Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Dave, Steve Cox has it pretty well nailed down in his post. I myself thought that the PolyMax was a HDPE product, (High Density PolyEthelene) from the information I get from Farm Tek. I have tried heating the stuff with a soldering iron but unless you go just about all the way through both pieces it will not even begin to stick, even then the joint was very weak.
The shipping weight for the 5'x10' piece was about 15 pounds, so it is relatively light stuff. I agree with Steve insofar as the vacuum effect using Henrys. I may try a bit of that myself. However on the seams covered by aluminum and screwed down every 6 or 8 inches with a good bead of the Marine GOOP stuck in there. I beleive that it will make a very good seal. These pieces where joined will have virtualy no movement to disturb the relatively flexible seal provided by the GOOP. The extra screws and bonded washers up the center and on each spar are just for good measure, so it will not bubble up like an old convertable top.
Guess I gotta get me an avitar of some sort, huh.....

Ron-

Don't you think Tub & Shower Surround adhesive will work?

Cheers,

Coop

Coop, I would betcha dollars to donuts that it would peel right off when it sets up...the tub surround adhesive is not going to be "hot" enough to work...according to FarmTek...nothing will stick to it...no adhesive...on polyzone.com all they talk about is welding
madjack

HMMMM, has anyone tried PVC cement?

repete wrote:HMMMM, has anyone tried PVC cement?

PVC Cement uses the solvent Tetra Hydro Furan to melt the polyvinyl chloride or PVC. The PVC cement has some PVC in it as a thickener, but the THF or Tetra Hyro Furan won't melt the polyethylene.

So, I did a little research this morning on "bonding polyethylene" and found a product that will do the job. 3M's Scotch-WeldTM Structural Plastic Adhesive DP-8005. Also read a report about it here. http://www.stealth316.com/2-dp8005.htm Checked for a few sources to buy it, that stuff is expensive and you can't get it a Builders Square or Lowe's. The plastic supply houses have it though. Time for another cup of coffee.

Steve

There has just gotta be a way to do this!

Here's one that looks like it has promise:

Loctite® 3030 Polyolefin Bonder

A 2-part acrylic adhesive specifically designed to join hard to bond thermoplastics

Typical Applications
Specifically designed for polypropylene and polyethylene. Suitable for ABS, PVC and polycarbonate.

LOCTITE Introduces The Next Generation
of Plastic Bonding

Loctite has made the assembly of difficult to bond thermoplastic components easier and better by adding Loctite®.
LOCTITE® 3030 Polyolefin Bonder enables manufacturers to expand their design options, boost productivity and improve product performance. This new 2-component, thixotropic acrylic adhesive eliminates mechanical fasteners, plastic welding, surface treatments, messy hot melt or solvent-based adhesives and primers. The new 3030 Polyolefin Bonder sets quickly to let you get your product assembled and out the door faster and easier.

Loctite® 3030 Polyolefin Bonder is designed primarily to bond many low energy substrates such as polyethylene and polypropylene, and can be used as a general-purpose adhesive on many other substrates.

Typical Applications
Loctite® 3030 is designed for bonding to difficult substrates, such as HDPE, LLDPE, and polypropylene. The product offers good resistance to many chemicals, allowing it to be used to assemble small appliances, signs and displays, speaker components, battery cases, liquid tanks, and storage bins to name just a few.

What do ya think?

Cheers,

Coop

Checking the Menards Flyer this morning and they have 4 x 8 Plas-Tex Poly Wall Panel 1/16 thick for $12.00. Is this the same thing? I was surprised to find that they now handle Baltic Burch in 4X8 Sheets--1/4 to 3/4.

goldcoop wrote: 2-component, thixotropic acrylic adhesive

Yup, that's the stuff, you find a place to buy it?

Steve

Steve: It is listed in today's "Menards" Flyer on page 3 for $11.99

Steve, I figured if anybody had an adhesive 3M would...and Coop the Loctite answer is not real suprising either...I wonder is SIKA has a product...good work on those finds, polymax looks very promising and with the find of a proper adhesive may turn it into a popular choice for a skin...
madjack

Try this stuff, http://www.coolchem.com/ code is MA7, saw it on StreetRodder from the SEMA show, they glued rubber to glass, glass to wood, leather to glass, wood, you name it.

madjack wrote:Steve, I figured if anybody had an adhesive 3M would...and Coop the Loctite answer is not real suprising either...I wonder is SIKA has a product...good work on those finds, polymax looks very promising and with the find of a proper adhesive may turn it into a popular choice for a skin...
madjack

Especially the 5x10 sheets. They are 1/16" thick and should make any radius bend quite nicely...

Sorry I haven't read the entire thread, just the last couple of posts. When gluing acrylic I've used CA (Crazy GLue) with varying success. A friend's dad was able to get Weld-on glue for acrylic.

Found this while I was looking for a source:

Polyethylene is a tough material for adhesives. 3M DP-8005 and Loctite 3030 are epoxy products specifically designed to stick to polyethylene. It runs about $15 for a tube, but you need a $50 applicator gun. Bostik 6384 and 6390, 3M-3762 and Loctite 1943 are hot-melt adhesives, designed for polyethylene.

Still looking for a good CHEAP source!

I'll be back!

Cheers,

Coop

Acrylic requires Methylene Chloride or Ethylene Dichloride based solvents for perfect adhesion. Polyethylene, on the other hand, was designed specifically to "contain" solvents. That's why it is so hard to chemically bond. It requires a mechanical bond. I've been away from the plastics industry since 1997, but I remember there were several epoxies which would mechanically bond Polys. Good luck..........it's a matter of making it do exactly what is was designed NOT to!