Adhesives

Adhesives

1. Contact adhesive

   • Sticks Metals and polymers; unlike materials: e.g. plastic to wood and fabric to most materials
   • Advantages
     • Able to bond unlike materials
     • Bond forms very quickly so less need for clamping
     • Ideal for glueing large sheet material
     • Sold in metal tubes for easy application
   • Disadvantages
     • Must be applied to both surfaces and some time must be allowed before they can be pushed together.
     • Relatively expensive
     • Solvent-based so contains harmful volatile compounds

2. Acrylic Cement

   • Sticks Acrylic
   • Advantages
     • Rapid bonding of acrylics
   • Disadvantages
     • Can be difficult to apply and give a neat join
     • Relatively expensive
     • Solvent based so contains harmful volatile compounds

3. Polystyrene cement

   • Sticks High impact Polystyrene (H.I.Ps) (not expanded polystyrene)
   • Advantages
     • Strong bond - melts surface of pieces to be joined and cause them to weld together.
     • Able to use brush to apply (water-like consistency) and absorbed into joint by capillary action
   • Disadvantages
     • Relatively expensive
     • Solvent based so contains harmful volatile compounds

4. Epoxy resin

   • Sticks most materials including expanded polystyrene
   • Advantages
     • High performance adhesive giving high-strength bonds
     • Chemical reaction hardens immediatley
     • Versatile - can be made flexible or rigid, transparent or opaque/ coloured, rapid or slow setting.
     • Excellent heat and chemical resistance
   • Disadvantages
     • Reaches full strength only after a few days
     • Expensive
     • Often requires manual mixing of resin and hardener, which can be messy

5. Polyvinyl acetate (PVA)

   • Advantages
     • Gives a strong joint
     • Relatively inexpensive
   • Disadvantages
     • Surfaces need to be securely clamped together for long period in order for PVA to harden
     • Generally not waterproof (athough some brands are)
   • Sticks Wood and porous materials