uv cured gap filling adhesive

Hi, has anyone got any good (or bad) experience of using uv cured gap-filling adhesives for general repairs on non-olefin plastics. There appear to be a vast array of cheap far-east imports on eBay and other sites but it would be useful to have a reasonably priced yet reliable general purpose uv cured gap filling adhesive for rapid repairs on non critical household items.

As I understand it there are acrylics and epoxies available, there may be more but I am struggling to find reliable evidence on any of them other than specialist engineering adhesives

Thanks in advance, Steve

For some time UV cured optical cement has been in use in the optical manufacture and spectacle lenses, particulary the type with a close up lems attached.

Prior to the UV cured optical cement Canada balsam was used that slowly yellowed with age. From what I see in the trade the UV cured cement does not yellow.

Do I assume that the question refers to the glue that comes with it's own UV light pen that is seen on t'internet, similar to dental amalgam UV hardening process ?

Geo.

Geo, not worried either way whether it has a uv light pen or not. Would just like to have other peoples experiences with non-specialised uv cured adhesives.

Steve

Steve,

Noting your mention of gap-filling [as opposed to thin film] ... Although I have no experience of using UV-cured materials; whatever it is that my Dentist uses is very effective, and that would be my baseline when searching for something suitable.

MichaelG.

Hi Michael, yes there is a product that has been developed from the stuff dentists use - called Bondic. This has mixed reviews and was my first choice when I started looking. For small jobs it looks reasonably good but refills at about £8 for a 4g cartridge it appears quite expensive. You can buy 50g from the far-east for under a fiver but I have no idea if it is any good.

Steve

I've always wondered how the light is supposed to penitrate the "gap" being bonded or filled unless it just needs that as a catalyst to start the setting process, I had a pen one given to me but not much good.

Do have it done for work bonding glass which is very good you can stick the edge of a glass shelf to a mirror and the shelf takes a good weight with no extra support but the light can get to all the adhesive through the transparent glass

Last year I landed up repairing a mobile which consisted of an acrylic plate (ca. 15 x 70 cm, 6mm thick) with a fantasy mechanism Meccano of wheels and propellers driven by a synchronous motor in the base. The mobile fell victim to some children visiting. The plate was attached/ butt jointed at the sides to two perspex columns 20mm dia and the whole lot was in a large perspex tube with a lid about 80 cm. tall in all. After the impact the columns were broken, the plate broke off the column on one side and the brass bushings glued into the plate were loose.

I used this stuff Acrifix 1r 0192 to repair it. ( https://www.acrifix.com/product/acrifix/downloads/391-20-acrifix-1r-0192-en.pdf). I used blue masking tape to protect the area around the joint and to remove excess glue after curing (there is a YouTube video on how to do this). A light source I used bright sunlight. I think a 100g tube of the stuff cost me about 10 Euro. The product description says it could also be used for polystyrene (PS) and polycarbonate (PC).

As above. I've been in the situation where I had started filling a tooth and discovered the UV light tool was u/s. It took only a tad longer to setdental products using the light guide designed to plug into an endoscope. That would have had a halogen bulb.

pgk

The cheap one Lazabond works well. Reviewed it way back, I have got through a couple of tubes, lost the UV torch, but used some the other day and just left the part by the window and when I checked a few hours later it was cured.

I used it to assemble some 3D printed toy dolls furniture and it stood up to being used by kids!

The Bondic website claims it's unique but I can't see how it differs from the other products.

When I don't need an instant bond I like the flexible, moisture-cured silicone adhesives that have become abundant recently for similar jobs (Evostik, Gorilla).

Neil

Dick, the Acrifix is an interesting adhesive but is only suitable for plastics that are soluble in methyl methacrylate as the adhesive "solvent welds" to the substrate before cross liking itself with the UV to give a hard joint.

Neil I assume you mean Lazer Bond? Having looked at it I will probably try this out. I searched for your review but could not find it - do you have further details?

From my research it appears that the bonding material itself is suitable as a gap filler when cross linked, the question mark is its adhesive properties as I have not found any review where the material actually 'bonds' to plastic substrates although it naturally bonds to semi porous materials or where a mechanical bond is possible. I also found references to degradation of the bonding material over time (moisture or uv exposure?).

Steve

Here you go:

LAZER*BOND

Recently the forum has seen a few mentions of UV activated adhesives, which are ideal for joining transparent materials but have other uses as well. The problems are that they tend to be available in large (i.e. expensive) quantities and you need a UV source to set them – the sun isn’t always available or convenient!

Enter ‘Lazer Bond’ from JML, which is intended as a consumer product but that could well have many useful applications in the workshop. It combines a neat pen-style dispenser with a little UV-LED torch on top.

The adhesive, a mix of several chemicals with very long names is a clear gel. On shining the LED at it, it moves slightly and sets firm, clear and slightly flexible with a tiny puff of vapour steam! The instructions say no more than 1mm thick and use the LED for 3-8 seconds, but I had no problems setting a slightly thicker layer in no more than a couple of seconds. This is an ideal adhesive for jobs needing more bulk than superglues, as you can build up fillets and join almost anything except greasy plastics. Lazer Bond from JML is available for £11.99 from JMLdirect.com and ‘selected stockists’.

Neil

"Take yours to the checkout now!"

Neil, out of curiosity, what were the long names in the "mix of several chemicals with very long names is a clear gel"? As a polymer chemist I´d be intrigued to known.

Long forgotten, I'm afraid and I can't find an MSDS.

I did find this negative summary 'meta-review':

tipshire.com/lazer-bond-pros-cons/

So be aware YMMV!

Neil