Hot or Not? J-B Weld
By Sean O'Hara
J-B Weld makes for some pretty entertaining conversation. Without fail, some will insist on its inherent evil while others sing its praises. With something this elemental there’s no middle ground.
I’ve never used the stuff before, but since it falls into the epoxy/superglue category I’ll admit that I lean towards the pro-JB Weld crowd. It looks like pretty cool stuff. I see pictures of its overuse, like with other epoxy resins, for everything but curing cancer — so I get the feeling it can’t be all bad.
How does the Toolmonger readership stand on the hotly debated J-B Weld issue? Is it goop from the heavens or just another way to do a project incorrectly? Let us know in comments.
J-B Weld [Website]
Street Pricing [Google]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Wait… there’s an anti-J-B Weld crowd?! The fact that J-B Weld is generally used for repair will trump any “epoxy is just plain evil” arguments against it.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Hot.
It should be the last resort, but it’s a mighty good last resort to have sitting in your toolbox. Best part is its fairly good heat resistance, so you can use it in all sorts of oddball applications. It’s holding a piece of ceramic together in my Big Green Egg cooker that regularly sees 800+ degrees F.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
my father repaired an engine block on a tractor with it once. before he applied the J-B weld it would spray coolant out of a crack when it warmed up. he took it all down, made sure the crack didn’t go into the cylinder, put it all back together and spread some J-B on the outside of the engine block with a small putty knife. that block never leaked again. some 20 years later that tractor is still going with the same J-B weld patch.
January 22nd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Definetly hot. It is indeed a last resort and not necessarily a permant fix. It was my only option to mend my garbage disposal on Thanksgiving day. I replaced it as soon as I could buy a new one but the JB held for a couple of days and there was no indication that it would fail anytime soon.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:08 pm
HOT.
Like all glues, it’s about the right application and properly preparing the surfaces, not to mention following the instructions. For the jobs it’s intended for (almost anything), J-B can’t be beat. It’s heat and chemical resistance make it a winner in the garage.
January 22nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Hot, but even Hotter is J-B Stik. It’s a epoxy putty that you knead to mix the two parts. You can stick it in places that regular J-B Weld will run off from and you can form and shape parts from it. If you have a broken part on something, you can roll the J-B Stik into a flat sheet, wrap it around the broken part, and it will hold it together. I always carry a tube on my motorcycle - if I can’t fix it with J-B Stik, it’s really, really broken.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:08 pm
HOT
JB Weld is quite possibly the greatest substance known to mankind.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:30 pm
HOT. Used, like the tractor example above, in the engine block in my last car to stop a leak.
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:36 pm
i’m with the first post… i didn’t know there was anyone who didn’t love jb weld. what’s not to love?
January 22nd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
HOT
I knocked a hole in the oil pan of a Honda motorcyle once and repaired it with JB Weld, I owned it for 5 years after the repair and sold it to another guy locally. He is still riding the bike and the repair is still holding.
P.S. He knew of the repair when he purchased it.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I have repaired many things with it. Just clean/rough up the mating surfaces, and you’re good to go. I even fixed a toilet with it once.
January 22nd, 2009 at 4:29 pm
I have used JB weld for so many projects I have forgotten most of them, from repairing cars, to doing prototype work for a 3d cad/CNC machining system, it really has no equal. I’ve even used it to create a small prototype injection plastic mold. I created the frame from concrete and used JB weld as a filler that could be machined into the right shape quickly.
I used to work in NASCAR as a fabricator and I can say for sure that those guys use the hell out of it and other equivalent epoxies. So I definitely say it’s HOT.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Years ago a man traded me a Dodge pickup that had frozen and cracked the block for a half days work. I sanded off the crack and spread on some JB weld when I got there. When I got ready to leave I filled the radiator with water and headed home about 5 miles. The man followed behind me because he did not think I would make it home.
I drove that truck for 5 years and every time I saw him he would have me raise the hood so he could see if it was the same motor. I sold the truck and saw it around for at least another 5 years.
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
I use stick epoxies a lot, I don’t use JB that much. Is it different from other epoxies? for example pc-7 or supermend?
They all work well for the “I could spend 4 hours taking this apart,getting the right replacement part (if they have it) or I could spend 20 mins. and have an 80% repair for about $5.
January 22nd, 2009 at 6:48 pm
HOT
I just used jb weld and jb kwik to build up the nose in a rifle trigger. Have use it to repair holes in a jonboat. Yes, a winner.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Hot
I have never had good luck with super glues, but epoxy has always worked well for me. My motorcycle’s fairing mounts have been held to gether with J-B Weld for years.
January 22nd, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Hot. Just bought another package last week. Should always be in your shop. I use mine mostly for repairs on tools.
January 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 pm
Very hot. I make sure it’s in my tool boxes, boat, and truck.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:07 pm
I’m going to say warm,for metal to metal. I’ve had better luck with Scotch-Weld, I’ve also had pretty good luck using Red Head structural epoxy. If there is any wood involved, I prefer West Systems.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Hot. We’ve used at at work (a restaurant) to repair a sink. The patch is almost always immersed in 160+ degree water, and it lasts for about 2 months before needing repair. Beats a new $800 sink.
January 22nd, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Hot. It is strong stuff that sticks to almost anything, including every plastic I’ve tried. I keep it around all the time.
January 23rd, 2009 at 12:02 am
HOT
the only people who hate JB weld haven’t used JB weld.
a side note, a few years ago i took a tour of the Justice Brother (JB) museum and was surprised and pleased to find Ed Justice himself giving the tour. VERY entertaining!! unfortunitly he passed a year or so ago.
later jim
January 23rd, 2009 at 1:12 am
I used J-B Weld to repair a crack in the heater core inlet tube in my ‘94 Ford Bronco because none of the replacement cores were an exact match. I did this about seven years ago and it has not failed yet.
(Knocking on wood…)
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:40 am
HOT
I just used it to repair a plastic motorcycle fender where I could not get epoxy to stick. I saved about $150.
January 23rd, 2009 at 5:11 am
HOT
I was pulling a stint in the surgical theater, and some poor old timer stroked out on us. The odds weren’t good since he was pushing the bad end of ninety. We pulled in the crash cart, and Doctor Hendrix worked on him for twenty minutes before we had to call it. That’s when it hit me: I ran down the hall, kicked open the utility closet, and grabbed the JB Weld. We made a small pill, popped it into the cadaver’s mouth, and massaged it down the throat. I’ll be damned if he wasn’t up an dancing the Lindy Hop down the halls in five minutes.
J-B Weld: it resurrects the dead.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 am
Hot as Hot Gets - If there was a Nobel Prize for epoxies, JB would win it every year. I love all of their products, each suitable for multitasking.
January 23rd, 2009 at 8:57 am
The popularity of JB weld is down to two things 1) ease of purchase (you can find it everywhere!) and 2) versatility with good results.
It isn’t like I can walk into Lowes and buy a specific industrial Devcon epoxy product, but I do have a choice of various types and sizes of JB Weld… which will work well enough.
January 23rd, 2009 at 9:00 am
Not quite the “best thing since sliced bread” but good stuff. I once used it to fill in a gap from a warped header on an old motorhome. Just wanted the exhaust leak stopped and the shop quoted me a high price because they said the head and the header were both warped. It lasted at least 10,000 miles - then I sold it and the last time I spoke with the buyer, he said he had added another 7,000 miles with no problems - yes, I told him about the JB.
January 23rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm
I’ve had some less-than-stellar results with some imitation brands, but the genuine JB Weld is great stuff. Sure there are things that you can’t do with it (repairing anything flexible or rubbery is probably out of the question) but man, I’ve never had a more versatile tool. I’ve used it for auto body repair, fixing chairs, ornaments, glass, hand tools, and so on!
So yeah, it’s definitely “hot”
January 24th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Hot. Used it for everything from sticking badges back on metal hot drink mugs to re-attaching a magnet on the flywheel of my snow blower. JB’s never let me down.
January 24th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Hot!
I fixed a broken “ear” on a Toyota pickup distibutor with it once.
100,000 miles later, I junked the truck!
JB Weld is HOT!
January 25th, 2009 at 9:53 am
I’m with ‘asbestos’ (never thought I would say that!) above: I’m a big fan of putty epoxies, like PC-7 or regular plumber’s putty. I used to build theatre props, and we used PC-7 by the quart can! Since you can drill and tap into it, we used for repairing bolts and threaded holes all the time. I wouldn’t use it in any circumstance where lives might be at stake if it failed, but short of that…
(also, PC-7 can be smoothed or textured with water as it sets, which is very handy)
January 25th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Used it for everything. . . I work on a lot of old machinery, pumps, and motors, sometimes without replaceable parts. Ive repaired castings, seal faces, bearing races, can’t even remember everything. Ive also used it on cars, trucks, bikes, toys, wood, fiberglass…..While it is almost always better to get the proper part, sometimes it’s just not available, ie obsolete machines, or sometimes it’s just not worth it, ie toys, household items, or sometimes you just need it now.
Try marine weld, and stick weld, also from JB, and get the industro weld, which is the original, in large cans.
Oh, and to the one who mentioned the West system…fantastic also. Everyone with a shop should by a can of resin, a can of hardener, and an assortment of glass cloth and mat. Download and read the West manual, and you will use it all the time.
Oh, and don’t forget the gorilla glue.
January 26th, 2009 at 11:13 am
At the vet clinic I worked at in high school, we used it to fix a turtle that had been run over by a car. Rebuilt a major portion of his shell.
Another small piece of information that I have not seen posted; from what I hear from other home brewers, it is Food Safe. Home brewers are extremely concerned with toxicity and cleanliness, and a lot of people use it in structural applications with brewing where temperatures go as high as 212F regularly.
January 30th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
@Todd :
I WAS NOT aware that it was food-safe - now I feel a LOT better about potentially using it on some brewing projects…
(Any idea about J-B Stik?)
March 10th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
Hot. Used it to plug leaks in transmissions, differentials, my Jeep’s “air tank bumper”, gas tanks, you name it. Even used it to install a front sight.
March 11th, 2009 at 7:56 am
I used it to repair the top of my plastic radiator after it blew and left a big ol crack an inch or so long. Was still holding true 3-4 years later and right before I sold it (told the prospective buyer of my repair)
April 2nd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I have used this product on a vast number of things and it does a fantastic job.
April 7th, 2009 at 4:31 am
I used it to repair a leaking exhaust manifold. It held under extremely high temperatures & harsh exhaust gases for a few months until I junked the car. It was a 15 minute fix that cost me less than $10. It was cheaper & easier than buying a new part or a used junk yard part & installing it. As I just needed that car to last until the end of winter.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Don’t laugh, but the only time I used it was to attach a magnet to my new Three Stooges Bottle opener so it would stick to the fridge.
Not high stress, but a critical bond…
July 6th, 2009 at 10:02 am
JB Weld apllications are limited only to your imagination. I fixed a fairing mount on my Harley, rebuilt a plastic gear on a printer, sealed a crack on an aluminum outboard engine block, many more. My favorite, I made a custom key fob for my car door remote when the ring hole on the plastic one wore out.. so cool, its HOT!