I am currently trying to source an acrylic adhesive that fulfils the following requirements, and I would appreciate any product suggestions. Thanks Grant
Requirements:
1/ Must be structural, very high strength 2/ Must be gap filling 3/ Must be clear after setting (no colouration, no bubbles released from solvent evaporation) 4/ Must be unaffected by long term UV or Sunlight 5/ Must be permanently submersible in water (fresh and sea water) 6/ UV setting adhesives cannot be used due to nature of the join 7/ Must not give off extremely noxious vapours on setting 8/ Must be distributed in Europe 9/ Easily dispensed would be appreciatedThe product is intended to bond cast, extruded and formed acrylic together in a high-pressure, load bearing application. The intention is to anneal the acrylic either before bonding or after. (Annealing and setting the adhesive at the same time - I would be interested to know some opinions on doing this together)
I have currently tested some products, specific polymer adhesives more than general adhesives. I have tested:
IPS Weld-On #16 - seemed to fulfil the requirements except for the bubbles released from the solvent. I have tried cooling the solvent-based adhesives to 5deg =B0C before use to limit the bubbles formed, but the result was still unsatisfactory.
IPS Weld-On #40/42 - has a yellow colour tinge.
A 'self-mixed' adhesive of Bostik Extrufix with acrylic cuttings added to form a paste - seemed to fulfil the requirements except for the bubbles released from the solvent.
Bostik Tensol #3 - From the specification it seemed this would fulfil the requirements perfectly, however in use it gives of the most noxious vapours.