Uses of Contact Cement
- Wood veneers bond to a hard surface with contact cement.wood texture close up image by Dmitry Rukhlenko from Fotolia.com
Contact cement is an adhesive that you can purchase in a flammable or non-flammable form. This adhesive bonds two surfaces together for a lasting connection. You can apply contact cement using a brush, roller coater, notched trowel, air spray, airless spray or curtain coater, according to CP Adhesives. - If you are using a contact cement compound from an American company, you should consult the manufacturer's Material Safety Data Sheet for safe handling of the compound. Dental practices use a veneer cement such as 3M RelyX Veneer Cement to bond dental fixtures made of porcelain, composite or ceramic. The dentist uses this water-soluble material to match the customer's veneer work.
- Manufacturers such as Elmers use synthetic rubber and neoprene to produce contact cement. This material bonds to other materials such as wood, laminate, plastic and foam. You can apply the wood veneer to a substrate using a veneer press. Then you can use the contact cement to glue down the wood veneer to the wood deck. Oakwood Veneer Company recommends that the contact cement and wood veneer be applied to the wood deck under the right conditions, including temperature and humidity. "Wood veneers rely 100 percent on the adhesive." A water-based contact cement is a suitable glue for wood decks; it is not flammable.
- Create great props and set backgrounds made of foam, plastic, plastic laminate or wood. The contact cement will bind two surfaces permanently together. Susan Crabtree and Peter Beudert explain in "Scenic Art for the Theatre: History, Tools and Techniques," that you should be aware of what you are mixing the water-based rubber compound with, and do a test run before you mix the contact cement with other materials such as paints. They also note that contact cement provides a textured surface for theatrical flexible surfaces such as soft sculpture.
