Epoxy over acrylic?

[davidbains]

I need to repair an old Imperial Meteor hatch, rather than replace it.
If I glassed right over it from alloy to acrylic to alloy, would the epoxy
stick to the acrylic!?
I ask because I found out the hard way that epoxy did not stick top polypropylene.
Although apparently there is a type of superglue that will now!!

 

[oldsaltoz]

G'day David,

Just checking, are you planning to cover the entire sheet of acrylic leaving you with a hatch you can no longer see through?

I strongly suspect epoxy will not stick to an acrylic sheet, particularly one that is as smooth as a hatch, however I suppose you could try sanding a section with a 40 grit and do a small test section, nothing lost if it sticks, and not much more if it doesnt.

Avagoodwwekend......

 

[nigelhudson]

It must be possible to get GRP to bond to acrylic because that is how plastic baths are made. Apparently they form the coloured acrylic to make the shiny surface and then reinforce it with GRP to give the strength. Haven't a clue how they do it though!

 

[Lakesailor]

GRP is not epoxy though. If there's much flex in the hatch it will be a no-no for epoxy. I would have thought.
If you abrade the acrylic the epoxy will fill the scratches and make it translucent at least. But getting a nice finish on epoxy is not easy without flatting off and getting an opaque finish again.
How about a new hatch?

 

[robind]

How about bonding a piece of ply to the acrylic first and then glassing the whole lot over? just an uneducated thought ! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif)) I have stuck wood to glass constructions OK with Grip fill provided its scored to give some real adhesion?

 

[davidbains]

I have though of adding some ply, or even replacing the acrylic with ply first.
It's a foredeck hatch so don't need to see thro it. And always opened from the deck, so don't need inside handles.