Guide Properly Glue Acrylic or Plexi

Credit given to web56n at Tech-Mods

I’ve seen many people ask what the best way to glue acrylic or plexi, was, so I decided to write up this little guide to help show the easy way to achieve nice clear and strong factory results. With this procedure I can not stress how important it is to take caution when using this glue. While performing this please wear Safety Glasses because 15 minutes of aggravation while doing this is better than a life of not being able to see.

Here are a few things you will need:
If you want a perfect factory look in joints use a product from Weld-on number 4, the can might cost you about $4 or $5 but it will also give you enough to last a life time or at least a really large project.



The best way to apply this clear water-like glue is to find yourself a disposable syringe from a medical supply outlet or a drug store. If possible get the finest one you can get, all because it is unbelievable on how little of this glue is needed and if you apply to much it will just mess up the final look of your job. If you plan on doing more than one joint you can use the same syringe at the same time. If you plan on doing more joints at a later date I would suggest picking up a few of these little guys because after about an hour the syringe will dry up and will not work.



Have some fine grit sandpaper to quickly scratch the surface of the piece you choose to adhere, only one side or piece needs scratching. If you are butting the joint so you can see the edge after you might want to only prepare the piece you are gluing and not the larger piece.



I will show you a simple fix on a drive bay from an acrylic case; this is just to give you an idea on how to do the gluing. You can experiment on other things to make literally anything you wish once you have the procedure down pat.



Set your two pieces in place and have either a steady hand or something with just enough to keep the pieces in place and slowly inject the weld-on glue right into the joint on both sides of the piece. I will mention once again you will need next to no amount of glue for a joint.



It will take only minutes for the glue to completely dry, making the newly glued joint as strong as before or as strong as ever. If you have too much glue applied it can become messy, as you can see the scratches are filled evenly with the water-like glue and will dry clear.






As I said before please take caution when using this glue, have safety glasses on and properly dispose of the used syringe when you are complete. Good luck and hopefully you can come up with vast amounts of creations in your modding travels.

 

thanks alot i really needed a guid on this, uve saved me alot of hassle.

 

You can find Weld-On #4 at most local plastics shops or online at http://www.usplastics.com

I find syringes kind of awkward in some situations so I keep some watercolor brushes onhand.
Do not worry about getting the solvent on your skin, it will evaporate quickly and WILL NOT adhere your skin to anything. If you do get it on your finger stop working and wipe that finger off. If you were to touch your finger to a sheet of plastic with the solvent inbetween the two you will add a permanent fingerprint to the sheet.

If you use PVC based syringes they can be reused, but any solvent left in the syringe will evaporate away. For this same reason it's important to keep the lid of the solvent container closed when you're not using it.

 

I cant wait to try this. For my acrylic case I used a thicker glue and it didn't turn out very well. Next time, I'm using this method.

 

i look all over their site i cant find #4 so

 

nice, i was thinking about doing something with plexi, i would of just spmeared glue all ova it lol then learned my leson

 

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/pr...usplastic&category_name=25394&product_id=2273

They're out of the pint tins

 

As a suppliment - if you can't find weldon or tensol then a few chips of acrylic in some acetone and left for a few days works pretty good - not for stress joints but causmetic ones are absolutely fine - and its clear as well!

 

You may want to read the MSDS on the Weld*On Cement.

While I don't wear gloves while gluing, I still take very good care not to get any on my hands. For good reason:

 

I was really only referring to worries concerning adhesion. Maybe I should have been more specific.

 

How's acrylic solvent going to adhere to your flesh? You could cover your hand with high strength epoxy or cyanoacralate, it'll still come off. Just wait for the skin to shed!

 

Bah! don't do that, just file it off.... (yipes - cyanoacralate )

Being as I have just attacked my optical drive bay with a file and, in desperation, a hammer (not as good as a dremel) I may well need to make a new one out of something. This looks easy enough for me to not stuff it up - thanks for the guide!

Pete

 

Of course you'd be stupid to wait around. Cyanoacrylate you can get off with solvents, but epoxy is solvent free. Well, short of acids or organic solvents...but I assume you want your fingers, and your lungs, intact. Well my point was that you should be cautious but it's not like you're screwed if you slip.

 

Handy guide, glueing acrylic can be pretty tricky

 

nice guide any ideas what to use besides a suringe around here u look like a druggie trying to buy 1 of these

 

use a small paint brush to brush it on on one side and then place the the two pcs together.

 

After searching for 2 weeks to find a decent LOCAL supplier for weld-on #4 ; I stumbled onto it by accident. I get much better prices on my plexiglass sheets at the small hardware store by my house. But the weld-on #4 was impossible for me to find. When I had given up finding a local supplier and was just about to order some online, I found some. One of the local shops that I was about to buy some acrylic rod stock had some. I was flabergasted, they even talked me out of buying the larger can, which is a blessing, as is posted above, a single drop goes a very long way.
At the same shop, they offered some other weld-on products that are used for bonding acrylic, and even had the syringe with the large bore non pointed non medical applicator and brushes.

Surface Tension helps
One more tip for certain situations, I have found handy; When bonding some of my beveled edges, I found that I could take my syringe and holding the two peices together in place, I could just squeeze a drop or two on the joint without pressure, and the weld-on will, (like water with surface tension), pull itself across the joint without spreading to the finished areas. This made for very clean joints. When doing this method, use one drop first, then press the pieces together to make sure no extra weld-on is going to squeeze out, then if needed add another drop.

Also as a note, I bonded to pieces of sheet together, they are both 1/8 thick, and 6"X6" W, L .. It took approx 7 drops of the weldon in the middle of them, then I pressed the pieces together, and now I have a piece of 6"X6"X1/4 of acrylic. Made that piece very strong, and after a polish of the outside edge, you can not tell that it used to be two pieces.

 

Wow...
This looks like just the stuff I need to re-build ( ) my acrylic media PC.
Anyone know of a stockist in the UK?
B&Q don't seem to have it...

 

i found a uk supplyer, u have to be a school for them to sell to you tho, if u goto school or uni or somthing u could probably get them to order it for u.
i cant remember where the hell i put the catoolouge but i think they are called k&m wholesale.

they may sell to anyone but i doont think they do /me goes off to find the catolouge

 

you can also if you want a very very strong bond use chloroform (available and large chemists, if you tell them what its for and dont look like a stalker/kidnapper)

it melts the two pieces together similar to the above product. but the joint will never break.
i myself found the above product to be ok but if the surfaces were not totally flat then it can easily come off/snap under pressure.