Winter use of Contact Cement

[Bob Johnson2]

Looking at the contact cement instructions it says the application temp range is 64F - 77F degrees, for safety you are supposed to keep the doors and windows open.

I have a few items to cover with laminate, my workspace is in the basement, not far from the boiler. If I open the windows and kick on a window fan for the fumes I won't be able to keep temps anywhere near the acceptable temp range as we average about 32 during the day this time of year.

Has anyone had success with contact cement at lower temps or should I just sit on these items till spring?

The largest surface is 18x24. I can't get the heat up anywhere near 64 in any outbuildings.

[roger wiegand]

Are you open to using the water based contact cement instead of solvent? With that you shouldn't have to open the windows. I have such bad luck with contact cement that I'd follow the instructions explicitly with respect to temperature.

[Bob Johnson2]

I looked on line at the WB'ed, looks like most folks don't care for it, have you used it?

[johnny means]

Turn off the boiler. Wear a respirator while you work. Then air the space out after you stick your pieces. I've stuck plenty of laminate in a cold shop, and never had a problem, but I doubt I've ever had to work in sub 55 degrees. Waterbourne is Dante's lesser known tenth circle, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.

[Tom M King]

I tried my first in the low 40's, a few weeks ago. Solvent based, outside. I did wait for a Sunny day, in hopes that it would help. I figured it might not work, and that I'd just put more on another day, but it worked fine, with no problems at all. It took about 25 minutes for it to dry, and it stuck together as good as it ever did in more normal temperatures.

Another thing that I thought would cause a problem was that it was a 12' roll that had been rolled up for a decade. It didn't want to flatten out, but the contact cement pulled it right down, and it's holding fine.

I was making some new pieces for our dogroom, so it didn't have to come out perfect, but it did.

edited to add: I tried waterbourne, back when they first came out with it, but I didn't have any luck with it then, and never bothered to try it again.

[Frank Pratt]

Waterbourne is Dante's lesser known tenth circle, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.

True words. But now there's an 11th circle of hell and it is some of the newer contact cement that is solvent based that smells strongly of acetone. It makes waterborne look like great stuff. It's incredibly sensitive to drying. Like 10 or 15 seconds one side or the other of perfect will ruin the bond. So much so that it's virtually impossible to obtain a good bond over the entire surface.

By being extremely careful, I'm usually able to make waterborne work, but not with this stuff.

[Mike Kees]

I have been using waterborne contact cement for a year now. There was a bit of a learning curve for it. Started out with a Helmitin product, it was extremely temperature sensitive . We discovered my shop was too cold at 15 degrees C , the instructions for this product needed 20 degrees C. After turning up the temp and sweating my way through a set of counter tops it worked way better. When I was back at my wholesaler and talked to the sales guy ,he suggested a different product. The second one is a 3M brand ,it costs about twice as much but is supposed to go twice as far. Turns out he was right it has gone twice as far and bonds really well with thin coats. I will be sticking with the 3M, no pun intended. I used solvent based for a long time and do not miss the head aches and smell. We still use a Helmitin spray bomb with solvent based for edges and site work.

[Richard Coers]

Not only shut off the boiler, but also shut off all pilot lights. Some solvent based formulas use solvents that are heavier than air, and will lay on the floor. When they get to a pilot light, you have ignition. So not only ventilate the space but also put a fan on the floor to move out collected vapors.

[Frank Pratt]

When I was but a wee apprentice electrician, I worked in residential. At the finish carpentry stage, quite a few of the homes had wood paneling put in the family rooms. The 4x8 sheets of walnut veneer plywood were stuck to the walls with contact cement. In winter, the carpenter would turn the heat way up & close all the windows & doors before spreading the contact. I couldn't even breath in there & had to leave the house. He did it that way 2 or 3 times a week with no respirator.

[roger wiegand]

I haven't used WB. After a number of bad experiences I come up with an alternate plan if I think contact cement is the right answer.

[Gustav Gabor]

Until a few years ago, I was not at all impressed with water based contact cements, and resorted to using solvent based products.
That was until I tried the 3M 30 NF water based contact adhesive. I use the neutral colored version, but it's also available in green.

The 3M water based takes a bit longer to set up than solvent based contact cement, and the temperature does need to be warm (I'd recommend 67 - 70 degrees +), but there are no fumes
so being near a boiler or furnace isn't an issue. It's not cheap, but does go a long way compared to solvent based.

The bond is excellent. As good as any solvent based contact I've tried in the last 40 years.

If you can get the area you're in up to temperature, this stuff works.

[Mike Kees]

Gustav that is the one I am using. I grew up in Haines Junction and went to grade 12 in Whitehorse in 1985.

[Ryan Yeaglin]

You could also use spray adhesive. I just needed to buy some contact cement, i have a basement shop and was looking at the water based. Dap weld-wood solvent based $14 a Qt, Dap weld-wood water based $24 a Qt. 3M 90 spray adhesive $15. no trays, no rollers or brush, just a piece of cardboard and a J-roller. It's solvent based, but not terrible. My piece was 27"x29" for my tablesaw wing.

[Gustav Gabor]

Gustav that is the one I am using. I grew up in Haines Junction and went to grade 12 in Whitehorse in 1985.

Wow! .... Small world Mike!! .... I grew up in Elsa, just north of Mayo, back in the the 70's. Did my training in Massachusetts in the early to mid 80's, and moved to Whitehorse in '89. .... Do you ever get back up North?

As to the contact cement, the 3M 30 NF is very good, and as Ryan mentioned the 3M hi strength 90 spray adhesive also works well, particularly for smaller areas. It seems to dry harder than other solvent based contact sprays I've tried. For the best bond with the 3M 90, I found that I needed to get the pieces together within 3 - 5 minutes, while still tacky.
While the 3M 90 doesn't stink nearly as bad as most solvent based cements, some ventilation is helpful. Open flames or sparks while applying the product could get interesting.

[Mike Kees]

We drove up the highway in a motorhome with my wife and kids 3 years ago. I remembered it as beautiful country but was blown away all over again. I grew up in paradise. My son and I are planning to come up again this summer or next on motorcycles. Want to just camp and fish and fish some more...and camp....and fish.