Gluing aluminum to glass: 2nd go-round

[David Nebenzahl]

In our last episode, I asked about sticky substances to adhere an aluminum strip to the bottom of a glass shower door. Thanks to all who gave good answers in that thread.

So just to report that I got some stuff from Loctite called "Glass Glue" at Home Despot and used it to reglue the strip in question. Cleaned both glass and aluminum with lots of acetone, plus stripped off all the old gunk which was all on the metal, none on the glass--the stuff I used before was not even in the right ballpark.

This "glass glue" appears to be some kind of cyanoacrylate-type gunk. Mfr. claims it to be good for glass to metal; claimed bond strength is

362 psi, if that means anything to anybody. It's supposed to be dishwasher safe (after curing for a week).

I'll report back here in a few weeks and let y'all know if it held or not. If not, then time for Plan C.

[RicodJour]

David, in the first thread someone mentioned a structural application requiring a tougher adhesive. I assumed you were gluing an aluminum water diverter at the bottom of the glass door and didn't need a structural solution. Was that a bad assumption?

BTW, 3M also makes some very heavy duty tapes that are used in bonding metals to glass. They come in a whole host of flavors including clear.

R

[David Nebenzahl]

On 7/22/2009 8:35 PM RicodJour spake thus:

Well, I look at it this way: it isn't a structural problem until the first time someone kicks or steps on the diverter (you got that part exactly right). After that it is definitely a structural problem. And I was definitely looking for a stronger adhesive.

Regarding that previous thread, I came down on the side of those who were saying that I needed an adhesive, not merely a sealant.

Hmm; the tapes don't appeal to me much. I'll see how the current solution goes.

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

I am still questioning the ability of an adhesive to bond glass and aluminum in an application that may be several feet long and experience wide fluctuations in temperature. That aluminum is going to expand a lot more than the glass and considering the length involved, I don't see how anything that does not allow considerable flex is going to hold up.

[David Nebenzahl]

On 7/23/2009 3:34 PM [e-mail] spake thus:

It's a little less than 3 feet long.

Well, that may be the thing that ultimately screws the pooch for me here. The original water diverter thingie on the door was made of plastic (acrylic or some such), which prob'ly has a lower coefficient of expansion. We'll see.

[salty]

3M 4200

[jamesgangnc]

Typically those are installed with doublesided foam tape. It will not last forever but it is a simple matter to clean off and replace every

10 years or so when it fails. Glues like the one you used will be a real pain to deal with when it fails.

[salty]

??? I didn't use glues. I suggested 3M 4200, which for this application will probably last a lot longer than 10 years. I use it on boats for bedding hardware that is subjected to MUCH worse conditions than a shower door will ever encounter.