---
title: "Which glue works on wood?"
description: "PVA wood glue for anything indoors; a water-resistant grade (Type I / D4) or polyurethane for anything that gets wet. The ranked options, the technique that changes "
url: https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-wood/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Which glue works on wood?

**Which glue works on wood?: PVA wood glue for anything indoors; a water-resistant grade (Type I / D4) or polyurethane for anything that gets wet.**

On a properly fitted long-grain joint, PVA is stronger than the timber around it — the test piece breaks in the wood, not at the glue line, and that has been true since the 1950s. What fails is everything else: end grain behaves like a bundle of straws and drinks glue out of the joint, leaving it starved, and any gap wider than a shaving leaves PVA with nothing to grip. Clamping pressure exists to close the joint and squeeze the film thin, not to force glue into the wood, and over-clamping soft timber genuinely starves a joint. Water resistance is graded rather than claimed: EN 204 runs D1 to D4 and the American system Type III to Type I, and the number on the bottle is the only reliable statement about immersion.

## The options, ranked

*Ranked best-first for the stated job. The third column is why the others exist.*

| Option | Good at | Bad at |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PVA wood glue | Stronger than the wood itself on a well-fitted long-grain joint, cheap, cleans up with water, sands and takes a finish poorly but predictably. | Almost no gap-filling strength, creeps slowly under sustained load, and interior grades fail when soaked. |
| Polyurethane glue | Waterproof, bonds wood to metal, stone and plastics, and works on slightly damp timber because moisture is what cures it. | Foams as it cures and that foam has no strength at all, so it fills gaps visually and not structurally. Stains skin brown for days. |
| Two-part epoxy | The only common wood adhesive that genuinely bridges gaps, and the right answer for oily tropical timbers and end-grain-heavy joints. | Expensive, slow, needs mixing by ratio, and a thick glue line is visible under a clear finish. |
| Hot hide glue | Reversible with heat and moisture, which is why instrument and antique repair still uses it; it also sticks to itself for repairs. | Needs a glue pot, sets in under a minute, and fails in damp conditions. |

## Technique that changes the outcome

1. Dry-fit and clamp the joint before any glue is opened — glue never fixes a bad fit
2. Size end grain with glue thinned slightly with water, let it soak in, then glue normally
3. Spread a thin even film on both faces rather than a bead on one
4. Clamp until a small continuous bead of squeeze-out appears, and no harder
5. Wipe squeeze-out with a damp cloth before it skins, or it blocks stain later
6. Leave clamped 30-60 minutes; leave unstressed 24 hours for full strength

## What goes wrong

- Gluing below about 10 °C — most PVAs chalk and never reach strength
- Relying on polyurethane foam to fill a gap; it has effectively no strength
- Assuming a joint is finished when the clamps come off — cure is a day, not an hour

> Compiled practical guidance rather than a published standard. Product formulations vary by brand and market, so read the label — and where the work is structural, electrical or gas, the regulations that apply where you are govern rather than anything here.

## Other glue and adhesive questions

| For | Use |
| --- | --- |
| Plastic | It depends entirely on which plastic — identify it first, because solvent cement is unbeatable on some and useless on others. |
| Polypropylene and polyethylene | Ordinary adhesives cannot wet these plastics at all. Use a polyolefin primer with cyanoacrylate, an MMA structural adhesive, or weld the plastic. |
| Metal | Two-part epoxy for anything structural, cyanoacrylate for small dry parts, and MMA where the surface cannot be properly prepared. |
| Ceramic and pottery | Two-part epoxy for anything that will be handled or loaded, cyanoacrylate for a clean break on a display piece — and neither is dishwasher-proof. |
| Shoes | A flexible shoe repair adhesive — polyurethane or a neoprene contact cement — never superglue, which cracks within a day of walking. |
| Fabric | A washable fabric adhesive or a fusible bonding web — and never superglue, which reacts with cotton violently enough to burn. |
| Glass | UV-cure glass adhesive for an invisible joint, clear epoxy where it must hold load, and neutral-cure silicone where it must stay flexible or wet. |
| PVC pipe | PVC solvent cement with its matching primer — and PVC, CPVC and ABS cements are not interchangeable. |
| Tiles | A cement-based thin-set in almost every case; ready-mixed tub adhesive only on small dry walls, never on floors or in showers. |
| Phone screens | A pre-cut adhesive gasket, or a flexible B-7000-type adhesive around the frame — superglue destroys screens and is the classic mistake. |
| Rubber | Contact cement for large flexible areas and rubber-toughened cyanoacrylate for small ones — but silicone and EPDM need a primer or they will not bond at all. |
| Outdoor and waterproof joints | Polyurethane or epoxy for rigid joints, MS polymer where the joint has to move — and check the water-resistance class rather than the word "waterproof". |
| Acrylic (Perspex, Plexiglas) | A solvent cement run into the joint by capillary action — not a tube adhesive, which will always look like a repair. |
| Concrete | Epoxy or a construction adhesive for bonding to it, and a chemical anchor resin — not glue — for anything that carries load. |
| Leather | Contact cement for a permanent flexible bond, or a leather-craft PVA to hold pieces while you stitch them. |
| Silicone | Effectively only more silicone, and even that needs a primer — and any silicone residue left on a surface stops everything else sticking too. |
| Paper | A glue stick or PVA for everyday work; wheat starch paste or methylcellulose for anything you want to survive — and never tape. |
| Foam | A foam-safe water-based adhesive or low-temperature hot melt — solvent adhesives dissolve polystyrene on contact. |
| Polycarbonate | A urethane or silicone adhesive is safest; solvent cements work but polycarbonate is unusually prone to stress cracking days later. |

## Common questions

### Which glue works on wood?

PVA wood glue for anything indoors; a water-resistant grade (Type I / D4) or polyurethane for anything that gets wet.

### What should I avoid?

Gluing below about 10 °C — most PVAs chalk and never reach strength Relying on polyurethane foam to fill a gap; it has effectively no strength Assuming a joint is finished when the clamps come off — cure is a day, not an hour

## Related pages

- [Which glue works on plastic?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-plastic/)
- [Which glue works on polypropylene and polyethylene?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-polypropylene/)
- [Which glue works on metal?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-metal/)
- [Which glue works on ceramic?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-ceramic/)
- [Which glue works on shoes?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-shoes/)
- [Which glue works on fabric?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-fabric/)
- [Which glue works on glass?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-glass/)
- [Which glue works on PVC pipe?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-pvc-pipe/)
- [Which adhesive should I use for tiles?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-tile/)
- [Which glue works on a phone screen?](https://atoneplace.net/which/glue-phone-screen/)
- [Which drill bit should I use for wood?](https://atoneplace.net/which/drill-bit-wood/)
- [Which circular saw blade for wood?](https://atoneplace.net/which/blade-wood/)
- [Which screw and pilot hole should I use for wood?](https://atoneplace.net/which/screw-wood/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)