Contact cements, usually polychloroprene or other rubbers in solvent or water, are rolled or sprayed onto both faces and left until dry to the touch. When the faces meet, the adhesive layers bond to each other at once, with no repositioning. They are used for laminate countertops, foam, leather and rubber sheet. Pressure from a roller completes contact, and too long an open time leaves the film too dry to bond.
Both faces got contact cement, wait till it doesn't string on your knuckle, then use the slip sheets.
Dowels or slip sheets between the faces let installers align a laminate sheet before the contact cement layers touch.
Also heard as
- contact adhesive
- contact bond
Related terms
Open time
The longest gap allowed between applying adhesive and closing the joint while it can still wet the second part.
Buttering
Spreading adhesive on both mating surfaces rather than one, to ensure full wetting and coverage.
Tack
The stickiness of an adhesive surface: how quickly it grabs another surface with light pressure and short contact.
Green strength
The hold a bonded joint has in its first seconds or minutes, long before the adhesive reaches full cure.