1. Puzzle glue ready in a van

When do you use puzzle glue?

You probably know that you like certain puzzles so much, or that you have spent so long putting the puzzle together that you want to hang it in your house. or that you have received, for example, a very nice photo puzzle of your favorite holiday or a beautiful photo puzzle of your husband or wife or family or friends on it. Nothing is more fun than to hang it up after making this puzzle, so that you always see it hanging in your house as a kind of photo.
You can use puzzle glue if your puzzle:
1. Want to frame
You can buy a frame for this somewhere that is the same size as your puzzle. Want to know more about framing your puzzle? Then read my page 'Framing puzzle'
2. Want to hang (without frame) on your wall.
This can be done with so-called frame pendants very well. Please read the page 'hanging puzzle without frame'.
3. Just want to put it upright (for example against the wall on a cupboard)
In this case you can glue your puzzle and then place it directly somewhere in your house. For example, that would look like:

In a video I also show what you can do with a glued-in puzzle. Framing is then not necessary.

How does puzzle glue work: do you have some kind of puzzle glue instructions for use?

There is no standard puzzle glue manual, but I'll show you the steps through photos and videos I took to make a framed puzzle, using puzzle glue. I'm going to describe the steps you need to take to glue (and frame) your favorite puzzle or photo puzzle. Of course, know that you can never take your puzzle apart again to put it together again; once glued, the puzzle will not come out properly if you want to take it apart again. The glue will cause the puzzle pieces to break more or less. SO: think carefully about whether you want to do this.

Step 1: Measure your puzzle for the right size

I assume that you will also frame your puzzle after gluing. For a suitable frame you need to know the dimensions of your puzzle. Guideline: if you have a 50×70 puzzle, buy a 50×70 puzzle list. Knowing that a small edge of your puzzle will be under the puzzle list. If you want to see a concrete example of this, take a look at the puzzle list I chose for a HEMA photo puzzle of 50×70. Often the sizes of your puzzle are on the outside of your box, and you can rest assured that those sizes are correct. You don't have to measure that, but if you're in doubt, do it anyway 🙂 For example, the sizes of 3 puzzles from 3 different brands:

Do you want to know the dimensions of all kinds of puzzles? Check out our page about 'Dimensions puzzles'

Step 2: Make sure there are no bumps in your puzzle

Just to be sure, run your hand over your puzzle again, so that all the pieces fit together well and that no pieces stick out.

Step 3: Take foil or baking paper for under your puzzle

Make sure to put something under your puzzle if you are going to glue it. I recommend aluminum foil or baking paper or, for example, plastic. I did it myself with baking paper. Know that if you are going to glue your puzzle, that glue also goes next to your puzzle and therefore comes on the surface on which the puzzle is located. Look at my example, I used 8 sheets of baking paper for my 1000 piece photo puzzle:

Step 4: Slide your puzzle onto the baking paper or foil

This is not an easy job, because how do you get your puzzle on the baking paper? In my case, I had already put the photo puzzle into a puzzle frame. As a result, it was already lying on a hard cardboard back of the puzzle frame. However, you can see how I was able to slide the puzzle onto the hard cardboard back: That wasn't easy! If you have succeeded, it will be a bit easier from now on, because your puzzle is already on a hard cardboard surface. Then place this cardboard surface including the puzzle on the baking paper:

Step 5: Shake the puzzle glue well

Usually this is stated on the puzzle glue that you have bought, but it is almost always good to shake the tube. Also watch the following video where I show how a tube of puzzle glue works on plain paper. In this case, it's a tube of Ravensburger puzzle glue that also has a sponge on it:

Step 6: Apply the puzzle glue to your puzzle

The puzzle glue comes in a tube and usually there is some kind of sponge on the top of the tube. That works very simply and conveniently. If by chance there is no sponge on the top of the puzzle glue, use a sponge that you can buy in many stores. Puzzle glue where, for example, there is NO sponge on the tube is the Collall Puzzle glue. This is a very exciting moment, especially if you are doing this for the first time. You have to put the glue on the side of the puzzle where you see the picture. So DO NOT smear the glue on the white/grey back of the puzzle.
Because you should get a sense of how much glue to put on your puzzle. Some tips:

• Make sure you also glue the corner pieces well
• Make sure that the glue gets between the puzzle pieces, but be careful not to make 'thick blobs' of glue on the puzzle
• It is certainly recommended to lubricate the puzzle twice with the puzzle glue. Wait 2 hour after 1 lubrication, so that the glue has dried well. Then you can apply a second time.

