Great Stuff

GREAT STUFF

Well this may or may not be what you where thinking of when you did a search but since I just moved I think it might be a good time to explain what Great Stuff is to the world.

Great Stuff is probably one of my most favorite chemical sealants of all time due to the properties of expansion. This chemical is made by Dow for over 25 years now and according to them it is the best selling sealant in the world.

When you spray this stuff into a crevasse and it fills it up there  is no better feeling than to know that soon there will be no more draft.

While Great Stuff truly is great there are some properties that I do not much care for as listed.

• When you spray it into an area there is no way to know how much you will  need so once it expands you are then left to go back to clean up the over spray.
• If you try to clean up along the way you will soon see that there is no real way not to make a complete mess out of whatever area you are trying to clean up.
• The can only sprays upside down and will not dispense anything but heinous smelling gas when right side up.
• When the foam begins to age it turns an orange brown from the yellowish white it starts off as.
• If you do not use the entire container you will find that reusing the straw becomes almost impossible because the foam has totally clogged the tip.
• When spraying you will notice that the tip will collect any dust or dirt and begin to create a “dirt ball” at the end of the nozzle.

So with these things in mind you probably are wondering why I still like this stuff so much, well to sum it all up, it works GREAT. When applying Great Stuff it would be advisabel to work in an area that has decent ventilation as you will probably get a whiff of that terrible gas at some point. For clean up I used rubbing alchohol, acetone, and some 87 octane to try to cut the stickiness of it although the acetone is probably what works the best.

On the up side there are some GREAT things about this stuff that makes it all worth the effort, as listed.

• Works well as a glue around the edges of walls for carpet.
• Expands to fill the cavity.
• Blocks out cold air and drafts.
• Can be used for many other things where you would need a foam.
• Cheap can be obtained for less than $5 USD a can at most hardware stores.
• Once dried in foam ball form it is a snap to clean up.

So there you have it folks. GREAT STUFF! really is some good stuff but keep in mind that it is not a silver bullet for all things, so weigh the odds of a total mess and start your filling.