Best glue for bonding plastic to plastic?

Hi,

Our daughter has this little doll wheel chair that the leg broke off of. The leg has a wheel and it is a pretty big piece that broke off but it fits very tightly when I put it together where it broke off and there are actually 2 pieces that broke off and join together and I think it would glue together nicely because the pieces are at right angles and I would be gluing two pieces together, not one.

The pieces are round and about 1/4 inch in diameter. They just snapped off but they fit together perfectly when I put it together. Just needs a good glue to hold it in place. I guess I would have to sit there and hold it in place for a while, or figure out a way to use a rubber band or something to hold it together while the glue dried.

It's an expensive little accessory which is why I'm not just going out and buying a new one.

I was reading on this page:

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And it mentions 5 different types of glues for gluing plastic together.

Tensol Cement, Contact adhesive, Epoxy, Super Glue, or A glue gun.

I've never had much luck using Super Glue so I would lean towards one of the other glues. I think a glue gun might be the same as epoxy, but now really sure about that.

Contact adhesive seems like a good choice based on what I read but I have no experience using it.

I would appreciate any suggestions for the best glue for my job.

Thanks in advance, Steve

Reply to
szeik
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I would try the superglue, maybe a gel type if you have trouble using the regular runny stuff. A glue gun might work, but the glue around the joints would be very obviious, Contact adhesive is generally IME great for paper and cloth, but not for plastics.

Reply to
hrhofmann

First, let me say that the advice I am about to give is worth every penny you are paying for it.

Hot glue is definitely NOT the same as epoxy.

The type of glue you need is dependant on what type of plastic you are trying to repair. One glue that works great with, for example, styrene, may work only marginally with PVC. Therefore, without knowing what type of plastic the item is made of we would have no idea what glue would be the best for the application.

Good luck.

Reply to
Gordon Shumway

I would drill a small hole in each part that a small nail (cut off the head) would fit into both parts for added strength and then use JB Weld epoxy. 24 hour cure stuff NOT the 5 minute type. I have had good luck doing it this way on plastic. Be sure to clean the parts first with alcohol. WW

Reply to
WW

Depends on the type of plastic. If it is styrene based, any solvent/ketone glue or just plain acetone will work. If it is polyethylene based, toss it out as no glue will hold on it. You can also try heat welding it together. Get both pieces hot enough on the mating surfaces to just start melting, then press the two pieces together.

Poorly written. Unless you know the material, it is just BS. There are thousands of plastic compounds. Some glue easily, others won't glue together at all.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

I have NEVER had any joy gluing plastic that was structural in application. If the glue joint (properly cured) didn't break first time stress was put on it, it broke right next to it for the same reasons it broke in the first place. IMHO, the joint needs a splint, like by heating up a skinny nail and shoving it through both pieces, or finding some other way to reinforce it. The break point sounds like a stress point. OP, can you post pictures someplace with a link back here? If we can see it, we can make better suggestions.

Reply to
aemeijers

I would combine your and WW's advice. Your plastic comment is right on plus the area being high stress could use reinforcement.

Reply to
Frank

If you know what type of plastic you're trying to bond, then try:

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Jeff

Jeffry Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE) The speed of light is 1.8*10e12 furlongs per fortnight.

Reply to
jeff_wisnia

I find this simple, effective and cheap.

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Reply to
tom

Gordon Shumway wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:

don't forget construction adhesive,like Liquid Nails. it bonds to some plastics.

contact adhesive probably would make the best bond,generally speaking.

3M makes this brown rubber adhesive in a tube,it bonds well to a lot of plastics,but I can't recall specifically which one it is.
Reply to
Jim Yanik

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote the following:

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Reply to
willshak

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote the following:

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Reply to
willshak

Steve, I would look for a piece of tubing or pipe that made a good outside diameter fit. It can be plastic or metal. Perhaps a section of ball point pen barrel. No glues will work on such a small contact surface and there are far too many types of plastic to expect anyone here to outguess what it is. Many toys use some type of thermal plastic, none of which lend themselves to glues.

I would go with the external splint and epoxy to make a good fit.

Reply to
DanG

I have used this with success:

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Reply to
George

The best glue depends on what plastic you're gluing.

Plastics that are easy to glue are styrene (recycling triangle says "PS"), ABS, and PVC, and CPVC, and they're best bonded with a solvent, like lacquer thinner, brush-on liquid glue from a hobby shop, carburetor/throttle body cleaning spray, or acetone. CPVC may need CPVC plumbing pipe cement, and it will also work on PVC. Full strength doesn't develop until about 48 hours, as I learned when I tried to glue a truck tailgate handle 3 times. Polycarbonate can also be glued with solvent, but if you get it wrong you have to remove the affected surfaces and start all over. Don't use super glue on these plastics because solvent gives a much better bond.

Hard polyester can be glued fairly well with epoxy (the slow-cure type usually works better) and maybe super glue.

Plastics that can't be glued well at all include polypropylene (PP), polyethylene (PE or HDPE), nylon, delrin, and acetal (lots of plumbing parts), and even polycarbonate, but they can be melted back together with a soldering iron or wood burning iron. The latter is better than a soldering iron if it has a nonstick tip (Teflon coated). Cut a scrap from the same plastic you're trying to fix so it will serve as filler, like welding rod does.

For something structural like a leg attached to a wheel, maybe you should insert a wooden dowel coated with epoxy (for a mechanical repair, rather than a glue bond) before joining the broken plastic pieces together.

Reply to
larry moe 'n curly

Google says plastic is PVC so a glue for PVC should work.

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Reply to
Oren

There's a lot more than that.

Reply to
Rod Speed

Per Wikipedia cite, "A modern Barbie doll has a body made from ABS plastic, while the head is made from soft PVC.[59][60]"

Reply to
Anonymous

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Reply to
Rod Speed

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