There is a growing interest in adhesive solutions which are based on substances of natural origin and which can be made by anyone using commonly available ingredients.
People interested in them should realize that while some are perfectly adequate for their jobs, such as some examples given above, others should be carefully tested before use because of the potential for damage or for unintended results. Also, despite the apparent simplicity of the recipes, some skill may be required during the preparation and the applications. Here are some examples taken from the internet:
- Paper repairs
Reduce a whole egg to paste with the shell with a blender
- Paper labels on tin can
Rub an onion slide on the metal, then affix the label.
- Paper labels on glass
Spread milk (preferably skimmed) on one side of the label.
- Paper on any substrate
Crush garlic and use as glue.
- Flooring adhesive (wood, cork, etc.)
1 litre of glue is needed for a 4 m2 surface:
-
- 1 kg fat free (0%) soft cheese
- Air slaked lime (same weight as drained cheese)
- 10 g borax or ammonium carbonate
Place the soft cheese in a cheesecloth and then into a strainer. Let drain the liquid overnight. Weigh what it left and mix with the same weight of lime. Add the borax. The result is a grayish paste.
Coat the glue on both surfaces and let dry 6 hours. Apply a new coat on both surfaces and assemble. Let dry 24 hours