Gluing metal to wood is a challenge that joiners and furniture makers often face, particularly when bonding decorative metal finishes.
When done correctly, you can create incredible bonds without opting for complex mechanical fixings. However, a considerable amount of forward planning must take place to see effective results.
This article focuses on the best adhesive to glue metal to wood and addresses the preparation and extra care needed when bonding these stubborn materials.
Surface Preparation
As previously mentioned, preparation is essential when bonding wood to metal or vice versa.
A place where many people trip up is in the early stages of surface preparation. You must take the time to fully prepare your surface to avoid hindering the entire process and, ultimately, increasing the chance of the metal detaching.
This doesn’t only waste product and precious time, but it can pose significant safety risks. Potential premature breakdown or corrosion may result in issues either in the current moment or later down the line.
It also reflects poorly on your business if you deliver weak and unsatisfactory results.
How to safely prepare your surfaces for bonding metal to wood.
Here is our simple, step-by-step guide to preparing your metal for bonding.
1. Clean:
If you notice any obvious surface contamination, steam cleaning the metal may be necessary first. Once this has been completed, ensure the surface is fully dry.
2. Degrease:
Before you carry out any keying, sanding or flatting, you must degrease the metal surface.
You don’t want to risk contamination spreading across the surface, or worse, force this contamination further into groves. Either outcome could result in bad adhesion and construction issues.
Use a degreasing product to remove any stubborn dirt that remains after your initial clean.
3. Roughen the metal surface:
Abrading, keying and degreasing your metal before bonding is crucial to give the metal surface more ‘grip’ and something for the adhesive to hold on to.
4. Prime the surface:
For the ultimate bond, a two-pack etch primer is often the best choice to prepare the metal before applying the adhesive.
By completing these steps and ensuring the metal and wood surface is clean, you will set yourself up for success.
Choosing the correct adhesive for gluing metal to wood
You need the correct adhesive for the job at hand to achieve a good bond.
Bonding decorative sheet metals
Sheet aluminium, copper, polished brass, and stainless steel are all used extensively for decorative panels, cladding of lifts, interior wall cladding and display cabinets.
For most straightforward applications, a good quality contact adhesive will give you the fast and permanent bond required to handle these tasks.
Some of our recommended products for gluing metal include:
- Hand-applied adhesives such as Tremco Illbruck CT704 and Evo-stik TX613.
- Sprayable adhesives such as Timbond Professional Portable Spray Contact Adhesive and Tensorgrip L12.
Bonding metal inlays
Metal inlays can be a headache for cabinet makers, as brass and copper oxidise incredibly quickly. For this kind of task, good surface preparation is paramount.
High-quality hybrid products such as Tytex Ultraclear MS Polymer Sealant give you a solid bond and great flexibility.
We especially recommend this product for gluing metal, as it doesn’t cause corrosion to metal joints and dries to an almost invisible colour. All this makes it the perfect adhesive for solid and seamless bonds!
Our parting advice is always to carry out a test piece first. Doing so lets you evaluate how the products interact and work together before implementing them on a larger scale.
Contact Adkwik
Adkwik has been solving adhesive challenges for over 25 years. To learn more about bonding metal to wood, or any other adhesive needs, call our technical team on 01223 412373 or drop us a message using our online contact form.