Spray (or other) glue

[Woodchip Wilbur]

I have a (fairly frequent) need to mount printed sheets onto white foam board for display purposes. I am currently using 3M Photo Mount which does the job I want - but it is at a premium price!
Is there a better way to do this?

• It needs to give a good, strong and permanent bond
• It needs to leave the surface of the paper smooth and flat (carpet adhesive is too lumpy)
• It needs to be cheaper than Photo Mount to be worth changing

It would be nice if it were more ecologically sound and didn't need a spray booth to apply it (my best spray booth is called The Great Outdoors and the extractor system is called A Brisk South-Westerly)

 

[Lazurus]

Have you tried simple PVA?

 

[Bingy man]

Would a generic can of spray contact adhesive affect the foam boards you use - at £4-5 per can it might be worth a try .

 

[Si465]

How much do you pay for spray mount and where from out of interest?
Would double sided tape around the outside edge be any better?
I assume a wet glue like pva would wrinkle your paper?

 

[Woodchip Wilbur]

Would a generic can of spray contact adhesive affect the foam boards you use - at £4-5 per can it might be worth a try .

and

(Lazarus) Have you tried simple PVA?

(Si465) How much do you pay for spray mount and where from out of interest?
Would double sided tape around the outside edge be any better?
I assume a wet glue like pva would wrinkle your paper?

• All the Generic Cans I've tried are either "Repositionable" - ie they peel off easily - or they are thick "carpet adhesive" which leaves a very lumpy surface. It's not sometimes very clear which cans deliver which product.
• 3M do a variety - ReMount is like a post-it note. SprayMount says its permanent when dry. Doesn't seem to hack it for me. PhotoMount is what I'm using. Works OK. DisplayMount is, I think, a stronger one. Might be worth a punt
• SprayMount is around £14.00; PhotoMount and DisplayMount are around £17.00. All for 400ml - I don't have a regular supplier - I just get Google to hunt. I can find cheaper (c.£13 for PhotoMount) but, generally, the carriage charge kills that.
• As Si465 says, PVA just makes the paper crinkle. Maybe there is a way to, first, find a more waterproof paper that won't and then, second, find a way to apply the PVA so it doesn't. I've had advice from a variety of the foam board people. They all say "use spray glue" but often add, "don't use 3M stuff - it's expensive!" BUT they are always very reticent as to what they DO use!
• Double-sided tape won't work. This is for some relatively classy information boards in our Grade 1 listed Major Church and they need to look "professional". Double-sided always shows.
• I've looked at PMA film. Seems ideal - but at £60 or so it doesn't pass the Scrooge Test!

Eventually, when we get everything sorted and finalised, we may go for professionally produced boards and all but, for a year or so, this needs to be done in-house.
Thanks for ideas!

 

[Bingy man]

Sometimes a professional finish can be obtained with craft type products-I know it’s probably a long shot as you may have already tried this but I used this for a repair job to a family photo -not sure if it would adhere to foam boards but again just a thought.

 

[Woodchip Wilbur]

Sometimes a professional finish can be obtained with craft type products-I know it’s probably a long shot as you may have already tried this but I used this for a repair job to a family photo -not sure if it would adhere to foam boards but again just a thought.

Yes. I've tried that - and I do use it (or very similar) for quite a lot of things. However, it is only practicable for relatively small things - up to about A4 is possible. Over a bigger area (we're talking A0 here), by the time you've covered it all, the first bits of glue tend to dry up.

 

[Pedronicus]

A friend of mine uses Yes Paste for sticking large photo prints up to A1 on to boards. Great result with no bubbles but quite laborious in doing it.

 

[Tris]

Don't bother with the stuff from crafter's companion, it's cheap for a reason
I've found copydex pretty good for sticking copier paper to lino, being latex based it doesn't wrinkle the paper like PVA. Think it should have enough open time to do what you need, might help to have a printers roller to go over it once it is in place.
Is the church damp at all? Don't think copydex is great in damp places

 

[Stuart1953]

Have you tried Hobbycraft they do both repositionable and permanent spray adhesive at reasonable prices. I use it to stick photos to birch ply when making jigsaws. I also noticed some permanent spray in B & Q the other day at £6.00 for a large can.

 

[pe2dave]

(Perhaps) pva, but allow to partially dry (just tacky) prior to sticking paper to it?
Suggest a glue roller for clean application to board.

 

[TomGW]

I have always used self adhesive polyboard. The foam board is adhesive so nothing more needed. Just peel and stick.

 

[Ollie78]

What about a double sided tape ?

Ollie

 

[Trextr7monkey]

How does cost of dye sublimation and heat pressing onto the boards work out?
I know the initial cost is high and the maintenance can be a nightmare but if it’s for a church a local school or college or some other contact may be able to assist- just a thought as it eliminates the flue and produces bright tough images