I've made a video so you can see how smearing a puzzle with puzzle glue works. I rub it in here for the first time:

Step 7: Let your puzzle dry well after greasing 1x

If you don't know how long you should let your puzzle dry, let it dry for at least 2 hours! You can of course feel for yourself whether the glue is already dry. Do that anyway. Then you know for sure that you are in the right place.

Step 8: Lubricate your puzzle for the 2nd time and let it dry for at least 1 hour again

I have noticed that after 1x greasing the puzzle is not yet firmly attached; the puzzle pieces are not all connected yet. Many already do, but some don't. Lubricating for the second time ensures that the puzzle is certainly well glued.
You can see that in the following video:

Step 9: Rinse the sponge of your puzzle glue

Don't forget this, because then you won't be able to use your puzzle glue next time. Depending on which puzzle glue you used, but if you have about 200 ml of puzzle glue you can glue about 5 puzzles of 1000 pieces with it. You can then assume that you smear the puzzle 2x with the glue. If you wash the sponge well, it says on the can that the puzzle glue can be kept for 1 year after opening (in this case the Ravensburger puzzle glue). Make sure you hold the can up when you rinse it out, otherwise there is a chance that glue will come out during the rinse. Chances are not very big, but it can happen, and then some glue remains in the sponge.
I made a video about this:

Step 10: Whether or not to frame or hang your puzzle

The last step is to add your puzzle to your purchased puzzle list. You don't have to glue your puzzle to the glass plate or hard plastic plate. The puzzle itself remains. You also don't have to glue the puzzle to the hard cardboard backing. Or hang your puzzle with frame hangers on your wall. If you want to buy or use a puzzle list, read more on our page 'Framing puzzle'
I made another video if you want to frame your glued puzzle in a puzzle frame:

What is the best puzzle glue

It is very difficult to say which is the best puzzle glue. It is best to read the reviews on this website, or to orientate yourself well on other websites and read the reviews there as well. Almost all puzzle glues come in cans of 100-250 ml, since you can often glue 2 – 5 puzzles of 1000 pieces with those quantities. Puzzle glue varies in price from 7 euros to 20 euros. Often, it is stated per van how many puzzles you can glue with this.

Buy puzzle glue (puzzle glue where to buy)

If you want to buy puzzle glue, make sure you buy real puzzle glue and not regular glue. Ordinary glue is just different from puzzle glue. Unlike regular glue, you spread the puzzle glue over the image of your puzzle, and then the puzzle glue is completely transparent and you can still see your image of the puzzle. You will not achieve this with 'normal' glue. Sometimes you can buy the puzzle glue in hobby shops. You have a good comparison on various websites, of which this is one. What is especially important is the amount of glue you need. Also the quality. But I'm going to test them here for you! In terms of price, the puzzle glue is not that bad, from 7 euros you already have a puzzle glue, which may include delivery costs.

Cheap puzzle glue

If you want to buy the cheapest puzzle glue, you should choose the powder with which you make the puzzle glue yourself. You already have it from 5 euros. that is 1 bag of powder, with which you can glue a puzzle of 2000 pieces. Please consider possible shipping costs! In this cheapest case you have 4 grams of powder with which you can make about 240 ml of puzzle glue yourself. you simply add only water to the powder. And finished! If you can still buy this powder in a hobby store, you are completely cheap!

2. Puzzle glue in the form of puzzle sheets: puzzle glue sheets

These are then self-adhesive glue sheets. You then have no good with the glue that may get on your surface. In this case you do not stick the glue sheets over the front of your puzzle (the one with the image), but stick the glue sheets on the back of your puzzle (the white/grey side). This is a much simpler method. As an indication of the price: you need approximately 8 sheets for 1 puzzle of 1000 pieces, if you have glue sheets of the size 17,7 x 25,4 cm. These sheets will cost you approximately 7,90 (November 2020). Compared to the puzzle glue, you can therefore stick much fewer puzzles. Unless sticking one puzzle is enough, then the sheets may be an interesting option. In principle, the sheets are more expensive because you can only glue 1 puzzle of 1 pieces with them.

3. Puzzle glue that you make yourself: you buy powder from which you make the glue yourself

You can also go to the cheapest variant and make your own puzzle glue using glue powder. You then add water to the powder, which creates glue. In principle, this is the cheapest solution, the laws that there are still shipping costs. As of November 2020, a bag of powder to make glue for your puzzle costs about 5 euros. Few providers for this. I have only been able to find 1 or 2 suppliers for this that really sell 'powder puzzle glue'. There are of course quite a lot of suppliers who offer powders to make glue yourself. But I would always choose powder to make real puzzle glue. Otherwise you run the risk of your puzzle getting 'mutilated' by the glue and that would be a shame.