Testors 3505X Wood Cement

What if there was a wood glue that dried fast, but really held on tight for a long time? A few years ago I came across Testors Wood and Metal cement in the bright green tube. I gave it a try on a The House of Miniatures™ kit and here is what I discovered.

Fast, Clear, Shallow

The glue starts out clear and dries clear. You definitely can’t stain over it and you must prime before you can paint. But the drying time is much shorter than a the dark tinted wood glue offered on TheHouseOfMiniatures.com store. However, unlike normal wood glue, Testors Wood Glue cannot be colored.

The test was a mixed bag of good and bad, so I was going to give up on the Testors wood glue, until I did my final sanding. The glue sanded off easily, not gumming my sandpaper. Then the stain sank in to the sanded area. Interesting.

Testors wood glue appears to be more viscous than some other glues, which may account for it not sinking in as deep. I’d say that was a bad thing for bonding strength, but the bond is excellent. So it is fast drying and slightly more forgiving than normal wood glue.

Does It Stick over Stain?

I immediately starting using it in further builds on any joint that would not show in the finished build. That means I can complete a set of drawers for a chest in just a few minutes. But I wondered if it would stick on top of the stain.

The reason normal wood glue does not stick as well on stained wood is that part of its strength comes from sinking into the wood. Stain also works by sinking into the pores of the wood. Testors wood glue does not seem to sink in as far, so maybe it could make a good bond over top of the stain?

Sure enough, the glue seemed to have almost as much strength on top of stain. I tested this by gluing two small pieces of basswood in a join going with the grain. After an hour I tried to break the join. The join with no stain did not break before the wood broke. The stained wood broke partially along the join, but most of it held, and the force used for the break was about the same as the unstained test.

Conclusion

I now use the Testors wood glue regularly for assembly of joints that won’t show and for those times when I want to stain before gluing. That includes table or furniture tops that I want to stain the underside of, It also includes escutcheons and key plates, which I glue in place after the finish is complete.

I’ve recently noticed that there is a Testor wood glue 3503X, which is an “instant” glue and a much different formulation. It comes in a brown tube and I have not tested it, yet. I have some on order and will add a section to this article when I have tried it out.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope that you find it informative. Have you ever tried either of these fast-drying Testors wood glues? Let me know in the comments below or join the discussion over on the THoM Facebook page.