Professional foam: choice features

Polyurethane foam is a versatile building material that is great for finishing work of any category and degree of complexity. Its main purpose is the sealing of seams, insulation, fastening of various objects, as well as fixing of plastic doors and windows.

Polyurethane foam is of two types:

• professional (for use you need a special separate spray);
• semi-professional or household (with a special built-in spray).

It is also divided in terms of resistance to adverse weather conditions:

• winter (allowed to use even at sub-zero temperatures);
• summer (can be used only in the warm season);
• all season (suitable for work at any time of the year, regardless of weather conditions).

When choosing foam for installation, you must consider the quality of the material. In this case, you need to carefully compare the expensive and cheap options. Typically, in expensive specimens, the weight of the balloon is much heavier than the cheap. Also economical option shows poor performance in terms of sealant resistance. After solidification, professional foam differs in small and homogeneous cells, while in household foam the structure of cells is larger and more nodular. Professional polyurethane foam is deservedly more expensive due to better quality, greater cylinder volume and technical characteristics.

Household polyurethane foam is a cylinder with a special plastic tubethat comes with the tool itself. To start working with such material, you just need to attach the tube to the built-in valve and gently press to get the required amount of foam. This method is suitable even for those who have never come across such a tool before. To fill small gaps or holes in the wall, it is enough to purchase a can with household foam.

The cylinder with professional foam has a special thread on which a gun equipped with a metering device is screwed. This tool allows you to accurately distribute sealant to the work area. As a rule, the foam is enough for a large amount of work. The material is consumed sparingly, which cannot be said about household installation foam, which tends to end very quickly in a cylinder. In addition, unused semi-professional sealant can be safely thrown away, even if there is still more than half of the material left in the bottle, because after several hours in the clear, it hardens inside and is not subject to further use.

Cylinder with professional foam reusable. The metering gun and cylinder valve can be washed with a special solvent and continue working with the agent at another time. This advantage allows you to evenly distribute the workflow.It is much more convenient to use the dispenser, because with the help of a pistol you can get a uniform stream of foam, which will not contain excess amount of the product. For example, to fix a plastic window, you must use only one cylinder of professional foam, taking into account the use of a special gun. Using household installation foam, it is necessary to spend three cylinders at once.

Products are packaged in cylinders that meet the requirements of GOST. On average, the volume of polyurethane foam ranges from 300 to 850 ml; there are also large packs of 1000 ml each. Cylinders with foam are under high pressure, therefore, when working with them, safety precautions must be observed.

Currently, the market has a large selection of manufacturers of foam for installation. Consider briefly the most popular modern brands.

Professional tool "TechnoNIKOL 65" is used for fixing walls, metal sheets, insulation of doors and windows.This material is considered all-season, since its use is permissible at different temperature ranges, ranging from –10 to + 35ºC. This feature makes this foam one of the most popular building materials on the market. "TechnoNIKOL 65" has an increased amount of funds. Its high performance and output means up to 70 liters are key advantages.

"TechnoNIKOL Imperial" is also a professional tool that is a polyurethane material in a cylinder with a plastic thread. A special dispensing pistol is attached to the cylinder, which carries out moderate consumption of funds and is used for a variety of finishing works. "Imperial" has a high capacity for filling the slots and holes.

Stayer is a universal polyurethane foam, which is used to fix window and door blocks to fill voids and seams. It has excellent technical characteristics that ensure the strength of the sealant for a long service life, and also allow the material to be used in both the warm and cold seasons.It withstands temperature loads from –10 to + 35ºC.

Bostik is a tool that is suitable for general use, as well as for working with fire resistant structures. It provides a reliable grip of the working surfaces, due to which it is used even in shipbuilding. Bostik Sealant is easy to use, it is easy to cure under the influence of materials and air. The temperature range of foam is from +5 to + 30ºC.

Moment is a material that has excellent resistance to temperature changes from –55 to + 90ºC. Such excellent performance makes the tool popular among many construction companies. It is chosen to connect joints, pipe aisles, and thermal insulation of door and window blocks.

"Moment" is quickly distributed on the working surface and has excellent void filling capacity. The cylinder is equipped with a special valve, which is necessary for the use and mounting of a separate dispensing gun.During the work with the agent there is a faint odor, which itself disappears in the hardened form of the material. The surface treated with foam dries out in about 10–15 minutes. This foam completely hardens on average per day.

From the video below you can learn how to properly use a gun for foam.