Monday, January 18, 2010

Glue Plexiglass

Acrylic plastics, such as Plexiglass, make great window glazing but also have many other uses. With acrylics, a homeowner can make decorative items for inside and outside the home -- bird feeders, plant pots, display cases and the list goes on and on. Making some of these things requires gluing pieces of Plexiglass to each other. Luckily, this is quite easily done.








Instructions


1. Sand the edges of the Plexiglass to be joined until they are very smooth.








2. Test fit the pieces to be sure the fit is close. A loose fitting joint will not glue as solidly as a tight fitting one. Also, a sloppy fit will not look as good.


3. Join the pieces using one of two methods. The first is to assemble the pieces and then apply a solvent cement, such as Weld-On #3, using a dropper or syringe. This cement has tremendous capillary action and will wick itself into the joint. The second method is to apply super glue or solvent cement to the edges of the pieces to be joined and then assemble the parts.


4. Hold the parts together for a few seconds. The bond is made quite rapidly and will gain strength for several hours.

Tags: solvent cement