the chemicals outside.


Gadzukes.. Just pulled it up. $300 a pail was the cheapest I found. That would be a hard pill to swallow paying 80 a pail now

[Bruce Wrenn]

I am currently applying a bunch of the high VOC contact cement for a project. About a gallon worth so far. I bought a batch of 12 cheap roller covers from Amazon. The mine ones about four inches wide with just a metal rod.

My problem is the roller covers keep coming apart. I used up five covers last night for about 1/2 gallon of contact cement. Any recommendations for a better roller cover considering I probably have ten days left of applying contact cement? I bought a dozen roller covers considering I would use one per day and toss it when done for the day.


Your laminate supplier should stock the textured rubber roller covers for contact cement. End of the day, wrap them in a bread bag, and tomorrow start off where you left off.

[Mel Fulks]

Are you doing whole sheets ,or pieces ?

[Brian Elfert]

I don't have a laminate supplier. I am just a hobbyist trying to minimize my financial outlay for this project. I am making cabinets for my RV. I got the laminate from a cabinet shop that went out of business and had a whole pallet of 4x10' sheets of laminate they sold me for $2.50 per sheet. Most of my materials come from Home Depot or Menards.

I am installing sheets of laminate about 36" wide by about 76" long.

[Mel Fulks]

[QUOTE=Brian Elfert. I am only putting contact cement on the hardboard where the frames will touch.

I think that yellow glue would be better for that part of the job

[johnny means]

I use the corncob rollers shown in a previous response. We used to pride ourselves on who could milk one roller cover the longest. We'd store them in our glue buckets and they would last indefinintely. Some guys would keep one going for years, and this was in a shop where a job could involve hundreds of sheets of laminate.

[Brian Elfert]

I think that yellow glue would be better for that part of the job

Yellow glue might be a good choice if I had enough clamps to hold it all down while it dries.

[Mel Fulks]

Brian, contact cement is only rated to last 5 or 10 years in an inside heated and cooled environment. Call any company
that makes it and they will tell you it's not going to work in a camper. Maybe you can get some coarse screws in what
is already done.

[Joe Jensen]

Getting a bit off topic now, but would water based contact cement be good enough for sticking laminate (Formica) to hardboard? I saw a lot of reviews that the water based stuff doesn't stick thing together like the high VOC contact cement. I wanted maximum bond between the hardboard and my pine frames.

I just did a bunch and used the water based from the laminate manufacturer. Other than taking a lot longer to dry before joining it was excellent. In a production environment the latex would take too long I think. I live in Arizona where humidity is low. It was 78 degrees and 45 percent humidity and the adhesive took 1.5 hrs to be completely dry. The distributor said to make sure it was totally dry and said if you did it would bond as strong as solvent based. I believe him now. I did some scraps and I cannot pull the laminate off the MDF scrap.

[Brian Elfert]

Brian, contact cement is only rated to last 5 or 10 years in an inside heated and cooled environment. Call any company
that makes it and they will tell you it's not going to work in a camper. Maybe you can get some coarse screws in what
is already done.

How do countertops and cabinets with laminate glued with contact cement not fall apart quickly then? Factory made laminate countertops probably don't use contact cement, but shop made ones probably do.

It is what it is at this point. If it falls apart in a couple of years I will have to rebuild with plan B I guess. I didn't want the weight of MDF in my RV. Plywood doesn't necessarily hold laminate very well. I don't have all the clamps required to use a glue that requires clamping. Plan B will have to involve several hundred dollars for those equal pressure clamps.

What glue would you suggest I use if I had the proper clamps to clamp hardboard to pine?

[Mel Fulks]

If the pieces are smooth and fit well yellow glue might be okay ,check at what temp it fails. For any joints that don't fit well I would use PL brand polyurethane adhesive. All of the mfgs will answer questions and give you advice on phone or in
an email.

[Andrew Seemann]

Hi Brian,
For supplies, you might try Holdahl Company in Plymouth. I'm pretty sure they sell retail. WW Guild members get a discount on some stuff if you are a member. They appear to have a good selection of laminates, adhesives, and accessories.

[Wayne Cannon]

I still have several roller covers specifically for spreading smelly, flamable, contact cement. They have a very hard, red, rubber-like surface -- almost like a plastic and harder than a traditional hard rubber J-roller.

[Mark W Pugh]

OK, I'm not an expert on specific rollers. I spread the majority of the contact cement with a piece of scrap wood/plastic/whatever, and finish edges with a short nap paint roller. I don't remove the roller from the handle. It's now my contact cement roller.

Next time I need the roller, I just brush it off, and use it again. No need for multiple high priced rollers to spread glue. IMHO

[Brian Elfert]

Hi Brian,
For supplies, you might try Holdahl Company in Plymouth. I'm pretty sure they sell retail. WW Guild members get a discount on some stuff if you are a member. They appear to have a good selection of laminates, adhesives, and accessories.

Thanks for the tip. I am going to call them to see what they say about water based contact cement with hardboard.

[Brian Elfert]

I talked to someone at Holdahl company about if water based contact cement would work for laminate on hardboard. He said it should work, but he recommended sticking with solvent based because there is a learning curve for water based. He said cabinet shops typically take about a month to really get proficient with water based when switching from solvent based. Personally, I am not sure water based would be that hard to use.

I am planning to get some #6 3/4" screws to countersink into the hardboard so I also have a mechanical bond. When I make more of these frames in the future I might just use screws and Titebond II instead of contact cement.