[Sleeper]

The top came off a small work bench and I want to glue it back on but I have no idea what is going to stick to it. I also don’t want to sand it off because its over 30 yrs old and could have asbestos.
I know I could just cut a new piece of plywood, but this already has all the holes in the correct spots and I don’t really want to spend too much time on it.

 

[Dominick]

Not sure what it is, but could you use liquid nails to glue back on?

 

[Trav]

Looks like cutback. It's tar based adhesive. A test to make sure would be to take a cloth and put a small amount of light oil wd-40 or mineral spirits and see if it removes some of it. If it cuts it then you will know. The adhesive is not really used in the flooring industry anymore. There are cutback compatible adhesives. You will want to find a compatible one or seal the surface before applying something else.

 

[Sleeper]

Not sure what it is, but could you use liquid nails to glue back on?

Thanks for replying Dominick and Yes for the liquid nail. If I knew it would stick and not have some sort of reaction.

Anyway I've been trying to remember some of the stuff I've seen over the years and It occurred to me that it might be Black Mastic and if I remember correctly it does have asbestos in it.

It probably isn't worth trying to save. I have a piece of MDF that's about the right size and I still would need to cover it with something because I use the table for cleaning automotive parts and liquids get spilled on it.

 

[Sleeper]

Looks like cutback. It's tar based adhesive. A test to make sure would be to take a cloth and put a small amount of light oil wd-40 or mineral spirits and see if it removes some of it. If it cuts it then you will know. The adhesive is not really used in the flooring industry anymore. There are cutback compatible adhesives. You will want to find a compatible one or seal the surface before applying something else.

Wow I never heard of that before. I guess its worth a try

 

[Willie T]

Tried washing it with LT?

 

[cabinetman]

It could be "Palmer Mirro Mastic". One of the uses was on the back of mirrors to adhere to walls. I used a bunch of that stuff, and to the best of my
knowledge, there's no asbestos in it.

.

 

[Sleeper]

It could be "Palmer Mirro Mastic". One of the uses was on the back of mirrors to adhere to walls. I used a bunch of that stuff, and to the best of my
knowledge, there's no asbestos in it.

.

Bingo! I think you got it. This was given to me by a friend I helped move to AZ years ago and now that I see the can, I do believe there was a used can of it in a cabinet he gave me as well. I never used it but I opened it up a few years ago to see if it was still good and threw it away.

 

[Steve Neul]

I think regardless what the adhesive is it needs to be cleaned off before you glue it back on. The old adhesive failed so what is left on isn't good to adhere to even if you reglued it with exactly the same product.

 

[Sleeper]

I think regardless what the adhesive is it needs to be cleaned off before you glue it back on. The old adhesive failed so what is left on isn't good to adhere to even if you reglued it with exactly the same product.

Thanks Steve, you are right about that and I don’t want to get into the mess of removing the stuff. If it were just a matter of spreading some more glue and sticking the old top back down then I would do that. But it’s just not worth the effort. I’ve tacked it down in the past with small nails and even they came loose.
I’m going to just replace the whole top. I wish I still worked in construction because I used to pick up scrap pieces of Formica counter top all the time that I could have used for free.:smile:

 

[BernieL]

Back to Dominick's post - Liquid Nails or LocTite construction adhesive will glue it. I experimented with scrap pieces of bamboo flooring and did manage to glue finished surface to finish surface using the LocTite product (like LiquidNails). Just so you know - construction adhesives will bond about any surface to any surface.

But you final decision sounds spot on! I never cut corners to save a buck - I over do everything and never worry anything. A new top is what I would do,

 

[Sleeper]

Back to Dominick's post - Liquid Nails or LocTite construction adhesive will glue it. I experimented with scrap pieces of bamboo flooring and did manage to glue finished surface to finish surface using the LocTite product (like LiquidNails). Just so you know - construction adhesives will bond about any surface to any surface.

But you final decision sounds spot on! I never cut corners to save a buck - I over do everything and never worry anything. A new top is what I would do,

Well Bernie I do have an opened tube of liquid Nail heavy-duty construction glue and if you think it will stick, I just might give that a try tomorrow.
I will not be losing anything because I don’t have any other use for it right now and it will probably go bad anyway. Plus it will buy me some time to get a new top, and maybe I’ll get lucky and find a piece of Formica counter top in the Cull cart at HD before it comes apart again. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[cabinetman]

Well Bernie I do have an opened tube of liquid Nail heavy-duty construction glue and if you think it will stick, I just might give that a try tomorrow.
I will not be losing anything because I don’t have any other use for it right now and it will probably go bad anyway. Plus it will buy me some time to get a new top, and maybe I’ll get lucky and find a piece of Formica counter top in the Cull cart at HD before it comes apart again. Thanks for the suggestion.

If you are going to use Liquid Nail, I find using the LN-901, works good if you lay down your beads, press the pieces together, and pull apart right away. Let sit open to flash off for about 3-5 minutes and then press back together.

I would rather find some way to screw the piece down so it would be easier to swap out at a later date.

.

 

[Sleeper]

Well it looks like some higher powers made the decision for me. :huh:

We had a freak rain storm and flooded my patio were I was working on this and it ended up floating in 2” of water for an hour. Oh well funny how things work out.