I hope to pick up my new sheet of safety Glass to repair my shower cubicle tmrw. does anyone have any recommendations as to what adhesive to use for bonding the glass back into the metal (aluminium I think) trim ?
Would normal epoxy be enough or should I go for something like Araldite Super Ceramic & Glass. Bear in mind that this is for a shower area, so needs to be waterproof - and at the same time act as a sort of gap filler in the trim.
TIA Steve
High modulus clear silicone bath sealant.
Andrew Mawson Bromley, Kent, UK
You need a flexible adhesive/sealant to allow for the expansion and contraction of the aluminium, as Andrew has said - silicone sealant is the one to go for.
Are u sure about this ? The stuff I cleaned out of the metal trim ( as I said, I think the trim is aluminium, but not too sure) was not silicone sealant, as far as I can judge, but a fairly solid yellow\brownish material whihc was totally bonded to the glass and metal : i.e. it didn't peel off. And when I tried to scrape it off with a samll abrasive disk, it off it gave off an awful smell - it
*did* remind me of epoxy. This is the original shower panel: and there is no point asking the manufacturers cos they wouldn't even give me the glass size I needed and wanted me to buy a whole new panle for £200... th eglass is actually costing meonly 60...Steve
Several choices:
High mod silicone.
Low mod silicone. If there's a good overlap and it's what you have, then you'll get away with it.
Low modulus polyurethane. Sikkaflex-291 is the type I've got, but they have several. Expensive, amazingly sticky, and good for outdoor use. Get it from a boatyard. Doesn't keep well.
Epoxy. A bit rigid really. If the design is such that the panel is stressed, then it can cause it to shatter one day, perhaps if slammed.
UV cure Use the flexible grade, as sold for car rear view mirrors, not the rigid constructional sort. This glue has no gap filling, and it has no shock absorbtion. I'd use it for well-fitting hinges on a cabinet, but not a shower.
-- Die Gotterspammerung - Junkmail of the Gods
Yes - as long as everything is nice and clean it is a strong adhesive and as its flexible you won't get any cracking.
but a fairly solid
it didn't peel off.
There are a number of other adhesives you might use. In manufacturing one very important issue is curing time. The manufacturer may well have used a rapid setting adhesive which would be inappropriate for home use (such as a two part or UV curing one) which would allow them to move the assembled item within seconds rather than hours.
but a fairly solid
i.e. it didn't peel off.
Thanks for all your advice. I notice that the Sanitary High-modulos sealant that I have mentions, it is good adhesive for 'decorative trim', but I don't know if that will do as the trim on the glass I'm needing to fit, is not entirely decorative - it screws in to the frame of the encloure to hold the whole panel in place, so I think I need some structural strength.
I hear what you are saying about curing time - but I found some Araldite Epoxy 'precision' which has a setting time of 2 hours - precisely for playing about with tricky bits like this. On the other panel (that I didn't break !), there is absolutely no give on the trim on the glass, so I'm going to assume that they have used a fairly 'rigid' adhesive there.
Steve
Silicone sealant holds aquariums together so I doubt if a shower screen presents much of a problem. If you are looking at about a 6ft screen set into a channel fixed with a silicone adhesive you have a worst case extraction force of about half a ton to pull it out, the screws in the wall will give out long before then.
Nice one - you have persuaded me ! Now that you mention it, aquariums *are* held together that way - I'd forgotton about that - we used to have one.
Sorry to have been a pain, but I just wanted to be sure to get this right - as the alternative is another 60 quid sheet or glass - or worse, a new 200 quid panel from the shower maker !
Time to hit the shops I think - some clear high-mod sealant !
I shall bother you no more :-)
Steve
The High Modulus Silicone did the trick !
Thanks
Steve
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