So far, I've managed to purchase the proper adhesive - DAP Weldwood Landau Top & Trim. It clearly states to extinguish pilot lights and eliminate all other ignition sources. From that, I think that I can get the garage up to room temperature, shut off the heat and cut off the pilot light, and then spray glue. How do I know when it is ready to stick the pieces together in the cold? I assume that I should give some time for the vapors to gas off before turning the heat on. I would hate to find out that I waited too long and the glue doesn't stick. My concern stems from an incident years ago when a friend was trying to redo the counter tops in his kitchen when the heater cut in and it went up in flames.
I wonder how many people smoke while using glue. Same goes for using oxygen for breathing and smoking.
You made me think on this one, I haven't glued a top on in thirty five years. There's no fog to speak of the glue settles quite fast. I'd spray it and give it five or ten minutes and heat it up.
wait till spring ! Seriously, When it tacks off.. Do a couple sample pieces. Also are you brushing or spraying? Spraying it goes faster almost can do right away over brushing..
My interior guy uses that particular glue exclusively, it holds when others fail. That said I have seen him use a heat gun to speed up the drying process. (A hair dryer is another option) At room temp I would think you could put the pieces together in 5-10 minutes depending on how heavy you have sprayed the parts.
I've only used 3m spray glue, it takes about 5 minutes to tack up before you assemble your parts. My experience was putting in a headliner, so I didn't use as much as you would on a vinyl top. There didn't seem to be much a lingering odor, so it was probably flame safe in 10-15 minutes.
I use a 5 gallon pail every month or two. For length of time, it all depends how thick it is applied and if it is absorbed into the product it is being applied to. Just touch it. When it feels tacky, just stick them together. I`ve been using the product for so long, I can`t really smell the vapors. Unless they are really strong when using lots of glue. Doors are always open in the shop for large jobs, or it gets sprayed outside.
I would think the size of the work area, and the proximity of the work in relation to the heat source would be a consideration. If the work space is very small, and the piolet light is very close to the work area, I'd probably shut it down until the glue was tacky and the material was stuck together, then I would relight the piolet light. How much glue you are spraying would also be a factor, If a lot of spray gluing is going to take place in a short time, then other personal protection things should probably be considered as well. There should be guidelines on how much time should be allowed for the proper glue setup time. Once the glued surfaces are stuck together, I would think any fire issue would be gone. If the area was larger, say a two stall garage, and the furnace was 10' or more from the work zone, I'd probably turn the heat down a few degrees until the material was glued together. I wouldn't bother turning off the piolet light in a two car garage. I believe those warnings are intended for a heat source very close to the actual glue area, as in a few feet away. Gene
As others have said it is the volume of the shop and amount of glue. I have done work in sub zero weather where I got the garage up into the upper 80's and held it there for a bit for the heat to soak in. Shut the heat off and sprayed our paint. Gave it a few minutes to gas off then opened the shop doors to let the air change. The air in the space is warm and it will be displaced immediately by the outside air. Close the doors and the heat soak in the room will quickly normalize the temperature and then monitor it for smell. If the glue has gone off and the fabric or vinyl stuck down then there should be no risk of turning the heat back on. You could borrow a heater or two to supplement the the heat in the space unless it is huge. I have used a Mr. Heater propane construction heater to get the temperature up in a short time. The propane heater is like a mini jet engine and will quickly make it hot in the garage. I limit the time with the construction heater as it makes the shop humid if used for a long time and it is burning the air in the shop. If it is just cool I have a 220V electric garage heater that works well. Once the glue has set then it should take any temperature.
Warm your glue can in hot water before spraying, it will flow out better. Heat the garage the best you can, then use halogen lights on the surface and a heat gun in between, keep moving around as the areas heat up to even it out.
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