# How to glue plastic to glass?



## RMB (Nov 26, 2009)

I got hinges for a 29vert that I'm making from a local place (TAP Plastic), they're piano hinges, and I got a 12" and a 6" for a 19 1/2" door. The guy there told me that pure silicone won't stick to the plastic, which I've heard before, and recommended a product called "Weldit" which is supposed to stick to plastic and glass. 
So I got home, glued the knob and the hinges onto the door, waited a few hours, and tried to open it. The knob popped off first, which I was a bit worried about because of the small glue area (about 1/2" dia.). After a bit, the hinge popped off. I realized that the 6" hinge had a slightly different profile than the 12", which caused the leverage of the door opening to break the glue joint upon opening. I thought to myself, "Well that's silly, why would they have two almost but not quite identical hinges in the store, and why didn't the proprietor point that out to a person who obviously didn't know very much?" whatever, shoulda been more careful. I cut the 12" hinge in half and glued the pieces near the top and bottom of the door, this time I was more careful in cleaning the area, and I also roughed up the glass with sandpaper. This worked for a while, then, when nobody was anywhere near the tank, the door randomly fell off. 

So what do I use? Epoxy? I have plenty of silicone, but will it stick to the hinge? What have others here used? Btw, the door is 1/8" (true, not 3/32), and the tank is 1/4", the hinges are about 1.5" across when open, and they didn't have wider ones. The glue seems to stick fine to the plastic, but peels off the glass. I let it dry for at least a couple hours and it didn't seem like it was going to get any drier.


----------



## McBobs (Apr 26, 2007)

Try using a little bit of gorilla glue. It should glue the plastic to the glass easily. 

As for the stuff that you used the first time, it didnt work because you were trying to glue to glass. It is actually a chemical solvent that is used to weld plastic to plastic. The chemicals react with the plastic to chemically melt it, and then the solvents evaporate leaving two pieces of plastic welded together. This is how they make acrylic aquariums. 

-Matt


----------



## Deli (Jun 24, 2008)

Gorilla Glue. Just used to, actually, to glue dons PVC pipes to the bottom of the tank for a false bottom. Holds very well.


----------



## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

I've used a product called LEXEL in the past. Really good bond to plastic, pretty good adhesion to glass.


----------



## RMB (Nov 26, 2009)

Thanks for the replys. The Weldit stuff does say it's for glass, but I guess it just doesn't work very well. Gorilla glue does seem like it would work better, but I'm not crazy about the yellow color, as everything else is clear. Any other suggestions?


----------



## RMB (Nov 26, 2009)

Dane said:


> I've used a product called LEXEL in the past. Really good bond to plastic, pretty good adhesion to glass.


Dane, you got that in as I was typing a response. Googled it and it looks like it could work. Is that something I might find locally or would I have to order it?


----------



## jdogfunk99 (Oct 16, 2007)

Thanks for everyone's comments, the timing of this question is great for me. My acrylic handle keeps coming unglued from my glass door.


----------



## Dane (Aug 19, 2004)

RMB said:


> Dane, you got that in as I was typing a response. Googled it and it looks like it could work. Is that something I might find locally or would I have to order it?


Ace hardware generally carries it, but I haven't seen it anywhere else.


----------



## RMB (Nov 26, 2009)

Thanks, I'll hit them up.


----------



## DendroJoe (Dec 11, 2009)

What about double sided tape. They will stick to anything.


----------



## Deli (Jun 24, 2008)

Deli said:


> Gorilla Glue. Just used to, actually, to glue dons PVC pipes to the bottom of the tank for a false bottom. Holds very well.


Coincidentally, The door for my 10g vert fell off yesterday  (stupid silicone).
Slapped some Gorilla Glue last night and now its holding very nicely.


----------

