While it may not win many style points and it’s not particularly interesting, the double-sided tape may just be your DIY project’s best-kept secret. Whether you’re laminating, splicing, seaming, mounting or bonding two objects together, the double-sided tape has proven to be a more efficient method than conventional screws, glues, and rivets. Why do I claim this? Simply because it is economical, it doesn’t require any drying time, creates very little waste, adheres rather quickly, doesn’t require any cleanup, and ensures air, vapour, and water-tight barriers.
It’s made by applying a thin adhesive layer to both sides of a carrier substrate material, and it’s used in a wide range of industries for a wide range of applications. 3M is one of the most popular manufacturers of industrial double sided tape, and their 3M VHB double sided tape is world-renowned. Double sided tape allows for better craftsmanship and a neater look of the end-product.
3M VHB double sided tape can be either thin or thick, and it can be coated with acrylic, rubber or a modified version of rubber and acrylic with mixed properties. Double sided tapes that feature a thick bonding system are typically better able to bond to non-uniform, unusual and highly textured and patterned surfaces. Thick bonding systems also include a foam carrier layer, and they may greatly vary in strength. On the other hand, thin bonding systems, as their name implies, are much thinner and sometimes consist of only pure adhesive on a thin silicone liner.
While there are many different types of double-sided tapes, such as foam, cotton, and paper, there’s a relatively new type that has taken the market by surprise and is becoming increasingly more popular nowadays – acrylic foam. Acrylic foam is made of a layer of foam coated with acrylic adhesive on both sides and covered by a red liner. This type is stronger and more durable than other types, especially in harsh industrial environments and when exposed to direct sunlight or extreme cold.
And while it is not as versatile as duct tape, as aforementioned, double sided tape still has a wide range of use. It’s commonly used for house wrapping and vapour barrier seaming, improving acoustics and sound, graphic arts and signage and convention and expo events for laying down temporary carpets. There are many more applications for double-sided tape, and listing all of them is impossible. That being said, confirm whether double sided tape works for your particular project, and if it does, you’ll find that no other tape can beat it.
