Glueing Acrylic

[Raiden]

Hi,

Wonder if there are anyone here could share with me your secrets in glueing acrylic 5mm sheets?

Am trying to make a tank with acrylic but my first attempt was not very successful, ended up first leaking at some part and then disaster happened - one side of the tank gave way and ended up spending 1.5 hrs cleaning up saltwater in the living room.

Need to know the following:

- What do you use to apply the acrylic glue (acrylic glue from Dama) ? Need to know a clean and effective way of applying it.

- Read about the capillary effect when glueing acrylic, anyone can share how this can be done? What do you use to create that small gap to have the capillary effect?

- Is Weld-on better for glueing acrylic or the acrylic glue (chloroform - from DAMA) is as good. Was not able to get any weld-on when at Dama - sold out.

- Any other tips to share when working on acrylic?

Thanx in advanced for your help!!

Regards...

Raiden

[big_ben102000]

bro if the chloroform u are talking about is the liquid type ( like water) it wont hold very long ... it will fall apart after some time. further more if u accidentally spill some onto the clear acrylic sheet it will leave a stain.

[Raiden]

Hi Big Ben,

What then would you recommend? Weld-on? or any other better glue...

Regards...

Raiden

[big_ben102000]

sorry i dont have any knowledge on other types of glue used for joining acrylics.

i know of choloform because i used it in sch for my poject during sec 4 .. after the project was over the pieces that werent done properly before fell off soon after. there are however some that are still intact until now (3 years later) its in a display so i dont know what will happen if i touch it.

in my opinion i dont think choloform will not hold very well as there is still the water pressure that the joints has to bare. further more the using a 5mm thick acrylic, the contect point of which both pieces of acrylic meet is very small. if i am not wrong, choloform kinda "melts" the acrylic on both contect surfaces so when both pieces meet it kinda "merge/fuse" together, therefore i think it will only hold if the contect area is large. i wont recommand choloform unless there is not other choices of glue avaliable. i think skill plays an important role too.

my input is based on what i have done in secondary school and my expriences that i had with choloform. if there is any points and facts that i had stated wrongly please do correct me

cheers

cheers

[Tanga]

here's a good link about acrylic

http://www.aquariareview.com/dotnuke/Links...78/Default.aspx

[cdckjn]

Basing on my experience working with acrylci, using choloroform is okay. But using ONLY choloroform to join and build a any fish tank is crazy as the joint will not be strong enough to hold any water.

The cholorofom works best if you have cut 2 pieces of acrylic and you want to join back to side, then just place them together and using a water-colour paint brush to dip into the choloroform then run the "wet" brush along the edge of the acrylic pieces to be join and you can "see" the choloroform flowing in between the joints. Hold together fro about 15-20 sec, then can let go. The joint should be bonded. But this is not strong enough to withstand the water pressure and also this joint may not be water-tight. in fact high chance of water leakage. So you still need to apply the silicone. Buy the clear ones from the hardware shops, there are 2 grades, one type for fish tank - more expensive, the other the normal grade used for bathroom/general water proofing. Can buy the cheaper ones, but advise you soak the tank in water for a few days before using - for the chemicals to be purge from the silicone.

If you need more help with choloroform can contact me. Can come to my workshop for assistance - in Hougang.

[Raiden]

Hi cdckin,

Thanx for the advice - I actually reenforced the tank with silicone besides the acrylic glue but it did not hold too well - it broke at the weakest joint.

Will be redoing this again... so hoping to find a good solution in making a acrylic tank...

Regards...

Raiden

[sunny03]

if i not wrong silicone does not bond well with plastic

[bubble_gum]

doesnt dama have some kind of acrylic bonding glue that is water proof n clear? but needs infra red light to activate? im nt really sure but remember the gal at the counter saying something abt it

[colinsoon]

bro... honestly go spend some money on an acrylic tank. cheap, and wun break.. 5 plan acrylic tanks are like cheap... 20 bucks and you get a 2 footer... dun risk another accident...

if you are talking bout bigger sizes, then its no longer cost effective to make your own...

anyway joining panels together, its still much stronger to use silicon.

[Raiden]

Hi colinsoon,

Ha... ha... that's what DIYing is all about right? Not so much of buying but the experience and fun of making something...

Don't think $$ is the main concern here (but of course it is still key) since the material cost for some of these DIY projects here are more costly than buying ready made product... right?

Just saw a design that uses right-angled triangular acrylic strips to strengthen the corners... seems to be a viable solution...

Hi all,

Any more ideas and tips? Especially the application of acrylic glue and making clean joints.

Regards...

Raiden

[colinsoon]

well bro, i know wat u mean bout the satisfaction of DIYing.. i am a DIY person myself, but then, i wun wanna run the risk of the main tank breaking when i am not around, killing everythign inside... its bout the long run and stuff... i mean i made everything myself, but NOT the tank. its the only thing i din touch... check out my tank thread! hahaa

if you really insist on making the tank, i will recommend:

1. only use the acrylic glue purchased from dama. its the best and strongest i have seen and used soo far. very very impressive. DO NOT USE CHLOROFORM. its never strong enough, even with the triangular joint.

2. as mentioned by u, use the triangular joint.

3. apply the glue generously over the contact sides. its ok for the glue to spill out of the joint, cos it can be sanded off later...

4. Keep pressure on the contact sides for at least 2 days for the glue to totally set in. put big books to hold it.

5. run a leak test in your toilet for 2-4 weeks. make sure it can hold. if it does, it should be ok already.

hope i helped a little...

all the best!

chronicle the process on this forum!

[TntR2]

3. apply the glue generously over the contact sides. its ok for the glue to spill out of the joint, cos it can be sanded off later...

hmm.. then wouldn't it make the tank scratched even before its even used?

[colinsoon]

excess glue will flow out from the side... so it will be at the edges... so sanding and buffing is alright...

if you have a buffing machine, it will make everything even simplier... using wet abrasive paper to sand, followed by buffing... simply... flawless.. haha

[acontia]

5mm tank is very thin leh. 5mm glass is alright, but acrylic...... u might want to consider that. how big is the tank or how many liters, also how tall is it going to be?

[acontia]

hi all

don't ever use those so call chloroform from DAMA that comes in those 500ml/1liter bottle. those are too diluted and should not be used for tank or water tight construction. there are some good stuff for acrylic glueing, just not those. Weld-on and Acryfix are good for water tight application. Acryfix is UV cure and not infra red cured.

[colinsoon]

hi all

don't ever use those so call chloroform from DAMA that comes in those 500ml/1liter bottle. those are too diluted and should not be used for tank or water tight construction. there are some good stuff for acrylic glueing, just not those. Weld-on and Acryfix are good for water tight application. Acryfix is UV cure and not infra red cured.

yep, ask for acrylic glue. comes in a tube, not bottle.

there is a hugeeee difference between acrylic glue and chloroform...

[Raiden]

Hi,

Thanx for the reply... hmm... I was sold a litre of the chloroform by Dama and was told it is pretty similiar to weld-on; in any case, was told by Dama that the weld-on 16 tube form is out of stock until mid next month...

Guessed that I will have to be patience about this... meanwhile, I also working on mod-ing an old Ehiem canister filter into a Calcium reactor; so far it looks alright except that the unit is not powerful enough to pull and push water from the tank - still need an external pump - my solution is to tap from my FR's input - seems to work pretty well. Will need to see if the results of the mod is as expected.

Regards...

Raiden

[Tanga]

another good link

http://home.earthlink.net/~kenuy/acrylic1.htm