Review on 3M 568 Positionable Mounting Adhesive by Heather Shaw

Purchased recently because I needed to attach 20 enlarged photos (16" x 20" and 20" x 30") to the foam core. I was a bit worried after reading some of the reviews but followed the directions and it ended up working pretty well. I agree with one reviewer who said this adhesive can't really be positioned, but other than that it works better than an aerosol spray in my opinion. With practice, you will develop a workflow for using this product successfully. There are some tools you absolutely need and may require a trip to the hardware store. I chose a yellow and black Stanley machine with 25mm blades. Cost about $5.2) cut surface; I ended up using two plain pine wood shelves laid out on my kitchen counter. 3) A metal ruler, preferably longer than what you will cut. You need this to draw the knife in a straight line. The main problem here is that if you do this and follow the instructions you will end up with glue on your fingers and if you touch any of the pictures with the glue it will basically ruin the picture and be very difficult to remove. I actually destroyed a photo trying to wash off the glue and made the problem worse. But this is operator error, not the fault of the glue. For example, if you start with step 1 and unroll the tape non-stick side down and sticky side up, your thumb or forefinger will undoubtedly touch the sticky side. But if it does, you can rub your fingers and remove the glue that way, or wash your hands and remove it that way. But in any case, you need to wash the glue off your fingers. What I found helpful in the first step was to take a small piece of tape and tape the free end of the roll so it stays in place and doesn't curl. This makes it easier to position the image and align it with the sticky side of the roll. So after turning the sticky side of the roll up, tape the free end and then be as careful and precise as you can. , stick the back of the photo on the sticky side. If you can only straighten one side, you should be fine. At this stage, the image moves a little. Then take a metal ruler, put it on the picture and cut the roll. So now the roll of assembly adhesive can be removed. You then take the release paper that came with the product and place it, Teflon or non-stick paper side up. Then turn your photo over and place it on this paper. And on the back of your photo, which is now facing up, you've put sticky paper on the back of the photo, and the back of the sticky paper is a teflon-like non-stick material. At this moment, take the squeegee that comes with the roller, squeeze out any air bubbles and smooth the surface. Once the surface is smoothed out, which is key, you'll need to take a clean rag and press down firmly on the back again, making sure you're applying plenty of pressure. If you press hard, most of the adhesive will go to the back of the photo as you remove the adhesive paper. After rubbing the back of the photo, take the sticky paper and peel it off slowly. If you apply enough pressure while doing this, 70-80% or more of the adhesive will move to the back of the photo. One thing to mention about glue is that it is very sticky and sticky. It's sticky like a mouse or cockroach sticky trap, but becomes stringy when touched. Again, if at any point you get glue on your fingers, STOP and wash it off. you want to mount it. This part is probably the hardest part because you're trying to lift the image without smearing it with glue with your fingers and align it with the artboard. Here it is better to just try to align at least one edge as best as possible, or one corner. But you must be as specific as possible because once the image is below it will be linked very easily and cannot be positioned. The good news, however, is that if you get 1/4 inch or more wrong, you can always trim the whole piece to even out the edges. Once the image is in place, place release paper over the image and pop the bubbles again. And again you can take a soft cloth and apply even pressure to the surface to ensure a good grip. With a few pictures, my alignment wasn't perfect, but with the help of a metal ruler and a sharp knife, I was able to line it up. Edges and make every photo look great. The great thing about this product is that it is virtually odorless and binds very well. The key is to take your time and anticipate that you might ruin a photo or two in the process, but in the end if you stick with it you'll be very good at this glue.