Are you planning on constructing something with wood, or are you interested in carpentry?

If so, you’ll need a good adhesive that works with wood. Regarding carpentry and wood construction, you can choose between two adhesives – wood glue and liquid nails.

In this article, I’ll compare these two adhesives!

We’ll see which is better, more versatile, stronger, and more resistant. After all, they aren’t the same type of adhesive, and there must be differences between them, right?

Stick around because this guide will show you everything there is to know about liquid nails and wood glue.

Liquid Nails Review

Technically speaking, Liquid Nails is a brand name, not a glue itself. But the brand only has one product, and people buy it over most similar products.

Liquid nail’s all-purpose construction adhesive is the product’s name, and that’s what we’ll discuss.

This is an adhesive mainly used for construction and specially designed for large-scale projects.

It’s meant for heavy-duty construction involving heavy materials that require a lot of tensile strength to hold in place.

This adhesive comes in a caulking tube for extra usability and functionality.

You’ll need a special device to use liquid nails efficiently, but that’s not a problem because you should already have one on hand.

Liquid Nails are made from silicone or polyurethane, depending on the product you buy.

I recommend getting an acrylic latex type of liquid nail if you want to construct or repair something.

Liquid Nails are all-purpose glue that works with many materials, not only wood.

How Do Liquid Nails Work?

Liquid Nails will function differently based on their composition. As I said, you can buy liquid nails made from polyurethane, silicone, and latex.

A polyurethane-based liquid nails glue hardens when the glue comes in contact with moisture, while silicone liquid nails dry once the moisture evaporates from it.

Latex sealants-based liquid nails dry just like silicone adhesives when the moisture evaporates.

I find these types of liquid nails handier since you don’t need to do anything for them to dry. Just wait, and that’s it!

All three types of Liquid Nails will cure within 24 to 48 hours and will dry in a few minutes.

Once they dry, you can move them around and work with the material without a problem.

Of course, the drying requirements differ based on the type of Liquid nail you’re using. Polyurethane glue will need moisture in the air to dry fully.

Are Liquid Nails Toxic?

Like most other wood glues, Liquid Nails are only toxic before it cures. Once it’s cured, it becomes completely harmless.

When it’s wet, Liquid Nails release toxic fumes that will irritate your respiratory system.

If you ingest it, it’ll cause a stomach ache and other digestive issues. All in all, don’t ingest it or breathe it!

Wood Glue Review

Wood Glue, just like the name says, is specifically designed to bond wood. It’s also called carpenter’s glue, white glue, school glue, or PVA.

High-quality wood glue is multi-purpose since it can be used for wood and other similar surfaces in dry and wet conditions.

Wood Glue is made of polyvinyl acetate or PVA. This glue works best on porous materials like wood, cloth, and paper.

PVA is an aliphatic rubber synthetic polymer that belongs to the polyvinyl Ester family.

This type of acetate is made using the polymerization of the vinyl acetate monomer.

That’s a lot of chemistry, but, in simpler terms, PVA is a synthetic resident or compound used for gluing wood and other porous materials.

This adhesive is your best bet if you’re into carpentry construction or repairs! I recommend using it with nails or screws to stabilize the construction better.

For further tips on wood glue, check out my guide on glue for balsa wood.

How Does Wood Glue Work?

Wood Glue is a very simple type of adhesive. To fully dry, wood glue needs the water inside to evaporate.

Once that happens, the other compounds will become solid and take on a plastic-like consistency.

Wood glue will dry faster at room temperature because the water will evaporate quicker.

As for how long it takes to dry, it depends on whether you clamp the materials together or not. If you clamp them, it should take an hour for the glue to dry.

But you’ll need to keep it clamped for 24 to 48 hours for the wood glue to cure. The moisture in the air and the environmental temperature also contribute to the curing time.

You can read more about types of wood glue in my guide on glue for cork boards.

Is Wood Glue Toxic?

Despite being often used at school, wood glue is very toxic since it contains formaldehyde and other toxic materials. These compounds have adverse side effects and may even cause death if ingested.

I recommend not ingesting wood glue under any circumstance. Also, you should work with gloves and always wear a respirator. Eye protection is a great idea, as well. You don’t want the toxic glue getting in your eyes!

Liquid Nails vs. Wood Glue

Now that we’ve seen what each glue does, what are the main differences between them, and which is better?

There are multiple categories to look at in this case:

Application

When carpentry and working with wood to construct or repair something, you’ll need to use an adhesive.

Typically, wood glue is cheaper than liquid nails because it’s also weaker and less resistant.

But wood glue is great if you only want to bond two pieces of wood together!

However, regular PVA wood glue isn’t water-resistant or impact-resistant. So, regular wood glue is not a good idea if you plan on bonding something outdoor.

It’s also not heat-resistant and solvent-resistant. High temperatures and solvents can melt and dissolve it pretty quickly.

Liquid nails offer a stronger and more resilient bond that’s waterproof, heat-resistant, solvent-resistant, and impact-resistant.

Liquid nails are more versatile and can bond to more materials than regular PVA wood glue.

Materials

Wood glue only uses porous materials like wood, cardboard, paper, textiles, and other fabrics.

It’s not very versatile, especially not when you compare it to liquid nails.

Liquid nails will stick to more materials than wood glue, including rocks, porous plastics, and metal.

However, liquid nails won’t bond too well with super smooth plastics and glass.

They’re still specially designed to bond to porous materials but are much more versatile than wood glue.

Strength

Wood glue isn’t too strong on its own. That’s why most professionals use it combined with screws and nails to strengthen the bond.

On the other hand, liquid nails are heavy-duty construction adhesive with superb tensile strength.

It can hold a lot of weight and has high impact resistance. So, liquid nails are stronger than wood glue!

Cleanup

You can remove wood glue with water, which should tell you more about its resistance over time.

On the other hand, liquid nails need acetone or another similar solvent to remove fully.

It’s a construction adhesive, after all. You can’t expect water to remove it so easily.

Health Warnings

Both adhesives are toxic, but wood glue is much more harmful than Liquid Nails. Wood glue contains formaldehyde, which is toxic both before and after curing.

On the other hand, Liquid Nails aren’t as toxic once it cures. Still, I recommend wearing gloves, a respirator, eye protection, and not ingesting any adhesive!

Main Differences

Liquid Nails are stronger and more resistant to all kinds of external hazards than wood glue.

Moreover, Liquid Nails are more versatile and can bond to any material except for extremely smooth plastic.

Wood glue can only bond to a few porous materials like wood, paper, and cardboard.

Wrap Up

I’d definitely recommend Liquid Nails as the superior adhesive between Liquid Nails and wood glue.

Whether you want to bond wood, cardboard, or other types of porous materials, Liquid Nails are a much better option.

It was more expensive, but it’s worth it!