[ I asked some MMDers in Europe to describe their favorite sealants
 [ and glues in generic terms.  I hope others in other lands will
 [ tell us their favorites also.  -- Robbie

Hi Robbie et al.,  Here is a list of what I consider generic names
for various glues within our scope, together with short descriptions.
Those I personally use are identified with ***.

 - Gelatin glue ***
Protein extracted by hydrolysis from collagen of animal hides, bones,
or sinews.  The classical 'hot glue', nowadays mostly available only
from specialized suppliers, no brand names.

- Casein glue
Protein extracted from milk.  Common in industrial carpentry.
Sensitive to mildew attack in presence of moist.  No more marketed
toward the general public, where it has been succeeded by PVA glue.
Sold here in Sweden up to the 1950s as 'cold glue', a brownish powder
to mix with water.

 - Carbamide glue
Made from carbamide and formaldehyde.  For industrial use, e.g.,
as binder in plywood and chipboard.

 - PVA glue ***
Polyvinyl acetate based.  Whitish water emulsion, dries to be
semitransparent.  For general use, marketed as 'ordinary wood glue',
I believe synonymous to "Elmer's glue."  There are several variants,
e.g., for outdoors or even marine use, or for use at lower temperatures
than freezing.

 - Polyurethane glue
Single and two component variations.  Clear viscous liquid.  For strong
wood joints; moist resistant, also joins to metal and some plastics.
In the single component variant, polymerization is catalyzed by water
vapor from the glued surfaces.  Carbon dioxide foam is released in the
reaction, filling up voids in the joint.

 - Epoxy glue ***
Two clear, viscous components.  Strong joints to most materials.
Soluble in acetone before curing.

 - Isocyanate glue ***
Single component, very fast curing, polymerization is catalyzed by
water vapor.  Joins to most materials.

 - Silicon RTV glue ***
Single component, RTV = Room Temperature Vulcanizing.  Releases acetic
acid when curing.  Transparent paste, can be thinned with petroleum.
Joins to most materials, glass in particular.  Do not confuse RTV with
several variants containing pigmented fillers.

 - Rubber contact glue
Latex in a volatile petroleum solution.  Wide span of qualities,
seldom or never good enough for permanent joints.


A dominant Swedish glue source is Casco (abbreviated from Casein
Company), a division of Akzo Nobel.  This firm illustrates, together
with so many others, a big problem with brand names: the brand name
often indicates the licence holder (occasionally same as the
manufacturer) and sometimes the area of use, but it doesn't tell
what the glue is made from.

Among the glues I find on my shelf, and what they're for, some are
identifiable as follows:

 - Gelatin glue: for bellows, pouches and other small parts of wood,
leather, cloth, etc.

 - PVA glue: for general large size woodwork, never to be disassembled.
"Cascol traelim inne  3304" (Casco Nobel AB, SE-100 61 Stockholm)
"Cascol vinter  3303"       (Casco Nobel AB, SE-100 61 Stockholm)

 - Epoxy glue: mostly for small or broken parts
"Standard Araldit"          ((R) Ciba-Geigy, numerous licencees)
"Araldit Rapid"             ((R) Ciba-Geigy, numerous licencees)

Isocyanate glue, mostly for small or broken parts
"Super Attak"               (Locktite Sweden AB, Goeteborg)

Silicon RTV glue, for sealing cloth and leather for air tightness
"Glassilikon  2985"         (Casco Nobel AB, SE-100 61 Stockholm)
"Dana Glassilicone"         (Dana Lim AS, DK-4600 Koege)

But identifying glues _is_ a nest of worms.  There are just too many
thousand brands and variants.

Good luck!

Johan Liljencrants
Stockholm