3M NF30 - low voc, nonflammable contact cement

[Brian Tymchak]

Howdy,

I need to put down some laminate on a new miter saw bench. I have a basement shop and due to the design of the bench and the time of the year, I need to do this in my basement. I've used the DAP Weldwood Original formula for other bench tops. It works well but with the solvents, and having both the furnace and water heater in the far corner of the basement, I'd like to be a little less risky. The DAP Nonflammable formula has like 70% negative comments on Amazon, so it must not be too good. Someone in another forum had posted a recommendation for the 3M FastBond NF (NF30). Amazon shows about a 85% favorable comments on that.

One comment I read was that it took much longer to dry before mating the 2 surfaces together and that possibly a lot of the negative comments about waterbased contact cement failing is that people are not letting the cement dry long enough before mating.

Does anyone have any experience with the 3M NF30? and any tips for using a waterbased contact cement would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Brian

[Brian Tymchak]

Well, since no one replied, I'll assume that no one has ever tried this stuff and could provide feedback. So for future reference if anyone ever searches for feedback on this stuff, I'll provide my experience here.

I went ahead an ordered a quart since I had a small job to do, ~30 sq ft in all. Tip - shop around for best pricing. I was surprised at the variance in cost. I ended up purchasing from Zoro, whom I never had ordered from, but ended up with a very good experience. The product was very well sealed and packaged for shipment.

Bottom line: Following directions on the package, it works well and I was quite pleased with the performance. Compared to the original formulas, it takes longer to dry before bonding and, in fact, I did 2 coats because the mixture is fairly thin (looks like a thinned white glue), and I think I kept spreading it too thin. Maybe for large jobs where the extra drying time is going to be a real impact, this would not be the right product, but for work in the home where you want to avoid the high VOC formulas, I recommend it. It has a surprisingly low level of odor. I had to bring the tray I was using up to about 6-8" from my face before I could smell it.

[Jamie Buxton]

Yeah, but how well does it bond? If you try to pry up a corner of the laminate, is it easy or hard? If you force the issue, what breaks?

[Art Mann]

Sorry I didn't come across this thread previously or I would have replied. There is no problem working with the solvent based material from the standpoint of fire or explosion. If the concentration were high enough to spontaneously ignite, you would already be passed out or dead from solvent inhalation. I have done a good bit of custom counter top work for various reasons and none of the water based non-flammable materials I have tried were very unreliable. You could just peel up the laminate days, weeks or months later. I hate using the solvent based material because I will only use it on warm days when I can run the exhaust fan. The next time I need to do this kind of work, I will try the 3M Fast Bond. Thanks for the information.

[larry senen]

used the water based for over 40 years. really the industry standard. goes on with a roller with no lumps and grabs like crazy.use a hair dryer to speed up drying time.

[Brian Tymchak]

used the water based for over 40 years. really the industry standard. goes on with a roller with no lumps and grabs like crazy.use a hair dryer to speed up drying time.

ah, the tricks of the trade. Thanks for the tip Larry!

[Brian Tymchak]

Yeah, but how well does it bond? If you try to pry up a corner of the laminate, is it easy or hard? If you force the issue, what breaks?

Jamie, I didn't test it much more than to try an edge with a finger nail after I rolled it, and I got absolutely no give in the bond. Maybe I'll work up a test piece this weekend and try it out. This is a top for a miter saw bench, so I guess the strength of bond could be an issue if I maybe rake a heavy piece of rough lumber over the edge of the laminate.