Glue problem

[Kieran]

I am having problems gluing a thin ABS plastic purfling strip to a celluloid strip. I've tried superglue (CA), epoxy, acetone and some model makers glue and none of them will provide a decent bond.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Kieran

[charles Tauber]

Isn't ABS an unusual material for purling strips?

I have no experience in gluing ABS to celluloid, but you could try ABS cement, such as used for plumbing pipes. It's usually blue, I believe, making it probably not ideal for this application.

[Kieran]

Thanks Charles, yes abs is probably somewhat unusual, I bought it because I want to sandwich the red pearl celluloid strip between the black binding and a 0.5 mm black strip on the other side. Wish I had bought some ebony purfling instead.

[charles Tauber]

If the ABS is especially smooth, perhaps roughening its surface will give the adhesive more "bite".

I usually cut my own wood purflings from sheets of veneer or, more recently, fiber sold for that purpose. The veneer I use for black purflings is usually dyed maple and purchased already dyed. It is easily cut with a straight edge and a sharp knife. I make my own bindings, as well, but, a very different process.

[Frank Ford]

If memory serves, the Weld-on ascrylic cement from Stewmac does bite into ABS. Otherwise, I'd go to the plumbing supply place and get some universal clear pipe glue - I think there's a version that sticks to both PVC and ABS.

[LouieAtienza]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

Isn't ABS an unusual material for purling strips?

I have no experience in gluing ABS to celluloid, but you could try ABS cement, such as used for plumbing pipes. It's usually blue, I believe, making it probably not ideal for this application.

The glue is actually clear. The primer/cleaner is purple, and used so inspectors can see that the joints were cleaned

[LouieAtienza]

Actually, not unusual in the electric guitar world...

[Kieran]

Cheers folks, will try the plumbers adhesive. I did try dying some veneer but I haven't been able to get the dye to soak in far enough to stop the original colour coming through when sanding.

[printer2]

Originally Posted by LouieAtienza

Actually, not unusual in the electric guitar world...

But they live in a world of their own....

[ChordWood]

Hi, Glenn here. I used to manufacture a line of snow board cores
that had ABS adhered to the sidewalls before the industry went to
cap boards. ABS is tricky, we used to wipe the abs with Iso alcohol and then flame the abs prior to adhering it to our Birch outer lamination. This flaming was designed to flash off some of the materials in the abs and provide an (open pore) to the adhesive. We had built a flamer that used propane as fuel and had a head on the delivery end that put out a flame that was designed to cover the entire surface evenly. This flaming is called a corona treatment. We then immediatly spread around 5 to 10 mils of a two component epoxy glue
that was formulated for us by some wizard chemists out on the other side of the continent. CA. We then put the blocks ( 4 inches thick x 48" long) with a side cut into our clamp racks overnight to room temp cure. Never had a boarder rip off a sidewall that I know of.

[Kieran]

Originally Posted by ChordWood

Hi, Glenn here. I used to manufacture a line of snow board cores

that had ABS adhered to the sidewalls before the industry went to

cap boards. ABS is tricky, we used to wipe the abs with Iso alcohol and then flame the abs prior to adhering it to our Birch outer lamination. This flaming was designed to flash off some of the materials in the abs and provide an (open pore) to the adhesive. We had built a flamer that used propane as fuel and had a head on the delivery end that put out a flame that was designed to cover the entire surface evenly. This flaming is called a corona treatment. We then immediatly spread around 5 to 10 mils of a two component epoxy glue

that was formulated for us by some wizard chemists out on the other side of the continent. CA. We then put the blocks ( 4 inches thick x 48" long) with a side cut into our clamp racks overnight to room temp cure. Never had a boarder rip off a sidewall that I know of.

Thanks for the detailed reply chordwood, no disrespect but I hope the plumbers muck works!

[Quickstep192]

I’ve used the FCA adhesive from LMII to glue an ABS binding to wood. It seemed to work well and says:

“This product was developed using it in combination with 14 different woods and 28 different plastics and it worked well with all. This means you can use it on oilier woods like Cocobolo with good adhesion”

[Kieran]

Thanks quickstep, I shall take a look.

[Ben-Had]

Originally Posted by Quickstep192

I’ve used the FCA adhesive from LMII to glue an ABS binding to wood. It seemed to work well and says:

“This product was developed using it in combination with 14 different woods and 28 different plastics and it worked well with all. This means you can use it on oilier woods like Cocobolo with good adhesion”

I use the same with very good results.