How to use polyurethane foam?

Almost every person has at least once used polyurethane foam - a modern means for sealing, repairing, installing windows and doors, sealing cracks and joints. It is quite simple to use polyurethane foam. There is a special gun for this, but sometimes you can do without it for small repairs in the house. But even simple work must be done correctly in order to achieve high quality.

A huge assortment of polyurethane foam in specialized retail outlets makes you think when choosing the necessary material. Each of us wants to choose a high quality and inexpensive formulation. Currently, specialized outlets offer customers two types of this material: household and professional. Consider the features of each.

The main distinguishing features of household polyurethane foam are the volume of the cylinder. Manufacturers produce this material in small containers (about 800 ml). The package includes a small tube with a small cross section. In cylinders of household polyurethane foam, the pressure level is low, this is necessary in order to significantly reduce the consumption of material during repair work. To perform them with household polyurethane foam, you can use a special gun. The cylinder valve is designed to hold the tube and the assembly gun.

For the installation of doors, windows, plumbers use a professional type of polyurethane foam. Manufacturers produce such material in cylinders with a capacity of more than 1.5 liters. The sealant is in the container under high pressure. It is recommended to carry out work with a professional sealant using a special gun. To make the use of the material the most convenient, the cylinder is additionally equipped with fasteners for firm fixation inside the gun. A large amount of sealant in a container is designed for large-scale work.

Sealants of these varieties have similar technical characteristics. When choosing the required material, you need to consider for what purposes the foam is needed. In addition, the amount of work is also important.

To carry out high-quality repair or installation work using a sealant, you need to know a few rules for applying the material.

• The use of a special assembly gun guarantees a better result of the work performed.
• It is necessary to use a professional version of the sealant, which has a useful property: a sufficiently low secondary expansion.
• It is recommended to carry out installation and repair work in the warm season: this will speed up the foam hardening process and retain all its technical qualities.
• When performing work, it is necessary to use personal protective equipment.

• It is recommended to use a sealant in order to seal minor cracks with a width of about 8 cm. If the width of the cracks exceeds this indicator, it is advisable to use other materials (brick, wood, plastic).
• To seal cracks and crevices less than 1 cm wide, it is more economical and practical to use a putty.
• In the process of work, the cylinder with polyurethane foam must be kept upside down.
• Fill the gap with sealant one third of the depth.
• After the sealant hardens, you need to remove the excess polyurethane foam using a special knife.

• After completion of all work, it is necessary to cover the frozen layer of foam with special means to protect it from exposure to sunlight.
• To perform work on the ceiling, you need to use special foam: such a sealant bottle can be used in any position.
• To fill deep crevices or cracks, you need to use special extension adapters.
• In the process of work, the foam cylinder must be shaken and the nozzle of the assembly gun must be cleaned of excess sealant.

Before starting work with this sealant, you need to study all the intricacies of its use. Otherwise, the quality of work will suffer, the consumption of the sealant will significantly increase, which will lead to additional financial costs. First you need to choose the right polyurethane foam. The choice of material depends on the scope of work.

If you are planning large-scale work on the installation of doors, windows or plumbing, or a large amount of repair work, it is better to opt for professional polyurethane foam. The cost of materials of this kind is much higher, but the result of the work performed will pleasantly please.

There are several ways to apply sealant without a tool to a surface.

• For minor repairs, you can do without a gun. A special small tube is installed on the cylinder valve. Next, they begin to start repair work.
• Professional foam can be applied using a tube, but this method will lead to a large waste of material and unnecessary financial costs.
• If it is not possible to use an assembly gun when working with a professional sealant, you can use two tubes of different diameters. To do this, a large-diameter tube is attached to a balloon with professional foam, then a second (smaller) tube is attached to this tube, carefully fixed. This method will significantly reduce material consumption and reduce financial costs.

After you have decided on the way to apply the foam, you need to prepare the surface. In some cases, the surface of the sealant may become false. The quality of the seam sealing depends on how carefully the surface is prepared. The surface is thoroughly cleaned from dust and dirt. Particular attention should be paid to the crevices that need to be foamed. Sometimes the surface needs to be degreased.

Large cracks are pre-filled with foam or other suitable material. Only then can they be filled with foam. This will significantly reduce the consumption of foam, increase the quality of thermal insulation. Before starting work, the surface must be moistened. For these purposes, a simple spray bottle is perfect.

Now you can start sealing. Foam must be at room temperature for correct work. Before starting the process, the balloon is shaken thoroughly. Only after that a tube or a pistol is fixed on the cylinder. Now you can apply the composition.

If you decide to use foam without a special gun, you need to consider the disadvantages of this process.

• Due to the high pressure in the cylinder, the foam consumption is significantly increased (sometimes two, three times).
• Some cylinders are not designed with tubing.

It is enough to learn how to dose the foam output. In this way, you can glue any objects without forgetting about surface preparation. Then we start applying the sealant. It is important to remember that you need to fill the vertical gap with sealant from the bottom, smoothly moving up.

After finishing work, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the gun from foam using a special flushing liquid. It needs to be poured into the instrument. If a small amount of sealant gets on your hands during work, it must be removed with a solvent. Excess foam from contaminated areas must be removed during work with a sponge soaked in solvent. If the sealant has time to harden, it will have to be removed mechanically.

You cannot work with expired foam. Care must be taken when handling the spray can. You cannot bring it to the fire. If the expiration date of the polyurethane foam has passed, the material loses its properties.

When choosing a polyurethane foam, remember that the cylinder can only be used once. Therefore, before buying, you should carefully calculate the required volume. If you have any doubts about this, it is better to consult with a specialist.

Take note of some helpful tips.

• Before starting work, you should prepare a spray gun to spray water on the surface before applying the foam, a knife will be needed to cut off excess material.
• In the process of doing the work, you will need a sponge or a soft cloth soaked in acetone or solvent.
• Correct dosage of sealant will significantly reduce material consumption.

• It is more convenient to remove excess sealant from the surface after four hours after application; after complete hardening, this process will become much more complicated.
• Be sure to use personal protective equipment (respirator, goggles, gloves).
• It is necessary to ventilate the room during work.
• After the completion of all work, it is necessary to treat the frozen foam with a special means to protect it from sunlight. This must be done before the foam darkens.
• It is strictly forbidden to use the cylinder near an open flame.

This is especially necessary to consider when processing a steel bath. The polyurethane foam contains flammable substances. Therefore, when choosing a sealant, you should pay attention to what type the selected material belongs to (fireproof, self-extinguishing, combustible). This will help you get out of trouble.

When storing polyurethane foam, it is necessary to observe the temperature regime. The optimum storage temperature varies from +5 to +35 degrees. Failure to comply with temperature standards leads to a significant loss of the technical qualities of the polyurethane foam. All-season foam can be found on the shelves of retail outlets. The optimum storage temperature for such foam ranges from -10 to +40 degrees.

Even if you have never used polyurethane foam, after reading all the tips and tricks, you can quite easily and simply cope with this process. With the help of such material, you can independently insulate door and window openings, seal up all unnecessary cracks, cracks and joints in the wall surfaces. In the process of work, do not forget about safety rules.

For the rules for using polyurethane foam, see below.