PVAC Glue for Wood Furniture.

PVAC (poly vinyl acetate) glue is most widely used in the woodworking industry. The glue is made from the polyvinyl acetate resin, the same material used to make plastic. The PVAC glue is safe, non-toxic material, easy to be used with good gluing result. It is water-based and uses water as its main solvent, so it is very safe, non-toxic, and very easy to be handled. This glue is the one component, making it easy and simple in handling, storage, and application. It is dry with evaporation of its water; when the solvent releases, then the glue will harden and produce a strong thermosetting bond. After it is dry, it forms a thermosetting and strong bond that is not dissolved with water or solvent. The bond that resulted can be finished with less risk of the glue dissolving. It is widely used to unify wood pieces in the laminating process, finger joints, and assembly. With the right process, then it would constitute a very strong bond. 

Since it is water-based, it takes a longer time to dry. The drying time is varying depending on the solid content, and the type of glue usually varies from 30 minutes to 1 hour. During it is drying, the unified wood pieces must be hold and pressed to keep tightened. The pressing apparatus or machine, either automatic or manual, is needed in the application.

The PVAC glue can also be used to form the texture effect in the wood finishing. PVAC glue can be used alone or mixed with latex paint and be applied as the texture paint. 

The wood pieces are laminated and pressed

The advantages of PVAC glue 

• Good bonding strength

The PVAC glue will give strong bonding capability. When it is used, it will penetrate wood fiber and fill the wood grain and pores. When dry, it is providing additional strength to the bonded wood structure.

• Good absorption ability

PVAC glue has the ability to enter and absorb into wood. It helps to give a strong adhesion between the wood and the glue. This results in a better and more durable bond.

• Quick drying

PVAC glue generally dries quickly in the application. Normally the glue will dry in about 30 minutes in the ambient air. The drying time is affected by the glue thickness, the wood condition, and the environment. 

• Paintable

Once dry, PVAC glue will form a thermosetting bond with high resistance to solvent. The assembled product can be finished without any risk of dissolved glue. 

Here are some tips to use the PVAC glue

• Read and check the technical data and specifications of the glue

There are many suppliers of PVAC glue, each of them may offer their strong advantages and superiority, but each of them also may need special treatment.  Therefore, when you are going to use the glue, you must have read the technical data and specifications as well. Follow the instructions on how to use the product. You need to read the data about the recommended concentration, pressure, and drying time required. Every wood species often has different properties and requires a different process. Check the instructions of use according to the wood species, if any. You may need to do some trialing to get the best result.

• Moisture content of wood

PVAC glue uses water as a solvent, and the water will wet the wood surface when it is applied. The water must evaporate and go to make the glue dry and hard. To make the drying of the glue faster, then the wood pieces have to be dry. The water in the wood could make the glue thinner and may reduce the strength of the bond generated.
Wood also will shrink and swell when its moisture content changes. Since that, the wood pieces that are glued and unified need to have uniform moisture content. Too high variation in the moisture content is risky to create too much wood movement and make the crack or delaminating of the wood.

• Clean the glue excess at the surface.

When you applied the glue, there may have been some glue excess at the wood surface. The glue excess has to be cleaned since it will disturb the finishing material absorption. See our previous article: Glue splotches problem in the furniture. The glue excess will harden and be difficult to clean when it is dry. Then you better clean the glue when it is still wet. Use a wet cloth and wipe off the glue excess when it is still wet. Make sure the glue is left only inside the wood and there are no glue splotches at the wood surface.

• PVAC glue is not suitable for outdoor use.

Although when he is dry he becomes thermosetting and hard, the PVAC glue is not strong enough for exterior uses. It is not recommended to do the gluing process for outdoor products.