How can I best glue to polythene?
The polythene in question is dense and is taken from the nozzle of a bottle. I need to glue it into place.
Of course I will key the polythene with many scatches but I need a glue which will stick to it.
Will Araladite stick to polythene? Will superglue stick to polythene?
glue gun
Is polythene the same as polyethylene?
Not knowing the answer to your question, I decided to do some research. A great number of glues say they will not work on polyethylene. I only found one that said it would; a 3M spray adhesive. But your application doesn't sound right for a spray adhesive.
Some people say they have had success with hot melt glue. I tried it once and it didn't work; but YMMV.
Cori popped their head over the parapet saw what was going on and said
May not be relevant but:- You can find worldwide very expensive LOCTITE glue (Loctite 406,20g), and its primer (Loctite 770,10g) for soft plastics (polyethelyne).
Always wondered is polythene and polyethelyne the same thing.
yours S
Nihil curo de ista tua stulta superstitione
Polyethelyne is the correct chemical name. Polythene is actually the trade name for it, coined I believe by ICI.
Dave
This is deffinitely the best option for polythene (polyethylene).
not helpful I know but P.E. is normally fused. Gas and water mains for example.
mark b
No, but polyethylene is...
No, polyethylene is the correct name.
Cannot be done, for most definitions of "glue".
Some contact adhesives will stick to it, but that is not "gluing" per se.
More like least-worst, as in nothing is really good.
I have experienced the "hot melt" glues including/and the glues used in glue guns to have some (but short of full) ability to stick to polyethylene and the similar polypropylene.
Epoxy sometimes has ability to stick to (and with much less than normal full ability) to polyethylene, and I suspect only that good to some grades of polyethylene - there are different grades of polyethylene.
Please consider similarity of polyethylene to the similar (but even less gluable) polytetrafluoroethylene, AKA PTFE, aka "Teflon" (I believe a trademark of one of the more major manufacturers thereof) - famously "no-stick"!
- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
Heat it up really good with a hair dryer, then use the hot glue gun.
Bob
Thanks for correcting me was probably a typo, but I didn't proof read.
Yes it can be glued with difficulty. A PHD student I lodged with at Uni had to make chemical preparation apparatus out of polythene due to the strange chemicals he was working with (?). Problem with polythene is it is "oily" and most glues won't stick.
He assembled is apparatus either by friction welding, rotate one piece in fast and force onto other piece
or hot air gun and plastic rod
or finally etching surface with chromic acid (nasty stuff) to produce a "crust" which can then be glued.
nice explanation of best methods there. The usual home method is by melting it, either with a heat sealer or for heavier lumps, a heated pin.
NT
That is a useful trick.
What is chromic acid?
Metals form alkialis, not acids...so it can't be chromium hydroxide..
It can, but you need to flame flash the surface first by passing the flame from something like a propane torch over it briefly. Flashing is a method of surface preparation for many low surface energy plastics, such as polypropylene or polyethylene.
Surface energy defines the ability of adhesives to wet plastic surfaces and allow adhesion. Surface wetting refers to how well a liquid flows and intimately covers a surface.
Maximum adhesion develops when the adhesive thoroughly wets the surface to be bonded. The better the wetting the better the surface contact and the greater the attractive force between the adhesive and the plastic surface.
Surfaces with low surface energy are more difficult to bond because conventional adhesives cannot wet them resulting in minimal contact with the plastic surface and unsatisfactory bonds.
If you put a drop of water on polyethylene it beads, if you put it on the same surface after flame flashing it will spread. Once flashed even cyanoacrylate (Superglue) will work successfully on polyethylene.
A quick digging around on google reveals a chromic/sulphuric acid mix is used to etch plastic prior to plating with metals and other plastic coating.
I had a moment that I thought my chemistry memory had failed me............
A quick wipe over with a flame is much easier :-).
Chromium trioxide apparently. And that is ACIDIC?
Well its an oxidiser certainly.
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