ADHESIVE REFERENCE CHART
| Material | Balsa | Hard- wood | Ply- wood | Fiber- glass | Poly- styrene Foam | Poly- urethane Foam | Kevlar | Carbon Fibers | Rubber | Aluminum |
| Balsa | Aliphatic Resin (CA) | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Hardwood | Aliphatic Resin | Aliphatic Resin | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Plywood | Aliphatic Resin (CA) | Aliphatic Resin | Aliphatic Resin | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Fiberglass | "Goop" | "Goop" | "Goop" | "Goop" | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Poly- styrene Foam | Contact Adhesive (Epoxy) | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Poly- urethane Foam | Contact Adhesive (Epoxy) | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Kevlar | CA | CA | CA | CA | Epoxy | Epoxy | CA | -- | -- | -- |
| Carbon Fibers | CA | CA | CA | CA | Epoxy | Epoxy | CA (Epoxy) | CA (Epoxy) | -- | -- |
| Rubber | Contact Adhesive | Contact Adhesive | Contact Adhesive | "Goop" | Contact Adhesive | Contact Adhesive | Contact Adhesive | Contact Adhesive | Contact Adhesive | -- |
| Aluminum | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy | Epoxy |
Aliphatic Resin -- This is the typical high strength wood glue. The yellow is preferred because it indicates a waterproof glue. Examples would be Sig's Sig-ment, or basically any "carpenter's glue". This stuff is dope-proof, fuel-proof and fully sandible. Great for sheeting, however it requires the patience of the old "pin-and-wait-overnight" construction method.
Cyanoacrylate (CA's) -- An instant cure adhesive of various viscosity and gap filling capability. Special formulations are available for plastics and foam. This glue creates strong, virtually instant glue joints, but is not recommended for firewalls as the nitro in glow fuel is a CA solvent. It should also not be used in areas subjected to a lot of flex or excessive vibration as the glue joints created with CA have a tendency to be a bit brittle. Comercial examples include Carl Goldberg's Jet, and Pacer's Zap. Odorless CA's such as the UFO series must be used on foam, and are also recommended for people allergic or hyper-sensitive to CA fumes. You can also purchase cure-accelerators for those of us who find that "instant" just takes too long.
Epoxy -- This is a two part glue which is sold with various cure times and formulations. The two parts must be mixed to cause a cure. As a rule, generally faster curing epoxies tend to become brittle with time. Slow curing epoxy, in contrast, will tend to remain fairly flexible. Use this glue in all high stress areas such as attaching the firewall, landing gear blocks and tail feathers. Commercially available examples include the Hobbypoxy lineup as well as everybody else's house brands. It can be easily cleaned up with alcohol before it cures and is often thinned with alcohol and painted into engine bays and fuel compartments to help fuel-proof the plane. Smart people do this and recommend to all other modellers that they should also do this. Stupid people don't, and eventually their engine flies off with the firewall, leaving the plane behind. I was stupid once. God I hate fuel creep!
Contact Adhesive -- Can be latex or solvent cement. Use latex when sheeting foam or, if the solvent is not fully dried before joining the sheeting to the foam, any curing fumes may eat away at the foam. This type of glue is applied to both parts being joined and is almost dry on the individual parts before they can be assembled. Once joined, they're joined. Sig sells a latex-based product called Core-bond that's great for sheeting foam wings but it can't be frozen so therefore the garage is not a good place to store this stuff if you live in northern climes.
"Goop" -- I'm not really sure what this stuff is. I think its a silicon based glue, but I could be wrong. It cures flexible, much like some silicon caulks. I'd have to say its the best stuff to use for mounting servo rails into a fiberglass fuselage airplane. The only example of this type I have experience with is Pacer Technology's Zap-a-Dap-a-Goo.
All information from "Bonding Materials - When to Use What", by Conrad Ricker, as published in the November, 1997 RCM Magazine, Volume 34, No. 11, pages 80-83. Used without permission.