Sciencemadness Discussion Board

stretch translucent sticky adhesive? used in packaging

nanobot-dnp - 5-1-2014 at 19:31

I've been wondering about this stuff for a while. You find it in packaging all the time its the glue that when you peel it off it stretches to like 5 times its normal length then snaps back into its original shape or sticks to itself.

Anyone have any idea what it is or what its made out of?

[Edited on 6-1-2014 by nanobot-dnp]

IrC - 5-1-2014 at 20:55

I have also wondered about that. I can take a guess that it's similar to dimethyl siloxane with other ingredients that make it sticky. Some kind of weird cross between glue and silly putty? Possibly some kind of long chains with silicon and carbon?

UnintentionalChaos - 5-1-2014 at 21:10

Apparently this type of glue is referred to as "fugitive glue," a name I found by google searching for "removable credit card adhesive." It seems to come as a solvent-applied version and a hot-melt version, probably with different compositions. If you've ever burnt a silicone plastic before, a flame test should be very distinct for polydimethylsiloxane content.

[Edited on 1-6-14 by UnintentionalChaos]

blogfast25 - 7-1-2014 at 01:41

Quote: Originally posted by nanobot-dnp  
I've been wondering about this stuff for a while. You find it in packaging all the time its the glue that when you peel it off it stretches to like 5 times its normal length then snaps back into its original shape or sticks to itself.

Anyone have any idea what it is or what its made out of?

[Edited on 6-1-2014 by nanobot-dnp]


Chances are it's based on Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene block copolymer thermoplastic elastomers. These are hugely used in pressure sensitive adhesives (PSAs) and have great elasticity. Also used in hot melt adhesives (HMA, glue guns).

[Edited on 7-1-2014 by blogfast25]