Choosing the right glass-bonding adhesive is difficult. There are a wide variety of options available. Now you are at the point of making a decision, you are considering using Formoa 055 for your application.
Here at Forgeway, we have been manufacturing adhesives for over 25 years. Formoa is our range of MS polymer adhesives. We have our own manufacturing facilities and produce thousands of tonnes of Formoa products every year.
Formoa 055 is one of our glass-bonding adhesives from the Formoa range. So it’s fair to say that we know everything there is to know about Formoa 055.
And we know it’s difficult to find unbiased and honest information about adhesive products. Technical data sheets are useful but often won’t go into detail about the product.
That’s why we wrote this article. It will go through the good, the bad and the ugly of Formoa 055. We will discuss:
- What makes Formoa 055 so good
- Why it might not be a good fit for you
- Where some of our customers use it
By the end of this article, you will have a better idea of whether Formoa 055 is a good fit for you.
What is Formoa 055
Formoa 055 is an MS polymer adhesive for bonding glass. It is a single-component adhesive that typically comes in a 600ML foil pack or 200L drums. You can get other sizes and packaging systems, but those would be bespoke if you require them. You can get Formoa 055 in black or white.
It has a tensile strength of 3.3 Mpa and an elongation-at-break score of 450%. In simple terms, this means that Formoa 055 is a strong and flexible adhesive for bonding glass.
The advantages of using Formoa 055
The advantages we discuss here are in comparison to other glass bonding adhesives. You are likely reading this article because you want a glass-bonding adhesive. Because of that, we aren’t comparing them against other MS polymer adhesives.
Formoa 055 is fully primerless
We would consider this the main advantage of using Formoa 055. Most glass-bonding adhesives require a primer to ensure a strong bond. They will also require you to thoroughly clean any leftover adhesive.
However, Formoa 055 is primerless. You don’t need to fully remove the old adhesive, and you don’t need to apply a primer before bonding with Formoa 055.
A bus manufacturer saved 16 man hours per vehicle by using Formoa 055 over a polyurethane adhesive.
Formoa 055 has good grab
Glass-bonding adhesives should have good grab. The term ‘grab’ refers to how ‘sticky’ the adhesive is initially. An adhesive with good ‘grab’ can help hold substrates in place while it cures.
Glass is a heavy material. When you put the glass in place, you need to be sure that it will not fall out while the glue is curing. Most people use clamps (or similar tools) to hold the glass in place while the glue cures.
Whilst we always recommend using tools to hold the glass in place, Formoa 055 will provide additional security that the glass isn’t going to fall out.
Formoa 055 can seal too
Most adhesives have sealant properties. Several factors make a ‘good’ sealant though. Most importantly, it needs to seal. But it also needs to have good weathering resistance, be easy to work with, and not shrink over time.
So not only can you use Formoa 055 to bond the glass in place, but you can also use it to seal the glass. It is very versatile.
Formoa 055 is environmentally friendly and safe
Some glass-bonding adhesives can contain VOCs. These VOCs are harmful to the environment and can even irritate some users. Polyurethane adhesives contain isocyanates which can be particularly irritant.
Nonetheless, Formoa 055 doesn’t contain any VOCs. Most people will not experience any irritation when using it. It will not cause any environmental harm, unlike some other glass-bonding adhesives.
The disadvantages of using Formoa 055
Once again, the disadvantages in this section are in comparison to other glass-bonding adhesives rather than MS polymer adhesives.
You will need a specialist applicator
Foil packs will always need a specialist applicator. With Formoa 055, it doesn’t stop there. Glass-bonding adhesives will almost always be highly viscous. Formoa 055 is no exception. It has high viscosity (basically means it is very thick).
Without diving into the specifics about why Formoa 055 needs to be viscous, we should explain why it could present a problem. We would always advise using a pneumatic or electric applicator when applying Formoa 055. A manual applicator will not be a suitable long-term applicator with Formoa 055.
Formoa 055 can have a slow cure speed
While Formoa 055’s cure speed isn’t the slowest, it also isn’t the fastest. Several factors (heat, humidity) will affect the cure of the adhesive too. This can be a problem when you need the adhesive to reach handling strength fast (quicker than an hour). It will take around 3 hours for Formoa 055 to reach handing strength.
Formoa 055 cannot achieve very high strengths
Formoa 055 isn’t a structural adhesive as it has a tensile strength of 3.3 Mpa. We would consider strengths of more than 5Mpa to be very high strength. To put this into context, we would say an adhesive with a strength of 5Mpa (or more) would qualify as a structural adhesive.
We would not advise using Formoa 055 for bonding large and extremely heavy glass objects.
Where can you use Formoa 055?
We designed Formoa 055 specifically for bonding glass. It doesn’t just bond to glass though. Formoa 055 will bond to most substrates (excluding LSE plastics). For example. if you wanted to bond glass to aluminium, you could use Formoa 055.
Nonetheless, there are certain applications where Formoa 055 is the perfect adhesive option. Because of the primerless nature, flexibility, and good grab, Formoa 055 is ideal for glass-bonding applications where the bond will be under dynamic load. Some examples of this are:
- Bonding windows onto a coach
- Bonding windscreen onto minibuses
- Bonding port windows onto luxury yachts
The reason Formoa 055 is so popular for these applications is because of its ability to absorb stress. Any stress that the bond experiences will not go through the glass. When the stress is transferred to the glass, it is likely to cause the glass to crack.
Is Formoa 055 a good fit for you?
You have learned about the pros, cons, and uses of Formoa 055. Now, you want to establish whether Formoa 055 is going to be a good fit for your application.
Here at Forgeway, we have manufactured adhesives for over 25 years. We know that choosing a glass bonding adhesive is not easy. But without knowing your exact application, it’s difficult for us to tell whether Formoa 055 is the right product for you. But here’s a quick summary that’ll help you decide.
- If you need a glass bonding adhesive and want to save time, money, and resources, Formoa’s primerless nature is likely a good fit for you.
- But, if you are bonding large glass structures or you need a very fast-curing adhesive, you will want to look at alternative glass bonding adhesives.
If you can’t decide whether Formoa 055 is a good fit for you, there is still help. A member of our team would be more than happy to help you decide.
Or, you can fill in the form below to download Formoa 055’s technical data sheet. It will provide all the technical details about the product.
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