I'm currently building a perspex-based case and might have hit an unforseen problem. I'm working with 6mm clear perspex which I intend to paint (most of) the inside black so it looks black. The outer shell is two sheets, one seen here and inside it another sheet will be glued using acrylic cement about 50mm in from one edge. This means that there will be a ~6mm line all around the side-top-side sheet which won't receive any paint. Does anyone know what the visual effect of that will be? am I faced with a grey line visible from the outside where the inner sheet is glued? or will the fact that the sheet is painted black on one side make that area dark enough to blend? at this point I've not yet done any glueing or painting so is there anything I can do to minimise this problem, if it will indeed be a problem?
That's an interesting idea. Do you think I am destined for a colour problem? And does anyone know how much Tensol 12 it would take to glue a 6mm strip 2.1m long? I've got 50ml. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
normally done by syringe and run along joint so should not be alot of glue per joint old vid but still applies if you can get over accent
Thanks for the link, the glue came in a plastic bottle but the nozzle isn't hypodermic-fine, also I now realise just how accurate my cutting is going to have to be, this is going to be a tough step. However it does say that the result is clear so I don't think I'm going to have a problem with the colour. Now I just need to decide if it's best to paint before or after gluing. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
think if you paint before the glue wont permeate the acrylic and make a strong joint why I was trying to think of a way to colour the glue
I was going to mask a strip and the edge to glue while painting then touch-up the joint after gluing. As the joint is so transparent and most of the rest of the sheet is painted black I think I get away with a 6mm join. But I'm going to test that on some scrap first, I also want to practice gluing. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk
Recently I have ran the gauntlet with my trials and tribulations of bonding acrylic (plexi, cast and extruded). The best way to bond acrylic to acrylic is to use one of the weld-on products. I think they have Weld-On in the UK, its made by several different manufacturers, IPS, SciTek, some other companies. Weld-on comes in a numbered series of solvent cements, #3 is water thin and sets EXTREMELY quick, #4 is water thin and sets less quickly, and #16 comes in a tube and is more gel-like. There are other numbers too but they are for different plastics (the only thing that bonds plastic to plastic professionally is weld-on or its EU equivalent). It sounds like you are trying to bond a piece of acrylic to another piece of acrylic. If both pieces are flat, use weld-on #4. Weld-on #4, #16, and #3 (some others too) are all clear, and they are actually not glues. They are solvents that dissolve the acrylic and bond it to itself at a molecular level. So its not colored, it fuses your two pieces of acrylic to each other. No other glue, cement, etc works properly to glue acrylic to itself. Its the only way to properly make a fish-tank that doesnt leak. Weld-on #3 and #4 come in pint jars, they should be applied with a syringe or one of those syringe bottles they try to sell with the stuff. With my experience, any 23g1 syringe works fine, 2-3cc capacity is more than enough to bond almost anything in one go, but if you need more just draw it out of the can. Painting over it is not an issue as it leaves nothing behind at all, it literally evaporates and your two pieces are molecular bonded to each other. Now, if you are filing cracks, or repairing damage, this is where it gets tricky (and where I have pulled my hair out in frustration several times) If the pieces are not flush to each other and there is a gap that needs to be filled, use weld-on #16! Otherwise you will have issues, and you will need to make your own paste with acrylic shavings and weld-on #4 which is not recommended. "Plastic-Weld" from model airplane shops seems to be damn near the same stuff as Weld-On #4 except they charge more for it and it seems to be ever so slightly thicker. Its not a glue so dont worry about it sticking to anything, the only thing it effects is Acrylic and other similar plastics. Just run a line of it on ONE side (lie a piece flat, and run a bead along the flat edge of whatever is being bonded to it) and push it down and hold it there for a minute or two (#4) until it initially bonds then wait 24h for it to finish molecular bondage, then your good to sand,paint,work whatever on it. the eplastics site (and youtube) has some decent instructional videos on it (better than my silly explanations)
