5 reasons hand mixing countertop adhesives hurts your business

At Elevated Industrial Solutions, formerly known as Lane Supply Company, we’ve heard it before – you hand mix your countertop adhesives rather than buy a pre-mixed option, such as Integra Adhesives. Perhaps you’re sold on the artistry or have labeled your company as “hand-crafted.”

Okay.

We wonder if it’s really worth it with five reasons hand mixing countertop adhesives is really hurting your business.

1. Mixing countertop adhesives by hand isn’t cost-effective

We’ll start with the one we think is the most problematic – it’s costly to hand mix countertop adhesives. You’re hiring experts, spending more of your company’s money. Even when you have experts, you’re overmixing materials to ensure you have enough for each specific job.  Furthermore, you could be tying up vital operating capital in material inventory to have enough on hand.

That’s wasting your money. Integra Adhesives has color matching as well as a variety of colors for most of your hardest-to-match jobs. There are usually a couple of color matches that get close to your job, too. The industrial solutions specialists and our customer service team can help ensure you get the right color match.

2. Hand mixing adhesives takes too much time

Your countertop fabrication shop is already busy enough. Hand mixing requires someone to put both components and pigments together. Mixing these components usually takes a while to achieve the proper color. An expert handles that for your shop, too – taking him or her away from other needed specialty work.

A product, like Integra Adhesives, comes in a convenient tube and has an applicator. Dispensing is simple, perfectly mixed, perfectly tinted, and nearly mess-free. Because Integra Adhesives (or a brand like is) is tidy, there’s less clean-up time involved.

3. It’s wasteful to mix countertop adhesives by hand

Do you like to throw away products and money? That’s what’s happening.

When mixing components together, you’re tossing up to 20% of overmixed adhesive into the garbage after use. You’re tossing colors when they don’t quite match, too – and we all know mistakes happen. At the end of the day, that’s a lot of waste.

With Integra Adhesives, there’s little waste. You can keep the glue cartridge for your next job that matches that countertop. For popular colors, such as your white countertops, you can keep working without additional costs.

4. Mixing by hand is inconsistent

We’ve seen it happen – your mixer makes batches for a job and they’re inconsistent in color, viscosity, and ability to adhere.

When getting an off-the-shelf product, such as Integra Adhesives, you’re getting a consistent product every time using the same components together.

5. It’s not as safe to hand mix countertop adhesives

When you’re mixing adhesives, you’re handling caustic materials. Your team has to wear safety gear, including sometimes respirators. The materials should be disposed of properly, too or else they also become a safety hazard.

Pumping an Integra Adhesives applicator is easy. In fact, Integra Adhesives has an ergonomically friendly applicator, enabling your countertop fabrication team to easily dispense it. It’s virtually mess-free and self-contained to reduce environmental impact.

At the end of the day, it’s all about quality

By using an off-the-shelf product, such as Integra Adhesives, you’re saving time and money while improving consistency, ensuring seams are … well … seamless. It’s safer to use Integra Adhesives – less need for air filtration or respirators, fewer caustic mishaps, and it’s better ergonomics. After all, the applicators are easy on the hands!

Is the artistry for your countertop adhesives worth the sacrifices (cost, time, safety, and waste)? We don’t think so. After all, chances are good you’ve embraced other technologies to save time such as laser levels and power tools.

Elevated specializes in improving your shop’s efficiency

Our specialty is understanding your business to save your company time and money. We listen, providing a variety of solutions to meet your needs, too. For example, if you’ve tried Integra Adhesives, but it didn’t work for your shop, let us know. We can set you up with something else that will work – saving you time and money while improving quality and safety.

Plus, we carry sink clips and a variety of other products for your countertop fabrication shop or construction installations.