Over the weekend, Ashley and I worked on a project that required Liquid Nails… and a lot of it. The project isn’t finished yet (we’ll be filling you guys in on the details in the next week or so), but we picked up a couple of quick tips that I thought may be worth passing along to fellow “baby DIY’ers”.

Liquid Nails is a pretty awesome substance. It does a great job of joining substances where super glue dares not go. One thing I didn’t know before this weekend’s project is if you want two things to bond more quickly, apply Liquid Nails to one surface, press the two surfaces together, pull them apart, let them sit for about two minutes, then put them back together. Not only does this process help the adhesive bond more quickly, but it also helps create a stronger bond. It suggests that you do this right on the back of the tube, but if I hadn’t been bored at some point (I read when I’m bored), I’d have never known. But this tip really does work and works really well at that.

This next tip seems really obvious, but it’s one of those “why didn’t I think of that” things and something you can apply with pretty much any tube-based product. Say you’ve got a tube of your favorite adhesive or caulk, but you’ve lost the cap. I usually end up forgetting to find some way to seal the end, and the tub ends up sealing itself – which just causes a headache when you go to use it the next time. The simple solution: insert a screw in the end of the tube and give it a turn or two. It grabs the plastic, seals the end, and it’s easy to remove.

Have any adhesive/caulking tips to pass along? We’re all ears!