# Gorillas Glue and expanding foam.



## Fordyl2k (Nov 29, 2010)

Hey guys ive looked at alot of threads of people using this stuff and the results look great. The one thing is cant get my head round is how you actually use this technique. Are there any tutorials for it ? Or can anyone give me some advice?
cheers,
Ryan


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

It's easy use the expanding foam to get desired look then when cured use black aquarium grade silicone and press dry Eco earth into it as it cures


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## steven_law (Nov 1, 2009)

sambridge15 said:


> It's easy use the expanding foam to get desired look then when cured use black aquarium grade silicone and press dry Eco earth into it as it cures


this is all good if you want a mud cliff sort of affect I saw you thread earlyer today be for I started mine, I would like to hear about different effects that can be created, what else could you stick to the silicone??


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

steven_law said:


> this is all good if you want a mud cliff sort of affect I saw you thread earlyer today be for I started mine, I would like to hear about different effects that can be created, what else could you stick to the silicone??


anything tbh moss ,sand ,orchid bark ,treefern root ,rocks,twigs/sticks anything you can lodge into foam or is loose and dry :2thumb:


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## Fordyl2k (Nov 29, 2010)

So does the foam just stick to the glass? is it easy to get back off? and im guessing that just holds the wood and plants pots etc in?
cheers,
Ryan


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

I cant comment on expanding foam but Gorilla Glue is easy.Think of it as a mixture between glue and expanding foam.You spread it on the glass with an old credit card then push damp eco earth into it and within about twenty minutes it is hard.
The disadvantages with Gorilla Glue is that it doesn`t expand as much as expandinding foam so it is more for covering the glass than building features on it and you have to watch it as it bubbles up and can come through the earth.But it is apparently waterproof so does not need sealing like expanding foam and is non toxic.
Personally I like the stuff,but its a devil to get out of the carpet or dogs coat !!


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

colinm said:


> I cant comment on expanding foam but Gorilla Glue is easy.Think of it as a mixture between glue and expanding foam.You spread it on the glass with an old credit card then push damp eco earth into it and within about twenty minutes it is hard.
> The disadvantages with Gorilla Glue is that it doesn`t expand as much as expandinding foam so it is more for covering the glass than building features on it and you have to watch it as it bubbles up and can come through the earth.But it is apparently waterproof so does not need sealing like expanding foam and is non toxic.
> Personally I like the stuff,but its a devil to get out of the carpet or dogs coat !!


expanding foam doesnt need sealing either both are near enough the same just expanding foam expands more ...and yes it sticks to the glass it does come off glass easy but nothing else having tried both methods i must say expanding foam and silicone get my vote i hated gorilla glue because it expands you end up constantly going over and making things worse!!! admittedly i used gorilla glue over expanding foam


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## Fordyl2k (Nov 29, 2010)

With gorilla glue can you still stick plant pots and stuff on ? 
Also when sticking stuff to the expanding foam, i just cover it in silicon and lodge it in ? Bit scared about doing this on my brand new exo terra 
cheers,
Ryan


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## Willz0r2010 (Oct 6, 2010)

Don't do it on the new tank then! 

Get some thin hardboard, or some glass offcuts from a glazier and try it on there first. You'll kick yourself in the forehead if you ruin a new tank!

One thing to remember - if you're using silicone spread over expanding foam, make sure you press BONE DRY (or it just won't work) stuff in firmly, and then leave it for a day or two. Silicone takes quite a long time to cure, and you'll be forever brushing off a load of unstuck covering and trying again unless you leave it all for a long time.


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

Willz0r2010 said:


> Don't do it on the new tank then!
> 
> Get some thin hardboard, or some glass offcuts from a glazier and try it on there first. You'll kick yourself in the forehead if you ruin a new tank!
> 
> One thing to remember - if you're using silicone spread over expanding foam, make sure you press BONE DRY (or it just won't work) stuff in firmly, and then leave it for a day or two. Silicone takes quite a long time to cure, and you'll be forever brushing off a load of unstuck covering and trying again unless you leave it all for a long time.


Good advice.The advantage of Gorilla Glue is that you dont need things to be bone dry.It helps to cure the Gorilla Glue if the Eco earth is damp and in curing it expands.For ease just cover the glass with Gorilla Glue and push in the eco earth,it really is that simple.If you want some wood features orpots stuck to the side stick them on first and let them cure before putting on the background of Gorilla Glue and Eco earth.
Just dont rush it do one side at a time. As has already been said try some out on some old glass before you do your Exo Terra,then you will be confident.


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## Ricko_78 (Apr 28, 2010)

Sorry to hijack the thread a little but I just bought some gorilla glue and expanding foam and thought you put the foam on first them once the foam has set you put gorilla glue on the foam followed by eco earth?

Do I need silicone as well?

Please can someone clarify before I start
thanks


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## colinm (Sep 20, 2008)

As I understand it Gorilla Glue need to be dampened to cure and expanding foam needs to be dry.I dont think that they work well together though others may disagree.
If you want to use just Gorilla Glue it expands on its own,nowhere near as much as expanding foam but you can get a sculptured background you just cannot build rock features or the like out of it.
With Gorilla Glue you dont need silicon you just push the [wet] earth into it as its drying.At this stage it bubbles so you push it back or put extra eco eart on it to cover it.
If you are using expanding fom you put silicon on it to seal it and to make a base for the earth to stick to .The earth has to be dry with this method.


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## Ricko_78 (Apr 28, 2010)

Ok thanks for clearing that up for me mate.: victory:


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## sambridge15 (Nov 22, 2009)

Iv done 3 expanding background in my exo it's easyish to get off glass i always use dry earth then dampen slightly before use as a find this gives the best result ! Make sure you use aquarium grade as fungicides found in most are very bad for herps


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## Echoplexic (Sep 16, 2018)

Actually expanding foam or at least the" great stuff" branded expanding foam uses the moister in the air to expand and cure( hence why people attempting to make molds out of it couldn't get it to expand , it needed moisture in the mold) so it would work just fine with gorilla glue although the original gorilla glue expands , so if you like the shape your expanding foam has I'd suggest using some coats of gorilla WOOD glue possibly diluted with water ( note that adding water will cause it to cure faster and it tends to shrink if the entire piece isn't coated). I have just started this on a test piece of great stuff expanding foam ( the pond and stone version, i chose due to the black color) that i sprinkled sand on as it cured for texture, the sand stuck well but I wanted it to be reptile proof stuck so I started layering on a 1 part gorilla wood glue , 1 part water mixture . I think I like it.


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