Choosing the Right Spray Adhesive

“Which spray adhesive is best for my project?” We get this question all the time from customers. To help you find the right aerosol spray adhesive for the materials you’re bonding together, we’ve created a helpful chart to make it easier for you to pick the right product for your project. First, read through our blog detailing the spray adhesives we sell, their characteristics and specifications. Then, download the usage chart to find out which adhesive we recommend for a variety of applications. Whether you’re attaching headliner material, installing automotive carpeting, or gluing foam, we have a spray adhesive that’s just right for your DIY.

Porous to Porous. Porous to Nonporous.

3M General Trim Adhesive is a clear spray adhesive that is heat and moisture resistant. This synthetic elastomer adhesive is most often used for automotive trim work. It’s ideal for gluing lightweight headliner material to your bulkhead. You can also use it to adhere fabrics, lightweight carpeting, cloth-backed flexible vinyl and foam. It’s non-staining, so you can use it with white or light color fabrics without the glue showing through. Bond fabric and plastics to themselves, wood, fiberglass and metal surfaces.

Porous to Porous. Porous to Nonporous. Nonporous to Nonporous.

3M Super 77 Spray Adhesive is an industrial-grade adhesive with incredible holding power. This multipurpose spray adhesive is designed to bond to a wide variety of lightweight materials. It offers high initial tack plus enough open time to reposition materials as needed. It bonds foils, plastics, papers, metals, fabrics and cardboard. It's great for keeping fabrics in place while sewing. Use 3M Super 77 on corner patch assemblies on sails. Gluing your corner patch eliminates the chance for bubbles or uneven patches. It can also be used for gluing batting to a foam cushion or holding Sunbrella® in place during roller furling sun cover installations.

Porous to Porous. Porous to Nonporous.

3M Super Trim Spray Adhesive is widely used in automotive applications, but it can also be used in marine and upholstery work. It’s a fast-acting, high-strength adhesive with excellent heat, water and plasticizer resistance. Use it for vinyl tops, adhering polyurethane foam, Dry Fast foam and closed cell foam to itself, and for attaching heavyweight headliner and hood silencer pads. It bonds medium to heavyweight trim materials, including carpeting, carpet padding, many fabrics, headliners (including cloth-backed vinyl and foam-backed vinyl headliner). This is a very aggressive adhesive and can bleed through lightweight fabrics.

Porous to Porous. Porous to Nonporous.

3M Foam Fast 74 has an aggressive tack that offers a high initial grab with foam-tearing strength. This adhesive is ideal for bonding foam together, general upholstery, foam lamination, installing acoustic panels, and crafts and hobbies. Its high-solids content supports its low soak-in property, allowing time to position the bonded surfaces properly for the best fit. The lace spray pattern of this non-yellowing adhesive, combined with fast tack, a strong bond and clean appearance, make it ideal for bonding foam and fabric onto a wide variety of materials, including paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, wood and much more.

Porous to Porous. Porous to Nonporous. Nonporous to Nonporous.

Formulated to be fast-tacking, 3M Hi-Tack 76 Spray Adhesive is an industrial aerosol adhesive with high-tack properties for one-surface or two-surface bonding applications. 3M High-Tack 76 is beneficial for many industries, including the automotive and boating industry. It's an excellent choice for bonding medium to heavyweight cloth-backed vinyl headliners and foam-backed vinyl headliners, fabric, rubber, felt, cardboard, cork, foil, and many plastics to themselves, wood, fiberglass and metal surfaces. This high-tack spray adhesive creates effective, strong bonds between many hard-to-bond materials. It also bonds polyethylene, polypropylene, carpet, door skins, fabric in transportation conversions, nameplates, pool table fabrics, swimming pool liners, pipe insulation, and for bonding insulation in aircraft interiors and specialty cabinets.

Porous to Porous.

Foam Lock is an upholstery spray adhesive that offers quick tack and high coverage while providing a strong bond. It adheres foam to foam, fabric to foam, and batting to foam. It’s the go-to spray adhesive for cushion construction and basic home upholstery work. It works instantly and can be used for either permanent or temporary bonds. Spray only one surface and adhere while the surface is still tacky for a temporary bond. Spray both surfaces, allow the adhesive to dry to a tack, and then adhere for a permanent hold. The adhesive bonds instantly, making it difficult to reposition your two surfaces.

Porous to Porous. Porous to Nonporous.

AlbaChem Super 88 is a craft, all-purpose spray adhesive. It's water resistant, tacks up quickly, and it will not wrinkle most porous surfaces and fabrics. Use it for bonding paper, cardboard, photographs, labels, fabric and many other materials. It bonds textiles, wood, film and plastic. You can use it for screen printing, art projects, embroidery and for applying insulation. It's great for keeping fabrics in place while sewing and is used on corner patch assemblies on sails. Gluing your corner patch eliminates the chance for bubbles or uneven patches. Spray one surface for a temporary bond; spray both surfaces for a permanent bond. Obtain a bond while using less adhesive with Super 88.

Porous to Porous. Porous to Nonporous.

AlbaChem Headliner Adhesive delivers a strong bond for lightweight headliners. It's a great choice for marine, automotive and upholstery applications. It's water resistant and can withstand high temperatures, making it a great choice for marine use. The nonstaining formula dries clear and will not yellow. The narrow spray pattern stream makes this a great choice for trim work and small areas. Headliner Adhesive bonds to plastic, wood and metal. Use it for foam and fabric-backed headliners, carpet installation, insulation adherence, van conversions, automotive applications and motor homes uses. It's also used in the manufactured housing industry. It is made for decorative laminate work in furniture, cabinet and woodworking.

Now that you’ve learned about our spray adhesives and their qualities and characteristics, take a look at our usage chart. We’ve listed the products we recommend for a variety of home, marine and auto DIYs.

And there you have it! We hope this summary of spray adhesives, their qualities and uses has been helpful. If you still have questions about which product is right for your DIY, or if you don’t see your application or material in this blog, feel free to contact us by email, phone or online chat. We’re always happy to help our customers find the best product for their project.

Footnote:

This blog was updated October 2021 to include mention of the AlbaChem adhesive sprays.

This blog was updated in January 2022 to include 3M Foam Fast 74 and 3M Hi-Tack 76.