dsw
Well-Known Member
Anyone know where i can get some large tubes of glue plus activator for bonding polyethylene ?
GLUE
- Thread starter dsw
- Start date
exfinnsailor
Well-Known Member
I Goooooogled it 4 U and got ...
poly-bonder.
Directions for Bonding Polyethylene using a poly-bonder.
Flame Treat:
1. Fit a propane torch with a flame spreader.
2. Following the operating cautions of the propane torch, ignite the flame.
3. Observe the flame in a darkened room, noting the primary (bright blue) and secondary (faint yellow) portions of the flame.
4. Adjust the flame so that the primary flame is contained within the spreader, and the secondary flame is 1-1/2" beyond the spreader.
5. Treat the polyethylene to be bonded with the tip of the secondary flame by passing it over the polyethylene in 5 gentle strokes. Total exposure to the flame should be 2-3 seconds (.5 seconds per stroke). This light exposure should not deform or melt the polyethylene in any way.
6. Test the polyethylene for bond readiness by wetting it with water. If the water runs off immediately, the treatment was not effective. If the water sheets-up on the surface, the surface is ready for bonding. If unsure, compare the water's action on the treated area with an untreated area.
7. Bond joints within 1 hour after treating. Always prepare test bonds to be certain that flame treating is effective with your material.
Unfortunately Polyethylene is a long molecule with no specific functional groups anywhere along it. The molecule is also very stable, making it difficult upon which to perform chemical reactions, that would allow to parts to be truly joined. It would only be soluble in hot ethylene monomer, and even then it wouldn't really "dissolve" to where you could glue it like polystyrene in a hobby model, only swell and become gushy.
If you need real strength, such as for weight bearing you're out of luck. If what you want to do is only decorative, you might be able to get satisfactory results, by roughing up both surfaces and joining them with a self-hardening material like epoxy, polyurethane glue, or even Elmer's. This would fill the roughened surfaces on both surfaces and as the epoxy hardens will provide some small level of physical attachment to hold them together. None of these would be very much stronger than another as they aren't chemically bonded to the surface only physically 'stuck', much like to rough surfaces won't slide on each other.
Sounds like it could be fun .. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
poly-bonder.
Directions for Bonding Polyethylene using a poly-bonder.
Flame Treat:
1. Fit a propane torch with a flame spreader.
2. Following the operating cautions of the propane torch, ignite the flame.
3. Observe the flame in a darkened room, noting the primary (bright blue) and secondary (faint yellow) portions of the flame.
4. Adjust the flame so that the primary flame is contained within the spreader, and the secondary flame is 1-1/2" beyond the spreader.
5. Treat the polyethylene to be bonded with the tip of the secondary flame by passing it over the polyethylene in 5 gentle strokes. Total exposure to the flame should be 2-3 seconds (.5 seconds per stroke). This light exposure should not deform or melt the polyethylene in any way.
6. Test the polyethylene for bond readiness by wetting it with water. If the water runs off immediately, the treatment was not effective. If the water sheets-up on the surface, the surface is ready for bonding. If unsure, compare the water's action on the treated area with an untreated area.
7. Bond joints within 1 hour after treating. Always prepare test bonds to be certain that flame treating is effective with your material.
Unfortunately Polyethylene is a long molecule with no specific functional groups anywhere along it. The molecule is also very stable, making it difficult upon which to perform chemical reactions, that would allow to parts to be truly joined. It would only be soluble in hot ethylene monomer, and even then it wouldn't really "dissolve" to where you could glue it like polystyrene in a hobby model, only swell and become gushy.
If you need real strength, such as for weight bearing you're out of luck. If what you want to do is only decorative, you might be able to get satisfactory results, by roughing up both surfaces and joining them with a self-hardening material like epoxy, polyurethane glue, or even Elmer's. This would fill the roughened surfaces on both surfaces and as the epoxy hardens will provide some small level of physical attachment to hold them together. None of these would be very much stronger than another as they aren't chemically bonded to the surface only physically 'stuck', much like to rough surfaces won't slide on each other.
Sounds like it could be fun .. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
ningcompoop
Well-Known Member
Hi, polythene is very difficult stuff to glue succesfuly, I was wondering what glue you planned on using?
_ AH!
_ AH!
Pasarell
Well-Known Member
We have to bond an underwater coating to various plastics and polyethylene has always been one of the most difficult. We've tried flame treating as outlined above. It's an improvement but not very reliable.
We make sure the surface is very clean with detergent and fresh water but don't try to abrade or surface etch - it inhibits wetting out of the surface. Just before coating we solvent wipe as a bit of belt and braces. We then apply a chlorine based surface modifier in a very thin film which chemically bonds with the PE and forms a resin film. As soon as the solvent has evaporated from that coat we apply a moisture cured urethane as a coating but it also makes a very good glue.
I don't think I would want to hang too much weight from the bond but in tests our adhesion is getting close to that achieved on polyurethane, a much easier material to work with.
We make sure the surface is very clean with detergent and fresh water but don't try to abrade or surface etch - it inhibits wetting out of the surface. Just before coating we solvent wipe as a bit of belt and braces. We then apply a chlorine based surface modifier in a very thin film which chemically bonds with the PE and forms a resin film. As soon as the solvent has evaporated from that coat we apply a moisture cured urethane as a coating but it also makes a very good glue.
I don't think I would want to hang too much weight from the bond but in tests our adhesion is getting close to that achieved on polyurethane, a much easier material to work with.