Material guide
Gluing Natural rubber
Natural rubber sheet, mats, seals, soles and vibration parts.
Also called gum rubber, latex rubber, NR.
How Natural rubber behaves when you bond it
A bond must tolerate the rubber's movement and peel at the joint edge. Permabond directly supports its 105 cyanoacrylate on natural rubber without POP primer, which suits small close-fitting joints. Broad or repeatedly flexed areas generally need a thin flexible bond line, while rigid bulk epoxy is usually a poor mechanical match.
Natural rubber is an elastomer based mainly on cis-1,4-polyisoprene. Compounding adds fillers, sulphur, oils, antioxidants and processing aids, so two black rubber parts can present different surfaces. The material stretches substantially and may arrive dusted with talc or carrying mould-release residue.
Material properties
- Surface energy
- Medium
- Porosity
- Non-porous
- Rigidity
- Flexible
- Maximum service temperature
- 70C
- Normally needs abrading
- No
- Normally needs a primer
- No
- Solvent sensitive
- Yes. Solvent-based adhesives can craze or dissolve the surface.
- Requires surface treatment
- (When bonding natural rubber with Permabond 105; this is not a claim about other adhesive products) Manufacturer verified
Surface preparation
Brush or wash away talc and loose dust, then remove oil and release agent with a cleaner shown to be compatible with the compound. Allow it to dry fully. If using light abrasion, avoid polishing the surface or leaving loose rubber crumbs, then clean again. A primer decision must follow the selected product: Permabond states that POP primer is not needed with Permabond 105, not that natural rubber is universally primer-free.
Which adhesives work on Natural rubber
Excellent
Cyanoacrylate
Permabond directly recommends 105 for natural rubber and says its POP primer is not needed for that product system. It is best suited to thin, close-fitting bonds rather than wide flexible areas.
Good
Contact adhesive
A thin flexible contact bond is mechanically suited to broad rubber sheet and footwear work. The product must list natural rubber and tolerate any oils or waxes in the compound; contaminated or aged rubber needs a test.
Conditional
Structural acrylic
A toughened acrylic may provide more working time and gap tolerance than cyanoacrylate, but the evidence found did not directly list natural rubber for the cited TA46xx range. Use only after product-level confirmation and testing.
Bonding Natural rubber to something else
Last reviewed 8 October 2026.