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Liquid Nails = Elmer’s Glue!

HealeyBN7 | Posted in Construction Techniques on April 14, 2003 09:10am

What the *(&^$  did we do in California to cause Liquid Nails to reformulate their entire product line into thick Elmer’s Glue.

Last weekend I was finishing up a bead board installation on the ceiling (16ft strips glued and nailed) when I ran a case short of original Liquid Nails.  Little did I know that I was holding on to a valuable original formula.

Three separate trips to HD later I discovered that all the usual Liquid Nails products (Heavy Duty, Subfloor, and Panel and Molding) have all been turned into white, thick, slow setting, useless paste.  It appears that we can no longer get a product that works, but it is available in 10oz, 28oz and gallon containers.

A call to the manufacturer pretty much confirmed the fact that they now have a special California blend. 

Well I can only hope the state bureaucrats counted the three extra trips to the store in my old Range Rover when they figured out the VOC emission savings of the new product formula.

Frustrated!

Dean – 1/2 a ceiling

 

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Replies

  1. pauld | Apr 14, 2003 09:29pm | #1

    Dean,

    If you think that's silly, it's even worse if you have to deal with the A.Q.M.D. (Air Quality Management District) re: your business -- makes me remember an old adage about absolute power corrupting absolutely...

    These bureaucrats may have access to time travel -- based on the folks I've dealt with, it appears they traveled back in time to learn their interpersonal skills from Joseph Stalin or someone comparable (Sad-damn Whose Anu?).

    Anyone who thinks politics and big bucks aren't involved in these kinds of decisions must be quite gullible -- why else would they be cracking down so hard on matters that are relatively inconsequential (V.O.C. content of Liquid Nails) while completely ignoring the big fish (e.g.: the diesel tractor-trailers that deliver the stuff to H.D.)?

    I hope you live close to a bordering state that still sells the "real stuff."

     Sorry about the rant...

    Paul

    1. archyII | Apr 15, 2003 02:40am | #3

      A.Q.M.D.  They put a lot of small restaurants out of business.  Now anything that grills meat or has a fryer has to have a scrubber. Instead of polluting the air with good smelling smoke we get to wash the grease and other stuff down the drain (except when the preceptor catches on fire((out of the 5 restaurants that I have worked on in CA 3 have had there preceptors burn)).  I guess water quality is not an issue.

      1. JohnSprung | Apr 15, 2003 02:44am | #4

        > I guess water quality is not an issue.

        Not for the AQMD.  That would be the WQMD's problem.  ;-)

        -- J.S.

  2. JohnSprung | Apr 15, 2003 02:04am | #2

    I know I have some of the old brown formula here in L.A.  I'll have to see how much.  Where are you located?

    -- J.S.

    1. HealeyBN7 | Apr 15, 2003 05:40am | #6

      John,

      Thank you very much for the offer.  I am in Thousand Oaks.

      Dean

      1. JohnSprung | Apr 16, 2003 01:24am | #7

        I'm in Hollywood, just South of the Paramount lot.  I found the box, there are 23 tubes of the heavy duty and one of the tub and tile adhesive.  Do you ever get down this way?

        -- J.S.

        1. User avater
          JeffBuck | Apr 16, 2003 01:27am | #8

          Bet they got the good stuff in a back room across the border in TJ.

          JeffBuck Construction   Pittsburgh,PA

           Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite                  

  3. WorkshopJon | Apr 15, 2003 05:18am | #5

    "What the *(&^$  did we do in California to cause Liquid Nails to reformulate their entire product line into thick Elmer's Glue."

     

    This is only going to get worst and worse. Actually, it's been getting worse and worse for 30 years. If you come across something that works well, stockpile if possible. In this country, it's too hard to fight the system, but easy to circumvent it. [I mean legally of course].

    Jon

  4. DouglasABaker | Apr 16, 2003 05:24am | #9

    Wait til the automakers stop selling cars in CA because of the CARB (Air Resource Board) legislation _requiring_ a certain percentage of sales to be Zero Emissions (read: Electric cars which cost an arm and a leg, and which customers won't buy!).  Nevermind that all that does is _move_ the pollution, not eliminate it.

    Sooner or later Californians will realize that these "problems" are of their own doing, and will elect different officials...

    d-

    1. 4Lorn1 | Apr 16, 2003 06:26am | #10

      On the other hand you could quit whining and use one of the newer urethane products that is far superior to liquid nails. The damage caused by VOCs, both to the users and the overall environment is well documented. I was never a fan of cheap construction adhesives. Often they fail. You might be better off with Elmers glue. Most don't work well on wet surfaces and they burn like napalm even after hardening.

      Try the urethanes and you won't look back. I have had good results with both PL Premium and Gorilla Glue. Either of these will glue just about anything to anything, will fill gaps and if properly applied provide a joint that exceeds the strength of the parent materials. These make the cheap stuff look like a waste of time. There are other products so don't limit your choice to just these two try a few different brands. Adapt.

      1. DouglasABaker | Apr 16, 2003 07:42pm | #11

        I'll assume you meant this for someone else, since we didn't elect a bunch of environmentalists here in Michigan and I can still use the original Liquid Nails ;)

        d-

        Edited 4/16/2003 12:43:18 PM ET by DM_Woodworking

  5. ptnbear | Apr 17, 2003 01:07am | #12

    Dean.. we get all the good stuff here in newhampshire , you probably can order it from homedepot here and have it shipped ,if not I know of a lumber company that will ship it to you

    a mistake in my billing? why, your right , it should be more!

  6. patatbrecknock | Nov 04, 2014 12:11pm | #13

    old formula liquid nails and new urethanes

    I just want to say that the old formula liquid nails was a great tool. After a day or two would loose the voc 's and would never mis-perform even outdoors.I find that the newer urethanes :PL 3 etc. and Gorilla are good ,but take longer to "cure", and through the years don't perform as well as the old formula liquid nails ,and ( I'm guessing on this ) are more toxic when thay start breaking down.........thanks

    1. gfretwell | Nov 04, 2014 03:59pm | #14

      I thinmik there is a lot of

      I thinik there is a lot of hype around Gorilla glue.

      I made up some samples using wood strips, glued together and clamped. I had pine and red oak. I used Gorilla glue, white elmers and yellow carpenters glue. The Gorilla glue was about as good as the Elmers and the carpenter glue beat both of them. If I do it again I will put Liquid Nails in the mix.

      My wive loves Liquid nails from when she was a builder and now, running the maintenance department for a golf course and country club. When I told her about this, she said she is going to order a case. California things have a bad habit of creeping across the country.

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