# Will Wood Glue Bond Styrofoam? Shop Built Air Conditioner.



## LoyalAppleGeek (Dec 14, 2015)

Greetings and salutations!

I'm building an air conditioner for the shop here, it'll be sunny and 70 soon. I know, that may not seem very hot, but I'm a Swede, I overheat when it gets above 50 degrees. Since I work pretty much exclusively with wood, TiteBond ll is the only glue I keep stocked in large quantities. I'll need to glue up some styrofoam for the unit, and was wondering if anyone has tried using wood glue for that application.

Thanks!


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## conifur (Apr 1, 2015)

Never tried it, do a sample piece. Some adhesives will melt Styrofoam, I dont think Tite bond would. I just dont know if it will adhere Styrofoam.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

I think it will. Styrofoam is porous. If wood glue is what
you have, try it. Spray adhesive may be preferable in
some applications because it grabs instantly. With wood 
glue you'll likely want to use masking tape or something
like that to hold the parts together while the glue grabs.


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## distrbd (Sep 14, 2011)

Have you considered HTB double sided tape like 3M VHB tape, that would be the first thing I try.
Loren,it's good to see you post again bytheway.


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## Planeman40 (Nov 3, 2010)

I just did this in lining the inside of a packing crate to send a carefully painted object. I used Titebond. I found that Titebond usually has a very tacky nature that holds things fairly well when gluing, but this wasn't true for the Styrofoam. I had to use some light clamps until the glue set. I understand Titebond sets using moisture as a "catalyst", however Styrofoam has no moisture in it thus it sets VERY slowly using whatever moisture that is in the air. Also, the bond is no stronger than the Styrofoam itself which is very weak, so the Styrofoam can easily be knocked loose breaking the Styrofoam, not the glue bond.

Planeman


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

polyurethane (Gorilla Glue) or epoxy is what I'd use.


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## higtron (Jan 26, 2011)

Silicone caulk, they also make a special caulk for Styrofoam adhesion.


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

In my experience it wont hold. Construction adhesive is a better choice.


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## ClammyBallz (Apr 16, 2015)

What bondo said!


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## Planeman40 (Nov 3, 2010)

Just keep in mind that even the strongest glue is no stronger than the item it is glued to. Styrofoam is about the weakest thing there is. So the Styrofoam will break waaaay before the glue bond does!!! Don't expect much in the way of strength.


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## Nubsnstubs (Aug 30, 2013)

After reading the comments, it looks to me that duct tape is in your future…....... Jerry (in Tucson)


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Don't expect the styrofoam to keep its shape or remain in place if you just glue it. Your best bet is to encapsulate it in something else that has more structural integrity. If the application will never get wet, you can use corrugated cardboard to hold the styrofoam in place. Just enclose it like you would with insulation inside the walls. Alternatively, if you can build a flange which the styrofoam can be stopped from moving, that would be good enough. It only takes a piece of sheet metal where the styrofoam gravitates to. It holds itself together well enough when only in compression with itself.


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## splatman (Jul 27, 2014)

Laminate the Stryo between 2 layers of plywood, with boards around the perimeter as a frame. Now you'll have an insulated panel with the durability of plywood all around. Strong, too, due to the same principles behind torsion panels, which is basically what this will amount to.

In my experience, glue will adhere to EPS stronger than EPS.
EPS = Expanded PolyStyrene: The white beady stuff from which packing blocks are made.
Styrofoam = The blue stuff, aka XPS: Extruded PolyStyrene. XPS has a smooth surface that will need to be roughened (use sandpaper) before gluing with wood glue.


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