Bonding wood to perspex

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silicon may work. good epoxy - i don't like the quick set. most people just drill the perspex
 
Thanks all,

This is what I am trying to do, (Whirlpool spares want £67 plus £18 for catch plus vat, plus delivery to replace and its as fragile as a new laid egg. (freezer compartment door flap)

2012_0411perspexbond0005w.jpg
 

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It's probably not Perspex.

If it's ABS, almost nothing will stick to it or stick it together. If it's polystyrene (unexpanded), pipe cement from a plumbers merchants works (I've mended flaps,lids, etc. from our fridge that way). You'll get a better repair that way than trying to bond it to wood. You can clean up the results by carefully sanding down the glue to be level with the original material (let it set hard then go down through the paper grades), then polishing with Brasso to a fine shine.

If you really must, roughen the surface with coarse sandpaper and use a flexible version of Araldite. The bond won't be strong though, as it's only really mechanical rather than chemical.

For proper Perspex there is a very expensive glue, available from sheet stock suppliers. The traditional version was Perspex chips dissolved in Chloroform, but it has a limited shelf life and is not recommended these days.

Plan B: can you replace the whole thing in wood - it would probably last longer and be a better insulator.

E.
 
Eric's right - it wont be perspex. EMA Plastic Weld will stick styrene, ABS etc. try a good modelshop or Ebay. Reinforcing is still a good idea - salvage some similar bits of plastic and weld them across the most stressed points near the pivots.
Who's bright idea was it to call these things consumer durables ?
Matt
 
It's probably styrene.

I fixed something similar many years ago on our old freezer (now long gone).

I got hold of a 3mm perspex offcut and heat bent it usiing a heatgun and clamping around a wood former. i then stuck the whole thing to the original with sikaflex adhesive and it never moved. Sikaflex cures with moisture in the air but initial open time is very short.

Bob
 
I think a lot of these clear flaps tend to be polycarbonate...?

It will probably say on it somewhere, just a couple of letters 'PC' and a few moulding marks.
Once you know what type it is, you can choose the right adhesive.

A couple of small screws would probably do it good too.
 
J.B.Weld is very good, I fixed the rotary arm in a dishwasher with some, didn't expect it to last due to the conditions, never budged.
 
Acetone (around a £1 from Lloyds the chemist) will also stick acrylic, acrylic to wood and I'd go for epoxy - Rob
 
Ah yes, the broken fridge component...

They're almost always styrene, which is a totally unsuitable material to make such a part from, however, it's very cheap and you can scam your customers for a packet each time they break and they will break, as the material goes brittle at low temperatures and the only way to prevent this is to use plastcisers that are not food safe. Some are polycarbonate which is better but again it needs the additives that they leave out.

This is sadly what we get for demanding low-price consumer goods.

Aidan
 
I like this forum. We're not all daft as we spend our time thwarting the accountants and mending things that should not have broken. We are the sensible ones!

(And fwiw I recently mended a cracked veg drawer by using araldite to fix a big splint of polycarbonate onto it, and it's holding up fine.)

Also, I did once do a successful fridge liner mend with some superstrong special adhesive tape, designed to still work in low temperatures. Trouble is I have no recollection of what it was called or how I came to have it!
 
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