# How is Gorilla Glue still around? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 18, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782 "2015-12-18T16:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Abner\_Ravenwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Abner\_Ravenwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abner_Ravenwood)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/21 "2015-12-19T02:05:21Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > How is Gorilla Glue still around? That stuff tastes terrible! Does it taste worse than gorilla biscuits? ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/22 "2015-12-19T02:16:03Z")
A friend of mine many years ago sang the praises of Gorilla Glue, but I said I would rather stick with yellow glue for woodworking since it’s something I am very familiar with, and it has never let me down. Am I missing out on woodworking’s greatest invention, or am I right to stick with yellow glue? ---
**Author:** ![TheFella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@TheFella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFella)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/23 "2015-12-19T02:17:58Z")
I love Gorilla Glue for what it is good for. As has been said, it’s not a general purpose glue, but it is pretty versatile. Like superglue, etc, it can be pretty messy, but appropriate handling solves this. I have used it on a few automotive projects - specifically broken plastic panels, where the combination of a little gorilla glue and some fiberglass cloth can provide a very competent fix. It isn’t a great filler, but its tendency to expand as it dries can be exploited to fill small gaps. And it seems to take paint pretty well after cured, too. For woodwork, on dampened surfaces, it’s unbeatable, and again the expanding characteristics of it can be very helpful when, for example, you are dealing with a dowel where the hole has been worn a bit large. I’ve also used it with a bit of steel wool to brace up a worn woodscrew hole. It’s still around because it’s the right tool for the right job. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/24 "2015-12-19T02:24:48Z")
> [@TheFella](#): > > I’ve also used it with a bit of steel wool to brace up a worn woodscrew hole. Golf tee dipped in your favorite adhesive, pounded in, clipped off and planed/chiseled smooth, and then re-drilled. I have a bag of hardwood tees for this precise purpose. It works so well that I even used this technique when I hung a door incorrectly and had to move all of the holes half of a hole width, something almost impossible to do without the drill going back to the old hole. ---
**Author:** ![TheFella](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e56c9b/32.png) [@TheFella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheFella)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/25 "2015-12-19T02:28:10Z")
… ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/26 "2015-12-19T15:43:17Z")
It’s still around because it’s freaking fantastic for the surfaces it lists (especially wood) when you, oh I dunno, actually read and follow the directions, like others have said. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/27 "2015-12-19T15:48:26Z")
I used it to glue the metal thing that holds the rear view mirror on the windshield of my grand daughter’s car. Did this about a year ago. Hasn’t fallen off yet. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/28 "2015-12-19T17:10:33Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > Not only that, you can smoke the stuff! 😉 Huh? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/29 "2015-12-19T17:56:53Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > How is Gorilla Glue still around? That stuff tastes terrible! And I heard it doesn’t even contain real gorilla. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/30 "2015-12-21T03:41:21Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > And I heard it doesn’t even contain real gorilla. Thank you very much, Greenpeace! Dicks. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/31 "2015-12-21T03:52:12Z")
What they said. I usually apply masking tape around the joints to catch whatever blowout there is when it expands. Maybe a little trim work with a sharp wood chisel or razor knife and it’s ready for finish. ---
**Author:** ![Oly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oly/32/8255_2.png) [@Oly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oly)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/32 "2015-12-21T05:21:12Z")
Alliteration always achieves amazing… results. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/33 "2015-12-21T15:54:36Z")
How about that glue that hardens with the UV pen that you see on TV? Is that on the level? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/34 "2015-12-21T16:01:43Z")
Yep! My spouse bought some and has used it in several different projects. Works quite well, although you do _not_ want to use it outside in direct sunlight on a sunny day. That daystar will set the adhesive up just fine. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/35 "2015-12-21T16:14:59Z")
> [@Oly](#): > > Alliteration always achieves amazing… results. …adhesion? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/36 "2015-12-21T16:16:30Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > And I heard it doesn’t even contain real gorilla. It’s not made of gorillas you fool! It’s for gluing broken gorillas back together, or gluing whole gorillas to each other. Obviously, it doesn’t work as well on other animals. Did you think Dog Chow was made out of dogs?!?! ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/37 "2015-12-21T16:24:34Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It’s not made of gorillas you fool! It’s for gluing broken gorillas back together, or gluing whole gorillas to each other. Obviously, it doesn’t work as well on other animals. Did you think Dog Chow was made out of dogs?!?! I thought it was made of half a Chow Chow. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/38 "2015-12-21T17:01:21Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > How about that glue that hardens with the UV pen that you see on TV? Is that on the level? It’s absurdly expensive ($24 for a tiny amount + pen at Ace hardware). But, the technology has been used for decades - you probably have UV-cured cement in your mouth, ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/39 "2015-12-21T17:05:54Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I thought it was made of half a Chow Chow. ☹ No, it is made of half of a Dog Dog 🙂 Also put me down for being unimpressed with Gorilla glue. I have glued a fair number of wooden things together with the stuff (following the directions thank you very much). They came apart fairly fast when exposed to the elements. Heck, even some of the stuff that just lived in the garage didn’t last. Good ole high quality wood glue or an actual epoxy resin would have probably done better. ---
**Author:** ![MindsEye\_Watering](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindseye_watering/32/3619_2.png) [@MindsEye\_Watering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MindsEye_Watering)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782/40 "2015-12-21T17:50:01Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’s absurdly expensive ($24 for a tiny amount + pen at Ace hardware). > But, the technology has been used for decades - you probably have UV-cured cement in your mouth, And on/in any optical discs (CD, DVD, Blu-Ray) that you own. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-gorilla-glue-still-around/740782.md?page=3)