‘Glue Plastic’. The “How To” Guide On Bonding All Plastic Types: Acrylic’s, Resin’s and Poly’s

“Glue plastic?  What You Need To Know About Gluing Plastics.”

There are more searches on how to glue plastic than on any other repair issue.  The first thing you need to know about gluing plastics is that there are three types of plastic; resin plastics, acrylic plastics and poly-plastics.  Each type of plastic presents it’s own repair challenge. 

• Resin plastics.  Toys, models, kitchenware, plastic serving pieces, etc. are resin plastics.  When resin plastics break, they often end up in the trash cans. (Unless it’s your child’s favorite toy).

Acetate plastics (Acrylics).  Acrylics are the clear, rigid plastics used often used for display purposes. Plexiglass is an acrylic.

Poly-plastics.  Polyurethane, polypropylene, polyethylene are oil-based plastics. Car plastics, refrigerator plastics, power tool plastics are all poly’s.

Importantly, when repairing plastics, you need heat.  Heat used properly.  Why?  Plastics, all plastics, begin to soften at about 110 degrees.   Another key fact is that, heat, by itself, doesn’t do much.  Heat helps a little, but not a game changer.

What changes the game is heat used in combination with our Activator/Accelerator (AA).  Used properly, our AA intensifies the chemical reaction that occurs with superior glues.  With a chemical reaction, you’re not gluing.  You’re actually bonding.  Bonds are stronger and more durable than superficial glue joins. For resin plastics and acrylics, you need one of our SI SCA’s, definitely a superior adhesive, and the AA.  Find those two items in our Starter Kit.  A link to purchase a starter kit appears below.  Detailed step-by-step instructions come with the kit.

Plastics, even poly-plastics are now easy to glue/repair.  A summary of the steps needed to glue/repair plastics (the “Bonding Poly ProcessTM” – patented) appears below.  To bond/repair poly-plastics, a primer must be used.  That’s the only thing that’s different when working with poly’s, the requirement for using a primer.  If you are unsure what type of plastics you’re dealing with, prime your plastic. If the plastic is not a poly, priming will not hurt the plastic. 

Once a poly-plastic (or other poly) has been primed, all plastics are treated the same and you will get a superb repair with any plastic.   

For plastics, acrylic plastics (plexiglass), poly-plastics, co-polymers and polymers use the following steps, starting with step 3..  If the material is a polymer, co-polymer, or a polyolefin use the Poly-Bonding Poly Process ^TM (BPP) (patented) described below. Don’t glue plastic, bond plastic.

Our patented Polymer Bonding Process (Process)

The Bonding Poly Process™ for poly-plastics and other polymers begins at step 1.  The process for acrylic plastics and resin plastics begins with step 3.

1. Begin by saturating both edges or surfaces* of the poly item to be repaired/bonded with the Poly Prep.
2. Let the Poly Prep dry.
3. Spray one edge/surface of the polymer or plastic with our solvent based AA.
4. Let the AA dry.
5. Warm both edges with a heat gun or hair dryer for 20 to 30 seconds (about degrees Fahrenheit. Warm not hot.)
6. Apply the SI adhesive to the opposite edge from where you sprayed the Activator/Accelerator.
7. Press the two edges together.
8. Warm the seam with a heat gun or hair dryer for 15 – 20 seconds.
9. Done, though full cure with plastics takes up to seven days.  All plastics and polymers are very slow curing.

When the repair is a crack, the repair procedure is slightly different.  Again polymer repair begins at step 1, other plastics at step 3.

1. Spray the Poly Prep.
2. Let the Poly Prep dry.
3. Take a blow dryer or a heat gun and WARM both edges/surfaces.
4. Apply a structural adhesive (Usually SI Blue) to the crack.
5. Align the two edges/surfaces and press for fifteen to twenty seconds.
6. Spray the seam with the Activator/Accelerator.
7. Take the hair dryer or heat gun and warm the seam for thirty seconds.

* If you don’t have heat available, you will still get an excellent glue join by just using the Poly Prep, a solvent based AA and an SI adhesive.  If you don’t have either heat or the AA, the Poly Prep and SI adhesive will also work.