Foccer font of all knowledge - Sticking acrylic

[Grahamm]

I want to create a watertight case made from clear acrylic (about 2 foot long by 2" wide by 4" high), but I'm after some advice on how to seal it.

Yes, I can buy acrylic glue,but it's ludicrously expensive (about £20 for a small container) and that would cost twice as much as the materials

Given the size of it, using some form of caulk or sealant wouldn't really be feasible because it would be very difficult to get it into the interior.


So can anyone recommend an alternative that would work?

[coffee]

I wonder if you could carefully "weld" it with a hot knife/thin scraper, I've done it with plastic but not sure about acrylic.You can get some good stuff now for cracked aquariums that's not as expensive as you were saying.

[Dudeofrude]

Disclaimer... I have no clue about any of this haha
But the first thing that springs to my mind is fish tank sealant?

https://www.sealantsandtoolsdirect.co.uk/silicones_and_sealants/aquarium_vivarium_terrarium_sealants/everbuild_aqua_mate_aquaria_aquarium_silicone_sealant_clear_aquatr_P23509.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5rq53Mqw6gIVEu7tCh0mIwYbEAQYASABEgLkRPD_BwE

Could you not use some kind of cheap generic no nails or glue then seal the entire inside with fish tank sealant?

[Grahamm]

I wonder if you could carefully "weld" it with a hot knife/thin scraper

Unfortunately that wouldn't be viable due to the length of the pieces

[Grahamm]

Could you not use some kind of cheap generic no nails or glue then seal the entire inside with fish tank sealant?

I've looked at that possibility, but I'm trying not to add extra complexity.

Thanks anyway.

[BBROWN1664]

Superglue along the entire joint length?

It should fuse the two pieces together.

[Grahamm]

Superglue along the entire joint length?

Superglue isn't good on plastics.

The "proper" acrylic glue is like a solvent which melts the plastic so it bonds as one piece, however, as mentioned above, it's ridiculously expensive.

There are potentially alternatives (eg I've seen someone online suggesting acetone), but I was wondering if anyone here had experience of using acrylic and could suggest anything else.

Thanks anyway.

[Fazian]

Solvent weld from a plumbers merchants isn't expensive but not sure if it will work on acrylic, I use it on waste pipes all the time but you have to apply then twist so it really gets spread properly so I would suggest if you use it you would have to apply to both surfaces then rub them together a couple of times.