I spotted some weldwood spray can contact cement at the local craft store. has anyone tried this and is it as good as the standard brush on stuff from the glass bottle? would like to cut down on the mess if possible.

James,
The effective use of a particular glue depends a great deal on the particular use for the glue.

For some uses, the use of a brush on or roller on glue works best. For other uses, the use of a spray adhesive works better. Depending on the particular use, either or both may work the best for a particular application.

I use both types, depending on the particular application.

The one thing that one needs to be aware of with spray applied adhesives is that sometimes the propellent used in the spray adhesive may work in a negative fashion with certain materials being used on a project.

In particular, if one is working with certain types of foam, the propellent may melt the foam. So, always do a test application on the materials being used in the project to be sure that the particular product or adhesive are compatible with each other for the given use.

Be safe

You won't like it for use on grips if that's what you want it for. The stuff sprays out stringy and incomplete. The brush on stuff is the only way to get a good even coverage on EVA pieces. I tried the spray can route, ruined a grip, and tossed it in the trash.

Spray gets everywhere, ineffective as mentioned, and less cost effective. Give me a nice, comfortable seat at the work bench, not having to transport freshly glued pieces from outside while keeping them separated, every time when I'm work with contact cement.

For the folks who ask about spray adhesive.

I don't use spray adhesive in rod building, but I do use spray adhesive in furniture making to adhere tops to table bases. I also use spray adhesive when I do upholstery work to adhere foam to the work pieces.
In these cases, I would use only spray adhesive.

As I said initially, it depends on the application for the adhesive. For some uses, spray application is really the best way to apply the adhesive.

Be safe

I know Billy Vivona tried the spray on adhesive for building up foam grips and it did not hold up during shaping. I previously contacted DAP, makers of Weldwood contact cement, and learned that the spray can version of their product is different from all other products they manufacture. It is formulated to have adhesive holding properties somewhere between a temporary fixative and a permanent adhesive, more of a semi-permanent product.

I have not tried this personally, but it may work as a lubricant for sliding soft foam grips like hypalon over large diameter blanks (not firm foam grip material like EVA). Traditionally, some builders use regular contact cement as a lubricant for this purpose in the pre-tacky state. regular two-part paste epoxy is applied to the blank where the grip will rest, then the contact cement is applied above this in the entire area where the grip will need to be expanded when it is slid home. Contact cement makes a great lubricant when liquid during the pre-tacky state and the grips slide into place very easily. The residue is then cleaned up more easily than if you applied epoxy throughout this area. This is the only rodbuilding use I can thin of where the spray can version of contact cement might be useful, though I have not personally tried it - I use the canned cement for this purpose (or compressed air if that is available).