Provoked by recent posts on what glues are preferable, I thought I'd share one that is kind of the strategic thermonuclear weapon of glues. (And indeed, to unstick anything with this glue you'd likely need a strategic thermonuclear weapon to take it off.)
3M Marine Sealant 5200
I've used this sealant before and if you want undisputed arguably unmatchable performance to stick things together... honestly, maybe only welding steel is stronger. @_@
Quick pros and cons:
Pro -
•Bonds just about anything to anything else. Seriously. I've glued a fiberglass monofin to its rubber foot pocket, used it to fix leaks in the roof, and from what 3M says (and its intended applications), it likely will bond any material or surface to any other material or surface.
•Cures underwater. Not very relevant to us suiters, but just shows you how badflank this thing is X_@;
•Comes in black and white (and just learned, mahogany! Wood-like color?). This is nice, as the black is very black and the white is very white, and the white resists yellowing/discoloration as far as I know. These colors work well for pawpads I would think.
•When cured, is safe to touch (as far as I researched), stays flexible, and behaves like rubber. The rubbery feel is hard, yet... sorta pleasingly giving. It is like hard tire rubber.
Con -
•It bonds just about anything to anything else, for all eternity! If you get this on clothing or anywhere you don't want it, it won't wash off easily at all, even when it's uncured! XD I've tried washing it off and it's very very hard to. Once cured, forget it, it's married to whatever it's on.
•Takes a long time to fully cure (some formulations take 4 days or more) and has to be kept out of full sunlight until it cures. There's some other rules to follow, but for my uses, it just took a while and cured well.
•Comes in *only* black, white, and mahogany. This puts a big limitation on the colorful suits out there easily.
•Curing: Until this stuff FULLY cures, it's pretty bad to handle directly. Don't breathe or touch it, have a vapor mask, gloves, and eye protection. Looking at the safety sheets for this is sorta like reading a report of a war massacre, it's that bad. It will sensitize skin.
•Cost: A little tube of this stuff can be relatively quite expensive, and kinda hard to find in general. I've never seen the mahogany color at all. And once you open a tube of 5200, you should try to use it all at once. Even if you reseal the tube, nearly all of it will start to cure hard in the tube in a few hours (I managed to pierce it and squeeze out some more fresh sealant at the bottom some months after opening it though).
•Grip: Not too sure. I haven't tried this as something for soles or feet, but from how it feels, it seems moderate to good-grippy (maybe as good as most shoes). I don't know how grippy it is in the wet, but I suspect this is still okay to directly use as pawpads.
So there it is. If any chemists here or anyone can add to the safety rules to follow or anything, it'd be appreciated. It can be dangerous, but if you're serious with it and prepared and plan ahead, you can use it.
If you must have monumental strength, permanence, flexibility, and durability, that's what I suggest.
As this is my first post, please forgive me any faults I may have made in it. (I wish people wrote more about their favorite tools and adhesives like this, is why I write this particular one!) :) I love this community, it's really helpful and thought I'd add a little bit to it :)
3M Marine Sealant 5200
I've used this sealant before and if you want undisputed arguably unmatchable performance to stick things together... honestly, maybe only welding steel is stronger. @_@
Quick pros and cons:
Pro -
•Bonds just about anything to anything else. Seriously. I've glued a fiberglass monofin to its rubber foot pocket, used it to fix leaks in the roof, and from what 3M says (and its intended applications), it likely will bond any material or surface to any other material or surface.
•Cures underwater. Not very relevant to us suiters, but just shows you how badflank this thing is X_@;
•Comes in black and white (and just learned, mahogany! Wood-like color?). This is nice, as the black is very black and the white is very white, and the white resists yellowing/discoloration as far as I know. These colors work well for pawpads I would think.
•When cured, is safe to touch (as far as I researched), stays flexible, and behaves like rubber. The rubbery feel is hard, yet... sorta pleasingly giving. It is like hard tire rubber.
Con -
•It bonds just about anything to anything else, for all eternity! If you get this on clothing or anywhere you don't want it, it won't wash off easily at all, even when it's uncured! XD I've tried washing it off and it's very very hard to. Once cured, forget it, it's married to whatever it's on.
•Takes a long time to fully cure (some formulations take 4 days or more) and has to be kept out of full sunlight until it cures. There's some other rules to follow, but for my uses, it just took a while and cured well.
•Comes in *only* black, white, and mahogany. This puts a big limitation on the colorful suits out there easily.
•Curing: Until this stuff FULLY cures, it's pretty bad to handle directly. Don't breathe or touch it, have a vapor mask, gloves, and eye protection. Looking at the safety sheets for this is sorta like reading a report of a war massacre, it's that bad. It will sensitize skin.
•Cost: A little tube of this stuff can be relatively quite expensive, and kinda hard to find in general. I've never seen the mahogany color at all. And once you open a tube of 5200, you should try to use it all at once. Even if you reseal the tube, nearly all of it will start to cure hard in the tube in a few hours (I managed to pierce it and squeeze out some more fresh sealant at the bottom some months after opening it though).
•Grip: Not too sure. I haven't tried this as something for soles or feet, but from how it feels, it seems moderate to good-grippy (maybe as good as most shoes). I don't know how grippy it is in the wet, but I suspect this is still okay to directly use as pawpads.
So there it is. If any chemists here or anyone can add to the safety rules to follow or anything, it'd be appreciated. It can be dangerous, but if you're serious with it and prepared and plan ahead, you can use it.
If you must have monumental strength, permanence, flexibility, and durability, that's what I suggest.
As this is my first post, please forgive me any faults I may have made in it. (I wish people wrote more about their favorite tools and adhesives like this, is why I write this particular one!) :) I love this community, it's really helpful and thought I'd add a little bit to it :)