Super glue
Super glues are also known as cyanoacrylate adhesives and form a very strong bond in a short time. They can be used on a wide range of materials, such as wood, ceramic, leather, glass or even metal. Crafters may find it particularly useful with balsa wood projects.
Glue sticks
Despite a low bonding adhesive, glue sticks are ideal for kids crafts such as those found on CBeebies. This style of glue will bond various paper types including cardboard, foam and poster board.
White craft glue
This is also ideal for kids crafts or for use with lightweight materials such as paper, cloth and cardboard. It is easy to clean but needs time to dry to ensure it is set. Craft glue is great to experiment with by adding colouring or glitter for decoration.
Yellow wood glue
Similar to craft glue, yellow wood glue is made of vinyl acetate polymers and is water-based. Designed specifically for use with wood, it is more rigid and can be sanded. There are three different types of wood adhesive. The first type is somewhat waterproof (though for true water resistance a marine glue is required), type two is ideal for exteriors and three is not water resistant and only for use indoors.
Epoxy
These extremely hardwearing, firm adhesives are usually two-part systems with multiple uses. They can be used in extreme environments and with many materials, including as a metal bonding adhesive.
Metal to metal adhesive
Traditionally, in order to bond metal to metal, an epoxy adhesive would be used, as described above but these have drawbacks such as slow drying time, and only average hold. More recent developments have led to the ultimate metal bonding adhesive that provides extremely strong adhesion for metal to many materials, including other metals, brick, wood and plastic.
Fabric adhesives
Ideal for use with home haberdashery projects or to fix hems, fabric adhesives are either liquid white glues or even tapes or fusing adhesives. It is important to select the right type of glue for the project but fabric stores will often have a comprehensive selection.
Spray adhesives
These contact adhesives are applied by spray so must be used in a well-ventilated room for safety. This versatile product is great for craft projects such as photo boards or collages.
