SuperGlue on Polystyrene Mouldings? There's gotta be another kind....

[FrameItEtc]

:confused: Questions to anyone who has experience with joining polystyrene moulding. Besides the $4.00/ounce glue designed for polystyrene mouldings, what else can be used? (Plastic pipe glue... maybe? I have NO idea... yet, but i will experiment... lol) I "might"(1/10 chance so far)start stocking 10 polystyrene mouldings, ALL at least 2 1/2 wide. What are the "does" and "dont's" about polystyrene mouldings? Thanks for any info.
(I will use an underpinner.)

[ 03-26-2003, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: FrameItEtc ]

[Woodshaper]

Most suppliers who stock polystyrene moulding also sell acrylic cement made specifically for use with these mouldings.

[Alan Beitz CPF MPFQ]

We use a few synthetic mouldings and have found the only problem with joining is that if you underpin too close to the back corner, the joint will have a tendency to open a little. This appears to be caused by the fact that timber has a grain which will accept the wedging effect of V/nails while the synthetic moulding, being a solid mass will just expand that little bit. I don't put a V/nail within 3/8" of the outside corner and have had no problems. As for the adhesive, I've been using one reccomended by our supplier but I'm not overly happy with it and am looking for something better.
Best of luck :cool: Alan :cool:

[Jim Miller]

Originally posted by FrameItEtc:
...Besides the $4.00/ounce glue designed for polystyrene mouldings, what else can be used?We use cyanoacrylate (super glue) gel, which we buy from a local woodworkers' store. I think it's more than $4.00/ounce, but who cares? The small bottle lasts through more than a hundred frames. We chop (Morso), saw (very quickly), and v-nail the corners, just like wood.

All costs considered, polystyrene mouldings are the most profitable products we sell. We mark them up 8 to 15 x length cost, which is still at least 20% below a comparable wood moulding.

[Framing Goddess]

We have used pva glue and v-nails with much success. And no joint failure. fwiw.... (haven't built one in a coupla years, though)

Jim, do you sell these to your regular retail customers?

edie the isitspringyet goddess

[MatFramer]

The best glue that I have found is the new glue gun from 3M. It has a special adhesive for the polystyrene. It works really great. The problem is that you have to use the whole tube almost right away because it sets up quickly. I hope 3M improves the glue soon.

I am going to see if I can find some of that super glue. However, the distributor does have a small tube for $16.00.

I am becoming fonder and fonder of those new polystyrene frames.

[artist]

I got a glue from a distributer sales persom a while back - Weld-on #16 for acrylic sheet- It works great on just about any plastic. Don't know who sells it , but you might contact IPS Corporation - P.O. Box379 - Gardena,CA 90248
(about $5.00 per tube- 5 oz.)

[B. Newman]

The stuff we use is called "PlastiBond". It comes in a one oz bottle. We get it from our local supplier. Yeah, it is expensive, but they told us to keep in the refrigerator when we're not using it. I've had a bottle well over a year now. ("A little dab'll do ya")

I've used it on other stuff besides the moulding, too. I glued a broken figurene and you couldn't even see the seam, and some leather. But beware, it will bond skin as well!

Betty

[Jim Miller]

Originally posted by Framing Goddess:
Jim, do you sell these to your regular retail customers? Sure do. We don't push the plastics over any other mouldings, and we don't talk about the price advantage until AFTER the customer's selection is made. That is, when they choose the plastic moulding, they don't know it costs less. That's because we don't sell low price, we sell high value. I would not sacrifice my company's image & reputation for any reason. The plastic mouldings we offer are made as well as many wood mouldings, and represent an excellent value. No warping, no blemishes, consistent finishes, consistent cutting/joining characteristics, preservation-friendly.

Plastic mouldings might be a fun new topic. Let's see.

[MerpsMom]

Jim, do you have just one or two main sources for your plastics? Is it Emafyl? We use it when the customer needs a price break on a project: it doesn't impact our bottom line but it helps theirs. We sell it for what it is, but if a client knows what it is, they're okay with it. And we never use the "P" word. smile.gif

Cathie

[FrameItEtc]

Above, I asked,

"Besides the $4.00/ounce glue designed for polystyrene mouldings, what else can be used?"

Well, a couple of days ago, i had an idea and it WORKED! What i used to join corner samples together dries VERY fast, almost as fast as a type of "SuperGlue" and holds just as strong and is VERY inexpensive stuff. It is the kind of glue that i never did care for except for gluing cardboard or paper. This type of glue you can purchase almost anywhere. Figured out what kind of glue i am talking about? Other hints: It is inserting in a gun. You plug it in and let it warm up. Give up? It is the GLUE GUN which uses GLUESTICKS! Try it! You won't believe how strong it is. The trick to it is to apply a thin line of the glue to one corner, clamp in together using your v-nainer, and, just like wood, you don't have to wait for it to dry, just v-nail it. To be convinced that the glue DOES work, use it with, or without the clamp on your v-nailer and don't v-nail it together. Now, the only thing you might dislike about heat glue is that "it dries so fast, i only have a couple of seconds before the glue dries or it will leave a crack in the frame joint". Yes, you are correct, but, you CAN use gluesticks that take a little longer to set... about 30 seconds compared to 15 seconds. I tried the glue that takes 30 seconds, and, using my v-nailer, i can apply the glue and v-nail the joint without loosing any time. After doing this, I tried to break the corner pieces apart and it was almost impossible, so i know it DOES works. GIVE IT A TRY WITH THE REGULAR TYPE GLUESTICKS FIRST...YOU WILL BE CONVINCED. THEN, IF YOU LIKE THE WAY IT WORKS, SPEND A FEW BUCKS FOR THE SLOWER SETTING GLUESTICKS. Try it, experiment with it on scrap pieces and let me know what you think. I don't even sell polystyrene mouldings yet, but i plan to do so by the end of August of this year. ajh

(Oh, I put just a little too much glue on a joint on purpose and i was able to simply peel the excess off the moulding without damage to the moulding..)

[ 04-26-2003, 09:12 AM: Message edited by: FrameItEtc ]

[Jim Miller]

OK, if you're willing to wait for a hotmelt glue gun to warm up, then you should try the 3M Mini-Weld system.

It works like hotmelt and dries like epoxy. I have never seen any glue work as well on frames -- all woods and plastics. There are three types of glue for the system.

Mini-Weld's "open time" is greater than most ordinary hotmelt glues, so there's time to v-nail or clamp the corner after applying the glue. It begins to solidify in just a few minutes, to the consistency of warm candle wax. When it is solid, you can easily chip away whatever oozed out of the joint, without damaging the frame's finish.

There's at least one thread about Mini-Weld in the archives.

[FrameItEtc]

A while back this topic was brought up, like you said... in the archives.

http://thegrumble.com/cgibin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=002544

I was never interested in 3M Mini-Weld system because of the dangers and the high cost...$7 to $9 bucks for a few ounces?... it just doesn't pay. ajh

(The heat glue i use is in a gun that heats us in just a couple of minutes.)