Wondering about the best glue for glass? I tested five popular adhesives to find the strongest way to bond resin to glass.
Have you ever started a project thinking you had everything figured out, only to discover one tiny detail could ruin the whole thing?
That was me recently.
I was planning a project that involved attaching resin gummy bears to glass.
Easy, right?
Not so fast.
If you’ve ever tried to glue resin to glass, you know it’s one of those combinations that look simple but can quickly turn into a crafting headache.
Most glues claim they’ll stick to just about anything, but I wasn’t willing to gamble an entire project on marketing promises.
So I figured it was a perfect time to do some Craft Lab testing and find the best glue for glass.
I tested some of the most popular adhesives to see which one would actually create a strong bond between resin and glass… and the results surprise me.
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The Mission: Finding the Best Glue for Glass
When it comes to figuring out the best glue for glass, there are a lot of opinions out there.
Some crafters swear by a E6000. Others reach for super glue. And then there’s UV resin, which isn’t technically a traditional glue at all.
For this experiment, I tested:
- Gorilla Glue Clear Grip
- UV resin (hard type)
- Crafter’s Pick The Ultimate Glue
- Loctite Super Glue Gel
- E6000
My goal was simple: find out which adhesive works best when bonding cured resin to glass.
*Note: I use all of these glues and all are good quality adhesives but I am specifially looking for one that will attach resin to glass and hold.
How to Glue Glass: Surface Prep Matters
Before testing any of the adhesives, I wanted to see whether surface preparation made a difference.
To test this, I created three conditions:
Glass Only
The first section of my glass cutting board was simply cleaned with rubbing alcohol.
Sanded Glass
The second section was sanded with 220 sandpaper and then cleaned with rubbing alcohol.
Double sanded.
For the final section, I sanded both the glass and the backs of the resin gummy bears before cleaning everything with rubbing alcohol.
If you’re wondering how to glue glass successfully to resin, this step turned out to be more important than I expected.
Applying the Adhesives
I coded each glue with a different gummy bear so I could easily keep track of the results.
The UV resin was definitely the quickest to apply since I could cure it immediately with the UV light.
The other adhesives were applied according to their directions,, and then I let everything sit for 48 hours to cure.
Well… Almost everything.
After 48 hours, the Crafter’s Pick Ultimate Glue was still partially wet in two of the three test sections.
That wasn’t exactly a promising start.
First Test: Thumb Pressure
Before bringing out the heavy-duty tools, I tried pushing on each gummy bear with my thumb to see if anything felt loose.
Gorilla Glue held surprisingly well.
The UV resin performed much better than I expected.
Loctite barely moved.
E6000 had a slight wiggle.
The Ultimate Glue was noticeably loose.
At this point, there wasn’t a clear winner yet, but some adhesives were definitely starting to separate themselves from the pack.
The Pliers Test
Now, it was time to get serious.
Using pliers, I attempted to remove each gummy bear from the glass.
Results on Unsanded Glass
- Gorilla glue required effort, but eventually popped off
- UV resin resisted removal much longer than expected
- Ultimate Glue came off easily
- Loctite held fairly well
- E6000 came off easier than anticipated
Results on Sanded Glass
The results improved slightly for some adhesives, but one product really started to stand out.
UV resin refused to budge.
Results on Double Sanded Surfaces
This is where things got interesting.
When both the glass and the resin were sanded, UV resin was practically welded to the surface. Gorilla Glue and Loctite performed reasonably well, but neither came close to matching UV resin.
By the end of the pliers test, only two contenders remained in the running for the title of best glue for glass.
The Trial by Fire
Because apparently I enjoy destroying my own experiments, I decided to add one final challenge.
I blasted the remaining samples with the heat gun for 40 seconds.
The resin gummy bears themselves started softening under the heat, but the UV resin bond remained incredibly strong.
The UV resin attached to the glass only section came off after considerable effort.
The double sanded UV resin sample?
I’m still not entirely convinced it’s ever coming off.
Craft Lab Shimmer Scale Rankings
After all the testing, it was time to score the adhesives for this resin-to-glass application.
5th Place: Crafter’s Pick Ultimate Glue
- 1.5/10
It was still wet after 48 hours and failed almost immediately during testing.
Definitely not the glue to use for this application.
4th Place: E6000
- 3/10
This one surprised me. E6000 is a popular craft adhesive, but for the specific resin-to-glass application, it simply didn’t perform well.
Tied for 2nd Place: Gorilla Clear Grip and Loctite Superglue Gel.
- 7.5/10
Both adhesives provided a respectable bond, especially when the surfaces were sanded first.
1st Place: UV Resin
- 10/10
The undisputed champion.
It survived the thumb test, the pliers test, and even a heat gun. When both surfaces were sanded first, the bond was incredibly strong.
The Best Glue for Glass and Resin: The Winner.
After all the testing, the answer became crystal clear.
The best glue for glass in this resin-to-glass experiment wasn’t actually a glue at all…it was UV resin.
If you’re looking for the best glue for glass when attaching resident embellishments, cabochons, or decorative pieces, I highly recommend sanding both surfaces first and using UV resin. The combination created a bond and outperformed every other product in the test.
But there are limitations; if the UV light can’t penetrate the glass because it’s opaque, then the UV resin is definitely not the right adhesive for the job.
However, if you have clear glass and a resin piece, the UV resin is the best that I have found to date.
Final Thoughts
One of my favorite things about Craft Lab is that sometimes the results completely surprise me. Going into this experiment, I honestly thought Gorilla Glue might take the top spot.
Instead, UV resin absolutely dominated the competition.
So the next time you’re wondering how to glue glass and resin, or you are searching for the best glue for glass, save yourself some trial and error and give UV Resin a try.
And stay tuned because I’ll be putting this winning combination to work in an upcoming project!
I’m so excited about it, i can’t stand it!
Other Projects
In the meantime, here are some fun projects you might want to try:
- Jellyfish Earrings with UV Resin
- Garbage to Gorgeous table makeover you won’t believe!
- I Painted Some Dollar Tree Glasses
- Best Glass Paint Tested
- Dollar Tree Cutting Board Makeover
Remember, life’s too short, not to shimmer, so grab your glue and your glitter!
Mona