Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

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KarunaS
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Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

Post by KarunaS »

I had TAP Plastic make and ship me acrylic French cleats. I have some 1" thick glass tiles, about 4 lbs each. Got some new GE Silicone II premium glue (100% silicon). Cleaned glass with aceton and then alcohol before gluing on French cleat. Didn't cover whole surface with silicone to allow for air drying and let them cure for 36 hours. Hung the tiles today on the MDF board; luckily I had the board sitting on the floor/carpet, because when I came back 15 minutes later one of the tiles had slid right off the cleat. #-o
What did I do wrong? Do I need to sand backside of acrylic? Use different adhesive?
May the high humidity here be part of the problem?
Could I use the adhesive the Hang your glass guys sell or is that just glass to glass and glass to metal?

Thank you.
KarunaS
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Re: Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

Post by KarunaS »

As I had no takers on my question, I went ahead and did the following:
- sandblasted the backside of the glass where the cleat is going
- sandblasted the backside of the cleat that is in contact with the glass
- used Devcon 5 minute epoxy (which states that it bonds glass, plastic, etc)
- let it cure for 12 hours (package says it cures in 1 hour)

It is now 24 hours later and the glass tiles are still hanging...will update if that changes.
carol carson
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Re: Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

Post by carol carson »

Karuna,

I'm sorry I did not reply to this post. I read it and then got side tracked.
I too had a fail with GE Silicone a while ago and went back and sanded the areas to be glued and tried again.
Using the same glue, but this time, in addition to sanding, I also applied the glue in lines, not covering the entire surface
because I'd read that the inner most section of the glue will not dry completely if air cannot get to it.
Finally I let it cure for about a week before I tried hanging. It's been hanging for over a year now. So the silicone can work.
I am interested in the glue you used though, can you tell me why you chose it and how expensive it is?

Love your work btw.
Morganica
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Re: Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

Post by Morganica »

And sorry I didn't see this, either, Karuna. I've been using a two-part UV epoxy on these, and am looking right now at three 8-pound pieces I cleated up maybe 4 years ago, still hanging on my office wall. I used Loctite Impruv 349 for those (http://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Impruv-Li ... B005TPGT4M) and instead of the incredibly expensive UV cure light Loctite recommends, I bought a Feit UV bulb and stuck it in an old desk lamp. More details here:
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2010/ ... y-remover/
Cynthia Morgan
Marketeer, Webbist, Glassist
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery
http://www.cynthiamorgan.com

"I wrote, therefore I was." (me)
KarunaS
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Re: Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

Post by KarunaS »

Carol Carson wrote:Karuna,

Finally I let it cure for about a week before I tried hanging. It's been hanging for over a year now. So the silicone can work.
I am interested in the glue you used though, can you tell me why you chose it and how expensive it is?

w.
Hi Carol,

I picked the Devcon 5 minute Epoxy because it comes in clear and said on the package that it is best on rigid material; also because it didn't specifically exclude any particular plastic. I paid a little over $5 at the hardware store for 25ml 2 part epoxy.

Looking back at what I did with the silicone, the problem may have been that I didn't sand the cleat and glass prior to application and even though I applied in dots, once I put pressure on the cleats I had a solid layer of silicone...that combined with not letting it cure long enough... Live and learn! The epoxy seems to be doing the job though.
KarunaS
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Re: Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

Post by KarunaS »

Morganica wrote:And sorry I didn't see this, either, Karuna. I've been using a two-part UV epoxy on these, and am looking right now at three 8-pound pieces I cleated up maybe 4 years ago, still hanging on my office wall. I used Loctite Impruv 349 for those (http://www.amazon.com/Loctite-Impruv-Li ... B005TPGT4M) and instead of the incredibly expensive UV cure light Loctite recommends, I bought a Feit UV bulb and stuck it in an old desk lamp. More details here:
http://www.morganica.com/bloggery/2010/ ... y-remover/
Hi Cynthia,

I will try the Loctite UV epoxy if I make more of the wall tiles. Would you think that the 2 part UV epoxy is far superior and reliable than a regular 2 part epoxy?

Enjoyed reading the blog entry too...you just have so much wonderful information on that blog! Thank you.
Judith Andre
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Re: Adhesive for acrylic French cleats - update

Post by Judith Andre »

I have been using Dap brand silicone for years with no failures. I am not a fan of epoxy as I have had failures with it, especially after several years. If you use epoxy use the slow set kind. I used to use french cleats, but now use extruded square tubing that I cut to the desired length and drill a key hole type hole in for hanging. I use a keyhole drill bit on a Dremel drill press. This works great for hanging in a gallery setting that has plywood behind the drywall as I can just use a nail to hang. For more permanent hanging on drywall I would use a screw with plug if necessary.
Judith
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