Fixing TO tiles ...

[Apellation Controlee]

... as distinct from fixing tiles.

What adhesive is likely to be effective?

We bought a wire fixture for the bathroom that came with self-adhesive discs to fix to the tiles. These lasted about a week before relinquishing their grip.

I replaced the self-adhesive pads with some salvaged plastic (similar to that used in Tupperware) to bring up the level to that of the chrome-finish cups that attach to the wire (not especially relevant except that it means that this plastic is now the surface I want to bond to the glazed surface of the tiles.

I've since tried Superglue (of course), as well as some multi-purpose adhesive that came from Wickes, neither of which are up to the job.

Any suggestions? Drilling and screwing is not an option.

[spuorgelgoog]

That may be the difficulty.

If damaging the tiles is acceptable then scraping off the glaze to expose the clay underneath should provide a surface that accepts glue.

Otherwise good quality suckers are usually fairly reliable for moderate loads on tiles.

Or use a vertical support (such as Spur style shelf strip) from floor to ceiling and hang the fixtures off that.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Is it steel wire (or chrome plated)? If so, a decent two part epoxy should bond well to glass and metal. If the wire is plastic covered, pass. But you will need a way of keeping it in place while the adhesive sets - perhaps 24 hours.

You say drilling isn't an option - could you rake out some of the grouting and insert thin steel etc to take the downwards force?

[Scott M]

OOI, why not? Cheapo set of tile drills work a treat on standard tiles. And stainless screws won't rust.

[Malcolm]

I had to fix towel rails to tiles. These had ceramic end pieces and had originally been fixed with screws cemented into the back. The back was porous and Sticks like Sh*t has kept them in place for the best part of

2 years. I believe that for this to work one of the surfaces must be porous. I tried it out with tile offcuts before putting up the real things.

Malcolm

[newshound]

Not suggesting these for the primary job

but they are astonishingly effective for the advertised purpose, and would probably be good for holding the fitting in place while epoxy sets. You can speed up the curing with a little heat (hair dryer?) although this also makes the glue "runny" first.

[harryagain]

The tiles need to be thoroughly cleaned of any soap/grease deposites etc. before you start.

[The Medway Handyman]

I think SLS claims to work on non porous/non porous joins.

[The Medway Handyman]

I think SLS claims to work on non porous/non porous joins.

[Capitol]

The sticky pads made for attaching car rear view mirrors.

[Apellation Controlee]

I'll try this first, in the hope that they've more stiction than those originally supplied.

Thanks to all for suggestions - the property in question is rented so any solution that requires anything that might be construed as damage is out of court.

[Apellation Controlee]

I thought you guys were joking re. SLS!

[Huge]

BTW, "stiction" is a real word, and that isn't what it means.

[Apellation Controlee]

You're so right. :-)

[PeterC]

It's the opposite force that helps to control a hammer.

[Apellation Controlee]

OK, reporting back, so far so good with SLS.

Thanks for all suggestions.

[PeterC]

That article in wiki is all well and good but it ignores the use of the word long before most of the technologies mentioned. I first heard it about 50 years ago and, of course, had been taught the skill of gentle tapping to give far better control than trying to slide an object that was a bit stuck.

[Jim K]

so Sticks Like $hit residues are not classed as "damage" but small holes drilled in tiles (and perhaps filled on removal) are?....

I would have just left the fixture there when I moved on...

Jim K

[Apellation Controlee]

----------------8><

The design of the fixture actually prevents a hole-drilling solution, unless specialist fixings are used: