Solvent adhesives... why don't more people use them? - Page 14

ShawJohn · 09-29-2005, 08:58 PM

Just been to visit a customer of ours from work this week who is the worlds leading manufacturer of cash machine mouldings. Just asked my man there for some ABS pellet and he takes me into the shop, there was a pallet full of ABS Resin in sacks like conrete, stacked 4ft high, and a 200ltr drum hopper full up with like half a piece of rice sized ABS pellets

Got myself a nice little bag full for moulding in my bezel.

TIP: just pop into your local injection moulding firm, they'll either have loads and give you some, or will know somewhere cheap to pester for it

Sham-Mobile · 10-04-2005, 01:03 PM

Glad to see this thread is back alive, a couple weeks ago, I decided to follow coachreed's original instructions, and they worked awesome! I documented my ABS glue making process for others to get an idea of how to make it with visuals.

First off, I needed some supplies, I went to home depot and bought a gallon of acetone (way more than I needed for my screen molding, i recommend getting the smaller jug), and some abs cement (used it later for thinner areas to fill in). Earlier, I stopped by Target, and they had condiment bottles in the $1 section, for two bottles (ketchup and mustard). From lots of plumming my dad had donem there was extra ABS pipe laying around (says it on the side of the pipe for those who aren't sure).

My first issue was HOW do I make the shavings? I thought about using a router, or a drill, or (gulp) a hand sander, LOL. Turns out dad had a table-top planner at home, which worked PERFECT!

Pic of the pipe laying in the planner

This was pretty easy, works best with two people, one to run the pipe through the planner, and one to "catch" the flying shavings. Took a couple minutes to get enough to fill the bottle.

Closeup of the pipe after going through the planner

I would catch the shavings, and put them into a plastic box with a lid to keep them from flying off:

closeup picture of shavings

Picture of the supplies used to make the glue, I found that a funnel worked for pouring the acetone into the bottle. Also, found that it was easier to use one bottle for the glue, and pour acetone directly into the other bottle, so I could regulate the amount I poured in easier (since the gallon seemed to spill more than I wanted sometimes).

I still had my doubts about all this working, but I went along with it. I added the shavings into the bottle, poured some acetone ontop, and shook it up.

Little hard to see, but its gooey black ABS glue, yay!!!!

I made more shavings, and added more acetone to make more of it. Was a nice consistency, so I was happy.

My center console hacked up after using a dremel so it would fit the Xenarc housing.

Test fitting of the housing, the room on the sides is okay, since it will all be filled in.

(continued in next post)

Sham-Mobile · 10-04-2005, 01:04 PM

Tape dam to stop the glue from oozing out when pouring it in. I taped the front, and poured from the back. Don't forget to sand both surfaces to the bare ABS, because as I found, the Xenarc housing is actually a grey/white color, not black as shown, its just painted.

Closeup of the glue dried, just after one application, it was a solid piece that I could flex back and fourth about 10-15 degrees without any breaking.

Overall shot of the center console back.

Now for the finer areas, I used store bought Oatey's ABS Cement. I went to my local grocey store pharmacey, and got a free syringe to suck up the glue, and apply it to the areas i wanted. Also neater, and less mess. It was a thin mixture, and leaked through any holes, not a problem, because it begins to dry pretty quick, and the leaking stops soon after. Due to the thickness of the applications, it usually needed 1-2 days to harden before I added more.

After one application of the ABS Cement, i put tape over the buttons so I wouldn't get glue in there.

After it dried, it would shrink a little in size, and needed about 4-5 applications before I was satisfied.

Another shot of the back of the screen, fully glued to the console, yay!

After 4-5 more coats, it was time to sand!

Just beautiful, one complete piece, and again, you can flex it with our hands back and fourth, and no cracking or breaking.

Closeup of the two areas (where console meets screen bezel) after sanding, can't tell they were two very seperate pieces when I started. Thats like my favorite picture of the whole project, LOL.

Adding spot putty for some low spots.

And the primer

That is my project so far in the last couple weeks, right now I'm concentrating on getting the little pieces of the carputer together (its the small details that kick your ***, building the computer, getting the main components and all that is the easy part, its the specific cables and requirements thats a pain. I hope my write-up with pictures helps out someone else just as coachreed's post helped me with a new way to mold the screen and console (I orinally was going to use fiberglass and bondo, glad I tried something different).

ShawJohn · 10-04-2005, 02:52 PM

Looking good so far Sham

So how long did all that take?

