Will T-88 work to glue a piece of clear plastic to PVC?

[Jennifer Murphy]

I woulod like to attach a piece of clear plastic (from TAP Plasics, I think it's plexiglass) to the edge if a piece of black PVC.

Will the epoxy be enough or do I need to also use angle brackets.

In the diagram below, the horizontal line is the plexiglas and the two vertical lines represent the PVC pipe.

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[TomR]

I don't know, but I doubt that epoxy will work. Also, my guess is that the "black PVC" is actually ABS pipe (or something else). Different glues work for PVC and ABS -- they don't use the same type of glue. I don't know what would work with ABS and Plexiglas.

[Jon Danniken]

How long is a piece of string? Without knowing the application and the forces this assembly will be subject to, there is no way to answer your question. You also need to knows *exactly* what type(s) of polymers you are dealing with - is it plexiglass (acrylic) or polycarbonate? Is it "black PVC" or ABS?

Otherwise, you can test an adhesive by putting a small amount of it on the polymer in question. Wait a few days and then see if you can scrape if off with a putty knife; a quality adhesive will bond itself with the polymer. I have not found epoxy to bind itself to either acrylic sheet (plexiglass) or PVC (it also sets up too hard to make a tolerable adhesive). Silicon actually forms a halfway decent bond, although it does not actualy weld with either polymer.

Generally you want to use something with THF to bond vinyls, the formulation of which will depend upon the amount of THF as well as the consistency. Sometimes you can get away with mixing two types of adhesive (THF with acrylic cement, for example), to weld two types of polymer, but try it first with a small amount of each before you go for it.

Aside of that, you could always call your local plastics dealer and ask them (or find one online).

Jon