Which Very High Bond (VHB)Tape is Best…for your project

Core VHB Families & What Makes Each One Unique

1)  The Clear, Hard Acrylics (3M 4905, 4910 and equivalent )

Colors: transparent
Foam type: firm, high-modulus acrylic foam
Adhesive type: hard, high-shear acrylic

Formulation Characteristics

• Uses a higher-hardness acrylic polymer (less rubbery).
• Closed-cell foam is denser and stiffer; fewer additives.
• Adhesive layer is tuned for high shear strength but lower initial tack.
• Clear formulation limits fillers and pigment-containing components.

Best at:

• Glass, clear plastics (polycarbonate, acrylic)
• “Invisible” bonding
• Maintaining clarity under heat

Weak spots:

• Not great with low-surface-energy plastics (PE, PP, powder coat)
• Needs more pressure and time to wet out because it’s stiffer

Think of the 4910 family as “elegant but picky.”

2) The Workhorse Gray Series (general-purpose)

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Colors: gray
Foam type: medium-firm acrylic foam
Adhesive type: general-purpose acrylic adhesive

Formulation Characteristics

• Uses a balanced acrylic blend — not too soft or too hard.
• The gray pigment allows use of different monomers/additives.
• Has moderate “cold flow” (slow creep to fill gaps).
• Better adhesion to metals and many paints due to aggressive surface wet-out.

Best at:

• Painted metals
• Metal-to-metal bonding
• General industrial fabrication

Weak spots:

• Not ideal for textured plastics or LSE plastics
• Less tolerant of uneven surfaces than the softer families

The 4941 family is the “machine shop default.”

**3) Soft, Super-Wet-Out Acrylics (King of Difficult Surfaces). 3M 5952 and equivalent

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Colors: black
Foam type: very soft, conformable acrylic foam
Adhesive type: modified LSE-capable acrylic adhesive

Formulation Characteristics

• Much softer acrylic foam core — lower modulus, more flexible.
• Adhesive is ultra-tacky, loaded with components that improve wet-out.
• Conforms to texture, powder coat orange-peel, irregular surfaces.
• Stronger peel strength than the gray or clear families.

Best at:

• Powder-coated steel
• Plastics with tricky surfaces
• Painted metals
• Anywhere you need forgiveness in surface flatness

Weak spots:

• Not ideal for glass or clear applications
• Slightly lower long-term shear at high temps (tradeoff for softness)

This is the “everything sticks to it” tape.

To Summarize: