Gorilla versus Bull

Applying pieces of acoustic foam in my recording booth has been a challenge. Carpet tape didn’t work. Sticky squares that come off cleanly later on also weren’t strong enough to hold the foam overhead. Erin Davis and her husband/producer/sound engineer Rob suggested spray adhesive, so Derek picked up a couple of cans of it for me – Gorilla and Elmer’s.

It became an unintentional Consumer Reports experiment. The foam put up with Gorilla spray stayed in place like a champ. (chimp?) However, the Elmer’s (bull) glue let me down, and by that I mean the next morning, every piece was on the floor.

They’re probably similar formulas. The method is the same: spray both surfaces and wait a few moments until the glue is tacky. Press together and enjoy. Although Gorilla is the hot adhesive brand right now, I don’t like the regular Gorilla glue and find it wanting. Wanting to stick. But it’s clearly the superior spray product against Elmer’s.

Gorilla spray has an odour that leaves you feeling a little bit stoned. I’d only do a few pieces at a time and then let the small space air out for a while.

So, how can you be on the market for so many years (the bull) and allow a new kid (the gorilla) to come on strong and pass you by? Complacency. Tim Hortons did it. Zellers did it. It happens all the time.

Disgusting and wonderful, Lepage’s liquid glue.

The little paste-eaters in elementary school preferred Elmer’s white glue. My fond glue memories go back to LePage and that disgusting little liquid glue bottle we all used for projects and crafts. I loved to pick off the dried glue around the little mouth on the plastic applicator until it looked new again. (Is that weird?) Note that its official name was mucilage, which sounds appropriate considering its goopy consistency. LePage doesn’t even have an animal in its logo, and no dog in this spray-adhesive fight. Pity.

1 thought on “Gorilla versus Bull”

  1. Love that your ongoing efforts to make the best acoustics possible for your work, have enlightened us all! Glad that the Gorilla adhesive works (yes, that odour can make you pretty loopy) and here’s to more great work in weeks, months and years to come! Stick with it, they say….

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