Thread: Thoughts on carpet glue??

Tweet

Hiya!
I'm working on my 1st paper mache skull...so far it's going quite well, but I'm wondering about some ideas floating around above my eyebrows.

I've got some leftover carpet glue (latex, of course), and I was thinking about either using it instead of white glue (I ran out of that) in my paper mache paste, or possibly using it in a mix similar to P.M. paste to use as a sort of final skim-coat.

I guess the problem I can foresee is that the carpet glue is designed to never fully dry out...so even thinned out, it may never dry. Anybody got any advice or ideas on any of this?

I thined some and used it to corpse some rising sprits. It took for ever to dry but they were out side in the middle of summer and we have high humidity. It seems like I let them set for at least a month. You might get better results inside where the temp/humidity is more controlled. Still I would be prepared to wait awhile.

Hi scareisburg. Thanks for the input...that's kinda what i suspected, but I thought it might work better when thinned out and mixed with flour. Maybe I'll try just adding some latex paint to the mix instead and see how that works.

...unless there's some other folks with other ideas.

I've did some research on the tackiness of latex glues last year and what I came up with is that the main ingredient in most latex carpet glues is natural (not synthetic) rubber that when cured is tacky. So the latex carpet glue you get at the home improvement store is cured after 24 hours but will remain tacky indefinitely due to the natural characteristics of rubber. But after a week or two outside it will pick dust, dirt, etc and eventually lose its tackiness.

I'm not sure about using it for paper mache tho. It will prolly work but the difficulties I have with it is that it sticks to everything. A little bit on clothes and skin is a pain to get off. Let us know how it works and what you've been able to mix with it, it's an interesting topic

yeah, having been a flooring installer for over a decade, I'm all too familiar with how well this glue sticks to skin, clothing and hair. LOL
I wish there were some sort of solidifying agent that could be applied.
I'll probably just have to experiment and see what I can come up with, if anything.

I hear it takes a month and a day to dry to the point it's only tacky.

Originally Posted by IC_Dedpeeple

yeah, having been a flooring installer for over a decade, I'm all too familiar with how well this glue sticks to skin, clothing and hair. LOL
I wish there were some sort of solidifying agent that could be applied.
I'll probably just have to experiment and see what I can come up with, if anything.

I do skull corpsing with cheap latex carpet adhesive. I apply it in layers under and over gauze or tissue or cotton then apply some water based stain and let it sit for a day or two to set up. Then I shoot it with a clear or satin laquer and let that dry for an hour or so. Laquer has an alcohol solvent that bonds to and dries the latex very well.

Originally Posted by Iseedeadpeople

I do skull corpsing with cheap latex carpet adhesive. I apply it in layers under and over gauze or tissue or cotton then apply some water based stain and let it sit for a day or two to set up. Then I shoot it with a clear or satin laquer and let that dry for an hour or so. Laquer has an alcohol solvent that bonds to and dries the latex very well.

Awesome! Thanks so much for the info!

Just a foolish thought...I wonder if just applying straight alcohol would have the same effect on the carpet glue...???....hmmm....methinks it might be worth a try.

Originally Posted by IC_Dedpeeple

Awesome! Thanks so much for the info!

Just a foolish thought...I wonder if just applying straight alcohol would have the same effect on the carpet glue...???....hmmm....methinks it might be worth a try.

I would first try regular laquer thinner or denatured alcohol, other types have a lot of water in them. Although I suspect that it's a combination of the resin and the solvent in laquer that bonds to the latex. After the solvent evaporates, the resin hardens the surface.

Sounds like good advice. Thanks for the tip(s).