I have been working on my instrument bezel and need to know what is the best glue or adhesive to use
instrument cluster repair what glue to use
- Thread starter Paul Davidson
- Start date
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QuickDart360
Well-Known Member
Body shop supply store may have the right adhesive. Maybe even a hardware store like Ace or Home Depot may have what you need. Gorilla glue has worked pretty well for me. This brand carries adhesive for different materials and seems to hold well.
circlepilot
Well-Known Member
Loctite has a plastic glue that has a heptane activator/accelerator pen to pre-soften the plastic before applying glue. Glue looks similar to cyanoacrylate gel that tower hobbies carries.
TrailBeast
AKA Mopars4us on Youtube
Watch out for that stuff or even actual "super glue" around the plastic gauge lenses.
It fogs them permanently.
RichB
CherryCuda65
What is your car year and model? I have a very good instrument bezel I would sell.
It's a 67 barracuda
69_340_GTS
Well-Known Member
See if ABS pipe cement has any effect on it (try on backside, and see if it slightly "melts" into the plastic). I'm pretty sure the plastic they used is ABS.
TrailBeast
AKA Mopars4us on Youtube
I use a few different adhesives depending on what material I have to work with.
Red RTV works well for some things, 2 part epoxy for some things, and even black 3M weatherstrip adhesive for some.
You are correct. It is ABS.
I asked a while back, good thread on it already. M.E.K. worked like a champ.
How do you glue these back on?
How do you glue these back on?
I use Devcon products and they are the best I have ever found for gluing plastics, not all plastic welder glues are the same, I've tried some from autozone and ace hardware and they didn't hold up Devcon did.
This stuff needs a gun and mixing nozzles, it's well worth the extra $
McMaster-Carr
This stuff needs a gun and mixing nozzles, it's well worth the extra $
McMaster-Carr
ir3333
Well-Known Member
abs glue or make a paste with acetone and bits of abs plastic.
69_340_GTS
Well-Known Member
But if you use ABS cement on ABS, PVC cement on PVC, Polystyrene cement on Polystyrene, etc... you get a bond very similar to a weld. All those 2-part adhesives and epoxies are good, but nothing will ever beat the correct cement that is matched to the material.
Yea you are right but your going to have a lot of slightly used tubes of glue or cans or whatever, this stuff from Devcon I got for a ABS fairing on a rare sport bike and did all the repairs and never had 1 crack, I have glued aluminum to steel, fiberglass, and never had a failure that's all I can say
it's just my experience with different glues and this stuff works great for me.
Working on my wagoneer the grill and some interior parts that turned out to be ABS. Acetone worked, especially with little scraps of plastic mixed in. ABS pipe cement worked really well on the grill. I've also tried heat welding on some nylon parts that seems to have worked.
I found these two webpages helpful:
Intro To Solvent Welding Plastic - Homemades - NerfHaven
Identify Plastics
I found these two webpages helpful:
Intro To Solvent Welding Plastic - Homemades - NerfHaven
Identify Plastics
If you plan to have this bezel rechromed, contact those who do that. Not all adhesives will comply with the rechroming process.
I build custom instrument bezels from used/damaged/butchered OEM bezels. I use a plastic welder, and I do a heck of a lot of sanding so the rechrome doesn't react or show my work.
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