What's best repair adhesive for hard plastics?

Feb 01, 2005 2 Replies

First reply

amdx

Back when I did repairs on consumer items, we often used a .025" steel rod to strengthen repairs in plastic. I used a .025" drill bit to drill a hole with the parts aligned. I then applied a two part epoxy (Araldite Fastweld 10) to the part and the rod and assembled the part.…

Read the full reply
M

I'd like to be able to repair hard plastic manufactured items, but can't seem to find a *good* adhesive. Can someone recommend?



Examples of items to repair would be... cell phone casing, two-way radio casing, telephone casing, PC keyboard, and the like. Here's what I've tried so far...


1) Goop- Works best I've seen so far, but it really doesn't seem to "melt" (weld) the plastic parts together and can eventually separate again.


2) Power Poxy Tear Repair- Works outstanding for vinyl especially, but apparently went out of business


3) Superglue- Works ok, but seems very 'luck of the draw' as to whether it will hold, depending upon the type of plastic.


4) Loctite "plastic" super glue- Comes in two parts, a pre-treatment to brush on, then a tube of what looks like plain superglue. Didn't work at all for me.


5) Loctite plastic expoxy- Comes in the double syringe, doesn't work very good for me, seems like regular epoxly


6) Airplane glue- Haven't tried, really doubt it will do anything Thanks, George



Vote
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
T

I've come to trust polyurethane elastomer adhesives more, and epoxies less, because of epoxy's lack of resilience. The PU's slight "give" (very slight -- you wouldn't necessarily notice it poking it) prevents it from cracking and makes it less likely to pull away from the adhered surfaces. To make the glue joint stronger (due to increased bonding area) and stiffer, I've made surface joints using a segment of popsicle stick with the PU spread on one side of it and pressed onto the break, like:

=======

Vote
Twitter Facebook LinkedIn

Join the Discussion

Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.

Didn't find your answer?

Ask the community — no account required