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Help with Glue

2K views 19 replies 10 participants last post by  agate 
#1 ·
What is an appropriate glue to glue two small plastic pieces together. The AC adapter on my colleague's document camera broke. From past experience I've found that Super glue and it's ilk do not work well. Does Gorilla glue work well in this type of application? I am just worried about the stress it takes with the plug being pulled in and out all the time. The piece itself is soldered onto a board and cannot be easily replaced. Thanks for the help.
 
#5 ·
My wife has a glue sold at hobby lobby (craft store) that is amazing, dont know the name but I would check a craft store. In my personal experience when it comes to plastic I always say epoxy, not glue. Glue soaks into pores and hardens, epoxy's are typically 2 part solutions. In fact I know Super Glue, the brand, makes one just for plastic. As for gorilla glue, my first lesson with gorilla glue was that it expands. I found that its great for 2 pieces that interlock loosely and you need to glue them together tight, not for pieces that the bond is broken and you want to repair it. Gorilla glue will expand and push the pieces apart before it hardens.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Freud never really slipped. I do therapy every Wednesday. Most people scatter knowing I am nearing. Entire blocks of Chicago for my 45 minute session clear when I sit down with my guy. To talk about stuff. Andy, are you sure you want to mess with me or be added to my list? Are you the guy I should talk about next.

Tell me Andy, how would you propose the spell Argangtain?
 
#3 ·
joed is spot on. It may take some trial and error to find the right product. In my experience super glue is great on some types of plastic and useless on other types, particularly parts with small surface area and stress on them.

I would actually start by trying a two-part epoxy formulated for plastic which seems to work on the broadest range of plastic. If this is a functional fix and not an aesthetic one, consider reinforcing the join between the broken parts with additional material if the join is going to be under any sort of stress.
 
#7 ·
Whatever you use, first roughen up the surface with some sandpaper. It will give the adhesive something to "bite" into. I have had succcess with PL Premium adhesive caulking on plastic. That is a polyurethane adhesive, somewhat similar to Gorilla glue, but it has more mechanical stiffness, if you can put in on very thick.
 
#8 · (Edited)
SuperGlues were never really designed for plastics. Guerilla Glue and Guerilla Tape are gifts from God. Not really for plastics though.

Plastic store may help.

Just a silly suggestion though before you run off and spend a fortune on fixes? I wanted an extra AC adapter for a device of mine. Brand new, $5 including shipping, on eBay and delivered just last week. I don't think I could be any glue or figure out a fix with it for that kind of chimp change.

The converter tip systems sold at Radio Shack and other places may be an option also. Just switch the tips to charge near anything. Higher end systems allow for switching the voltage output also. One AC adapter (or cigarette lighter version). Just switch tips if you want to use it for other devices. I think they are like $20 to get started? The tips are not overly expensive.

When in doubt? X-Acto and duct tape to get you by. Everybody should own a glue gun though. I cannot see using it and the melted stuff to hold an AC convertor together for long without tape. Like I say, I fear you are approaching $30 in rescuing/repairing a device that may only cost you $5. And how did this thing fracture in the first place? Might not be rescuable and may soon be a repaired fire hazzard?
 
#9 ·
What kind of plastic is it? There are so many. Polyethylene or polypropylene- no "glue" will really fuse them together. Epoxy (2 part) is best bet. Now, if the plastics are styrenes/vinyls/etc these can be fused/"glued" with good results. Without knowing, epoxy is best choice. Part of the reason lastics are so "indestructible' is the fact that they inherently do not react with nature, also glues.....
 
#14 · (Edited)
Lived in Northern for California for near three decades. Raced sailboats around the SF Bay and up and down the California and extended West Coast. Once did the insane race all the way to Hawaii. Took us two days as I remember.

No responsible Californian fails to realize it is just a matter of time before, and I hope near within minutes Florida, both fall into the depths. Nothing much missed in either case. As your kids climb for shore, in Nevada. You are going to be begging for safe Lake Michigan area property.

And it snows here, try splaining that to your Orange County kids,
 
#16 ·
Sailors have no patience for that kind of boat you know. As a kid and before converted to racing sailboats, I worked for old ladies on the then pristine Lake Tahoe. I was too young to drive a car but was allowed keys to a gorgeous Chris Craft thing. Only to fetch groceries and stuff. I promise,

Cigarette boats are legendary on both coasts of course. As I remember, the torque of twin 572s could flip the ligthweight hull around faster than most imagined? You needed 4 gorgeous, even anorexic babes on board just for weight?

Never rode on one. If I can find 4 gorgeous, desperate anorexic women my age? With everthing lifted and enhanced ? Will you help me hot wire a cigarette boat? We could make a reality series out of it.
 
#17 ·
What a way to fetch groceries!
And what a beautiful place to do it.
And you can get awesome babes with any kind of boat.
And I never drove one of those monsters, just ridden in.
The bay is so rough you're all beat to sh!t after you come in.
And I know it takes a lot more skill to maneuver a sail boat than one that you just point and dump the throttle handles.
Oh the memories...
 
#19 ·
You are not suggesting I did? Once in awhile I used to sail and race a 35 foot Cheoy Lee Lion sloop riggged boat from Berzerkelley to Sausilito to pick up sails for a weekend race. She actually loved the water and sailed herself.

It does not get more DIY than sailing on your own.

The drive and paying for bridge tolls would have taken forever. Across the water, cut the trip in half or who cared. Engine seldom worked so I learned to parallel park her. Anywhere.

Only other sailors will so much as giggle. I became a very tacky person.
 
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