How to Glue Stainless Steel to Drywall
In this guide on how to glue stainless steel to drywall you will learn how to prepare the surfaces, apply the glue, and what to do whilst it dries to ensure the bond stays tight.
There are three optimal choices for gluing stainless steel to drywall with includes silicone glue, epoxy resin, and polyurethane adhesive. Each of these adhesives offers superior adhesive strength but will all have varied drying times.
Deciding which of these adhesives to use will also depend on the speed that each of these adhesives is offering. There is also a varying degree of a price difference that each of these is divided by. We do have a similar guide which you may also find useful about how to glue aluminum to MDF.
To find out which of these adhesives works for fast or slow drying times, some preparations will allow the best adhesion possible. Only one of these will be best for attaching stainless steel to drywall according to the time considerations needed.
What Glue Can You Use for Stainless Steel to Drywall?
Here are three of the different types of adhesive we would recommend you use when gluing stainless steel to drywall:
Polyurethane Adhesive
Using polyurethane adhesive is a logical solution whenever there is a need to glue stainless steel items to drywall. The best PU glue for this task includes Loctite PL Premium polyurethane construction adhesive and Liquid Nails drywall PU adhesive. Other brands work just as fine if they are used for polyurethane construction adhesive. This is a pressure-sensitive adhesive but some additional securing will be needed for all of it to cure.
Silicone Adhesive
This is not the same as silicone caulking, so whenever silicone adhesive is used for adhering stainless steel to drywall, this silicone will add extra bonding strength. This type of adhesive will come in small tubes or larger caulking tubes. If many metal pieces are being attached, larger tubes that employ a caulking gun are recommended. There is also a reasonable amount of securing to hold metal pieces in place so curing can fully occur.
Epoxy Resin
The advantage of 2-part epoxy is to achieve a short curing time when securing stainless steel to drywall. Most of the 2-part epoxy kits can cure in as little as 5-10 minutes. The optimal brand to look for includes Loctite metal concrete 2-part epoxy. Many other versions that advertise metal to concrete applications will be perfect for metal to drywall. Minimal clamping or bonding will be needed to make sure that curing pieces aren’t moving around.
How to Prepare Stainless Steel to Drywall Before Gluing
The most important step to make sure that stainless steel will attach to drywall is to have clean surfaces. Stainless steel must be scuffed-up on the adhesive side using sandpaper that will give the adhesive some bite. For stainless steel, you need to use 500 to 700-grit sandpaper to scratch the surface which creates fine scratches that help it to stick better. Drywall doesn’t need much preparation and only needs to be wiped free of dust or dirt.
How to Apply Glue for Stainless Steel to Drywall
Using a simple tongue depressor (aka pop stick) to spread the adhesive onto the stainless steel pieces is often all that’s needed to attach this to drywall surfaces. When using silicone adhesive, the glue can be squeezed onto the metal and spread out with a flat spatula, stick, or finger. Wearing rubber gloves will further prevent the adhesive from getting onto uncovered hands or fingers. Epoxy and polyurethane adhesive can be applied the same way.
How to Cure Stainless Steel to Drywall Glue
Polyurethane glue is an interesting adhesive that often needs some kind of moisture to cure faster but is also activated with using pressure. Silicone adhesive dries with the solvent dissipating and will dry to a rubbery surface. The epoxy adhesive that is made for metal to concrete is semi-flexible and curs using a chemical reaction. Using masking tape to secure a stainless steel piece is advised to prevent slipping while the adhesive is curing.
Any open room that is under construction needs to have good airflow to prevent solvent smell build-up. The need to raise the temperature to above 75 degrees Fahrenheit will help cure these adhesives in a shorter time. A post-cure of 24 hours is best for all three of these adhesives.
Which Is the Best Glue to Use?
The best glue for rapidly adhering stainless steel to drywall will include polyurethane and epoxy adhesives. PU glue is the fastest but will be a little bit pricier than epoxy kits. Epoxy kits will cure in 10 minutes with a post-cure of 24 hours. The slowest, but strongest of these adhesives is silicone adhesive which takes the most time to cure completely. The cheapest adhesive is going to be a small epoxy kit compared to the rest.
We hope this guide on how to glue stainless steel to drywall has given you the information you need to make this an easy job for the weekend.
