Glue dries quickly since it’s one of the most common substances used.
Ensuring that your glue is dried thoroughly before it has a chance to melt is crucial to its shelf life. There are many ways for manufacturers to ensure that their glue dries faster.
So, how do you make glue dry faster?
Glue is a commonly used adhesive for arts and crafts.
However, the glue can take a long time to dry. Fortunately, it’s easy to make your glue dry faster.
First, put your glue in the refrigerator. This slows the evaporation process, making the glue dry faster.
Second, put glue on a dry surface. Water evaporates faster on dry surfaces than on wet ones.
However, the glue will still be sticky. To fix the problem, heat the glue with a microwave or hair dryer.
Microwaves tend to dry the glue faster than hair dryers because the heat is concentrated. Finally, you can speed up the process by adding baking soda to the glue.
Baking soda reacts with the water in the glue, making it evaporate more quickly. To make your own glue faster, try any of these methods.
How to Make Glue Dry Faster?
Use Clamps
Whether you’re a first-year woodshop student or a do-it-yourself handyman, you’ll need a clamp to fasten two pieces of wood together while they’re drying (and gluing).
When it comes time to fasten two pieces of wood together with clamps, many people simply throw a piece of scrap plywood underneath the pieces to be glued and let them sit overnight. So, the clamps can do their job without moving the wood around.
The concept is straightforward. Additional pressure will help the clamps spread more evenly and prevent the pieces from shifting, resulting in a stronger bond and fewer gaps and cracks in your finished piece.
When utilizing glue in a woodshop, you’ll almost inevitably end up with a few drips on your hands as you’re spreading it on and clamping it in place.
Utilizing Compressed Air
Aside from the previous techniques, try to apply compressed air to the glued areas to expedite the process by drying out any water that may be trapped between the pieces of wood.
It works incredibly well with super glue and other strong adhesives that become like plastic as they cure and dry.
You will utilize compressed air using a small compressor or air gun, but make sure not to use it for too long because it will damage your workpieces.
Although it dries quickly, it may warp or crack the wood when drying too fast.
Less Is More
When it comes to applying glue, use as little of it as possible to get the best results possible.
When you apply a large amount, it will cure slower and create a bigger gap between the pieces of wood you’re gluing together, creating additional work and possibly voiding your warranty.
This is particularly true of epoxy adhesives that expand when they cure.
As a consequence, although you don’t want to be too stingy with the adhesive when you’re using it to adhere two pieces together, you also don’t want to go overboard with it either.
Make use of a Fan.
The sun dries garments, but the same process will also dry your glued parts much faster when it’s warm outside.
The same is true if it’s hot in your house or shop; a fan will help circulate the air and help dry out the glue faster.
As a result, if you direct the rapid air flow over your glued parts, the airflow will dry the glue faster as it flows over the surfaces of your project and helps to dry them from the inside-out as well.
For the greatest results, run the fan at its lowest setting; otherwise, you’ll blow away all the dust that’s accumulated on your workpieces which will only slow down the process.
Work on Your Project in a Well-Ventilated Environment
When using gorilla glue, the original formula is particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity and will “seize” in extreme conditions.
The cooling influence of the air helps slow the curing process down when it’s too hot or humid and the warming effect will accelerate it when the weather is cooler.
Superglue, for example, dries most rapidly between 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit which is about the temperature range we experience in the summertime in most parts of the world.
Work on a Dry Surface
Wipe down the whole area where you’re working using a rag dampened with mineral spirits or acetone before applying any glue to prevent the glue from bonding to the surfaces of your project and causing a mess later on.
Remove any wetness from the workpieces so the glue will bond to the wood and not soak into the surface where it will harden in place and make it difficult to remove later.
On a moist surface, a thin layer of water can cause the bond to fail.
This is particularly true of woods like cedar and redwood that contain high amounts of resin and oils that bond to the glue when wet and may cause it to separate from its substrates.
Keep Potent
You don’t want your adhesive to be subjected to extreme temperatures because it will prevent it from curing properly.
People who use it for art projects usually keep it in spots where it can stay warm since it’s important that it cures properly regardless of the environment.
Avoid placing your adhesive in places where it could get wet because it is susceptible to fluctuations in temperature.
There are many DIY projects that require copious amounts of glue and time to dry properly. Fortunately, there are more ways for glue to dry other than leaving it out in the open air.
This is done to ensure the project won’t go to waste because of how delicate the parts are and how critical they are to the success of the project.
Glue that has been diluted may dry faster but it may require more coats to achieve full-strength adhesion so avoid diluting your adhesives unless you’re sure you won’t need the full-strength strength of a 100% pure form of the same product.
Apply Thin Layer Of Glue
The longer the drying time is, the more stress it’ll put on your joints and the more chances of failure you’ll have later on; that’s why it’s important to apply a thin layer of glue on the substrate rather than globbing it on all at once.
As a result, always use a small amount of the glue first to determine how long it takes for it to dry before applying additional layers.
Before using glue, make sure that you’ve covered the surface with masking tape to prevent any drips from getting on your workpieces.
Some glues will specify that they must be applied with a brush or a roller because applying it with a spray can damage the surface by leaving droplets on the surface which will make it harder to clean later.
Spread the adhesive evenly on the workpieces and ensure that there are no air bubbles present because they’ll only hinder the process and make it take longer for the adhesive to cure.
Use New Glue
Glue, unlike wine, doesn’t improve with age so you’ll want to use fresh ones every time; older versions may not have the same bonding strength as the newer ones so they might not work as well for your latest project.
As a result, you should only use the glue that the manufacturer recommends and never use other brands. Because this can result in adverse chemical reactions that may affect the strength of your bonds.
As a result, if you want your glue to last longer, you should store it in room temperature away from direct sunlight.
This should be done every time you use it or immediately after you apply it so it doesn’t dry out too quickly.
Use Heater
If you are working on a project inside and it gets too cold, you may use a heater to speed up the drying process.
This will shorten the amount of time that your workpieces are exposed to the outside elements which will reduce the possibility of water damage due to humidity.
Turn increase the heat in increments of 5-10 degrees at a time so you can monitor the temperature.
This will allow you determine the right temperature for the adhesive to be exposed to without causing any damage to it.
When utilizing this approach, it is critical to maintain the heater at a constant temperature throughout the curing process.
Because the fluctuating temperatures may cause the glue to dry unevenly.
How to Make Wood Glue Dry Faster?
There are several forms of wood glue, but the re are two main categories of wood glue – water white glue and solvent based glue.
They differ in their properties and characteristics; water-based glue dries quicker than solvent-based glue because it contains less solvent than solvent-based wood glue.
As a result, if you’re looking for a faster alternative, water white glue may be the better option.
A water-based wood glue that helps speed up the process is Super Fast Extra Strong Instant Wood Glue from Titebond, which is non-toxic and contains a minimal amount of volatile organic compounds.
When working on wooden projects, you should use an instant-grab type of wood filler that you can spread easily and cleanly onto the surface of your workpieces.
Also, if the room you’re in is too hot or too cold, the wood filler may dry too fast which may cause cracks to form in the bond.
Also Read: What Does Hot Glue Not Stick To?
Conclusion
There are many techniques you may apply to speed up the drying process of the wood adhesive you use on your woodworking projects. The methods above are just some of them.
Which of these alternatives is ideal for you will depend on a myriad of factors such as the type of adhesive that you use and the type of project you are working on.
With a little patience, you’ll be amazed at how fast the glue will dry and you’ll be able to move onto the next part of your project in no time.
