For pop star posters everywhere! (Bostik Blu Tack)

Member Name: Whizz11

Product:	Bostik Blu Tack
Date:	22/08/08 (118 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Chep, handy, re-usable, clean

Disadvantages: None

If you had to think of a really useful product that did what it claimed to do, was always kicking around in just about everybody's draw at home then you would think of Blu Tack. It's such a versatile, handy product.

Blu Tack can be described as is a versatile, putty-like pressure-sensitive adhesive. It is made by Bostick, a company who manufacture adhesives, sealants etc. The brilliant thing about it is that it is reusable and in my opinion just as good the second, third, fourth etc time round when you go to use it again. I remember as a child always asking my dad for some Blu Tack. Whenever the new issue of Smash Hits or the like came out I would hang up the latest pop star poster on my wall. When I got bored of NKOTB or Rick Astley, I would simply take the Blu Tack off the back of the poster, roll it around in my fingers to make a little ball again and use it again and the posters always stuck.

I think the reason why my parents let me use it in my nicely decorated room is that it did not leave a mess and if you stuck it to wallpaper it would not ruin the paper once it was taken off, amazing. It actually says on the back of the packet that the product is "clean, safe and easy to use, it will not dry out and provides an ideal alternative to drawing pins and sticky tape."

Blu Tack is basically a formulation consisting of synthetic rubber, polymers, oil, and inorganic fillers. It comes in a flat sheet and then you just tear bits off according to how much you want. I always find that it is best to roll the bit of Blu-Tack that you have pulled off into a ball because it sticks better that way. It generally does not really stick if you put just a flat piece against the wall. If you need to put the Blu Tack back you can just stick it to the rest of the product and it stays there. Originally Blu Tack was blue but now apparently in comes in a variety of colours.

According to a website on the subject it was invented by Austin Carpenter in 1971 in England during development of an industrial adhesive by Bostik, and was prompted by his wife (a teacher) for a glue that could easily stick posters to walls and be removed again without leaving marks. Just imagine how much money he has made since that development!! According to their official website www.blu-tack.co.uk "if you laid all the packs of Blu-Tack sold in the UK every year back to back, they would reach from Land's End to John O'Groats and back" That probably holds with my theory that I would say everyone has one of these packs in a draw somewhere in their house!

It's a very cheap product too, generally sold for about £2 or less in most stationery shops. All in all a great, cheap, handy product!

Summary: Blu-Tack - the handy adhesive