Sham-Mobile · 10-05-2005, 12:01 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Tuned Vitesse

Looking good so far Sham

So how long did all that take?

Thanks Tuned Vitesse!

Took about a week from start to finish, but lots of time was spent waiting for the abs cement to dry, or the spray paint.

pardoe16V · 10-08-2005, 04:25 PM

thanks for all the info lads, i think this is the way i will be doing mine, but on the piece of dash im using its printed 'ABS + PC'. i have a bigish section of the dash i cut out to melt down with the acetone, but will acetone work if its not purly ABS?

regal · 10-11-2005, 04:26 PM

I like the idea of using Acetone and ABS Plastic but in the UK you can’t just walk into a DIY store and buy Acetone, in fact I haven’t found anyone who will sell it to you unless you are a company with the correct licence to handle it.

Is there a substitute for Acetone? I'm told nail varnish remover might work, anyone used this before.

ShawJohn · 10-11-2005, 05:08 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by regal

I like the idea of using Acetone and ABS Plastic but in the UK you can’t just walk into a DIY store and buy Acetone, in fact I haven’t found anyone who will sell it to you unless you are a company with the correct licence to handle it.

Is there a substitute for Acetone? I'm told nail varnish remover might work, anyone used this before.

Yes you can! Dulux Decorators Centre's sell it over the counter, so do most other Engineering based chemical suppliers.

Don't go looking for it in model shops and supermarkets

Nail varnish remover is vastly diluted and has fragrances and other nancy stuff for womens fingers

It may work but will take ages if it does.

ShawJohn · 10-11-2005, 05:12 PM

I have a problem now...

ABS Goo isn't melting my dash pieces that I wish to mould, if I find out what the plastic is, can I make a hybrid goo that contains two plastics, and two thinners, or will they not mix.

I can't just go to a different thinner and plastic as it won't stick to liili bezel then, or will it.

The Acetone doesn't even blemish the plastic dash parts in my Nissan 200sx, it just evaporated off the surface leaving a slight white residue, but no softening or melting...

HELP!

pdub · 10-11-2005, 05:20 PM

Great job guys, this is a great idea.

This will be the first time I am attempting to fab anything for my dash. Is there a list of products to use for this project (aside from the acetone and ABS)? Such as what was used to sand, what type of filler, putty - as in what sham mentioned to fill in the low spots, what primer will work good for this, and paint has been discussed.

Any info would help a lot, thanks again for the great idea and your help.

ShawJohn · 10-11-2005, 05:31 PM

Plastic bumper primer then pretty much any car paint on top. Texture paint top coat looks cool.
ABS Gunk for filler - just mix it thinly.
I used 240's & 360grit to remove paint from lilli, and some 1000's Wet & dry for smoothing. Just use your loaf, and get finer grit if its leaving big scratched.

Find some dash trim and try some acetone on the back of it to see if there is a reaction, as there isn't one with my car

ShawJohn · 10-11-2005, 05:44 PM

BUMP - Help me please

Sham-Mobile · 10-12-2005, 12:49 AM

Hmmmm, any idea what kinda of plastic it may be ShawJohn? Is it stamped anywhere on the dash pieces? Do a google search for the plastic of the dash of ur nissan? I just went the standard route with this, so I don't think I'm much help for hybrid projects. Have you read the whole thread, I believe there are mentions of other common types of dashes, and maybe chemicals that work to melt.

regal · 10-12-2005, 07:49 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ShawJohn

Yes you can! Dulux Decorators Centre's sell it over the counter, so do most other Engineering based chemical suppliers.

Don't go looking for it in model shops and supermarkets

Nail varnish remover is vastly diluted and has fragrances and other nancy stuff for womens fingers

It may work but will take ages if it does.

Thanks for the tip, I've found a Dulux Decorators Centre two mile away from me and will be calling later today.

Cheers M8

Scouse Monkey · 10-12-2005, 07:57 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by ShawJohn

I have a problem now...

ABS Goo isn't melting my dash pieces that I wish to mould, if I find out what the plastic is, can I make a hybrid goo that contains two plastics, and two thinners, or will they not mix.

I can't just go to a different thinner and plastic as it won't stick to liili bezel then, or will it.

The Acetone doesn't even blemish the plastic dash parts in my Nissan 200sx, it just evaporated off the surface leaving a slight white residue, but no softening or melting...

HELP!

John,

if you look on the back of the trim for a material code then give me a shout and i will have a look through my Fisher chemicals book to see if it is listed and what chemicals have some kind of reaction. maybe we can find common one to melt it.

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