"When It’s Not Wood"

Wood products manufacturers trust ASTM standards to ensure the quality of bonding wood components for interior and exterior parts. But what standards should you follow when bonding substrates other than wood in these products?ASTM standards cover nonstructural lumber products centered around a variety of wood species only. ASTM currently does not offer separate criteria for adhesives applied to such substrates as acetylated lumber, plastic composites, thermally treated lumber and bamboo – although these substrates are increasingly popular.Our testing shows these new substrates absorb water and behave differently than wood does. Accordingly, they might also respond differently to a particular adhesive. This possibility suggests that we might – just might – need to use a different adhesive when bonding alternative substrates to achieve the same degree of water resistance. And it also gives rise to the possibility, however distant, that ASTM might need to develop a separate set of standards for these substrates.We would like to know what your experience working with these substrates has been. Do the same adhesives you have been using to glue wood components seems to work as well as one of these alternative materials? E-mail a comment to us directly at marketing@franklininternational.com.In fact, we always look forward to hearing from you. It’s one way we can ensure we are meeting our standards – and yours – for quality, too.