Difference Between Contact Cement and Rubber Cement

Walk into any hardware store, large store, or craft store and you’ll find an aisle (or at least part of an aisle) filled with different types of adhesives. Having so many options can be overwhelming and it can be tempting to use superglue for everything and hope it works. And maybe it still has been. But there is no reason to limit yourself to one glue.

While we’re not going to talk about all of them here, we’ll look at two common adhesives: contact cement and rubber adhesive. Here are some of the key differences between the two and when to use each.

What is the difference between contact cement and rubber cement?

Let’s start with the basics:

Contact adhesive , also known as contact adhesive, dries to a flexible, permanent, water-resistant, heat-resistant bond and can be used on most materials. This solvent-based adhesive must be applied to both surfaces to be bonded.

Rubber adhesive creates a strong, flexible, semi-permanent bond between flexible materials (e.g. vinyl, fabric, rubber) or in more delicate paper-related projects. This water-based adhesive can be applied to one or both surfaces to be bonded.

When to Use Contact Cement Versus Rubber Cement

Not sure which adhesive is best for your project? Here’s when to use each:

contact cement

• Projects with a large surface area (such as gluing vinyl or linoleum flooring to a subfloor)
• Bonding metal to metal
• Bonding tiles to a wall or floor
• Leak sealing
• Bonding veneer or laminate to wood surfaces
• Minor shoe repair
• Leatherworking
• Bonding glass to other materials
• Fastening upholstery and car interior trim
• Bonding laminate, metal or hard surface tops to base cabinets
• Use it in liquid form to bond porous materials such as wood or cork.
• Use it as a paste on non-porous materials such as plastic or metal.

rubber adhesive

• Most arts and crafts projects (such as stapling two paper objects together)
• Small household repairs to plastic, metal, wood or rubber
• Handling delicate materials such as foil and fabric
• Binding and book repair
• Montage photos
• Making small plastic or paper models of cars, planes, buildings, etc.

When in doubt, ask a hardware or hardware store employee what type of adhesive is best for your project.