Bonding Dibond to Dibond

[David Rogers]

You could use tape – but then you’ll have a gap the thickness of the tape.

When taping – I do ALL round the edges & a couple of pads in the middle to prevent bowing.

Why not use something like ‘evostik Serious Stuff’ – it’s VERY good once it goes off.

Dave

[Glenn Sharp]

I’m never 100% sure when bonding di-bond with tape

when using double sided di-bond I always scuff back to the aluminium surface & give it a good clean before applying the tape

[Warren Beard]

Thanks Dave and Glen

If I used the evostik Serious Stuff Adhesive am I safe to say that it will not damage or warp the sheets at all. I have read in some other posts that when using some adhesives it can cause the surface to warp a bit and show up in the light.

I have some VHB tape in stock so could just use that if it will be OK but could also use the evostik Serious Stuff Adhesive if I know 100% sure it will not damage the Dibond.

Thanks again guys

Warren

[Warren Beard]

sorry, little bump 😳

Just need to be 100% sure the evostik Serious Stuff Adhesive won’t damage the Dibond at all 😕

or should I do a test for myself anyway?

cheers

Warren

[Robert Lambie]

quick post…
i would say NOT to use evo-stick not until you have give it a test anyway. most strong glues will heat up, some even "smoke" when curing. i have had various glues giving me problems with dibond and the like. they cause dimpling on the face which is only seen when the sun hits it… then it does stand out! 😕
vhb will hold it no problem, but as has been said you will get thickness of the tape. that being the case go round the perimeter of the panel to make it look closed. as spaces in the tape make it more obvious. (thats if the edge of the panels can easily be seen?)

[Warren Beard]

Hi Rob

That’s that I though remembering some of your previous posts. I will go with the tape then and do as suggested around the edge, after all he wants it on top of each other for the raised effect so this will only help raise it a bit more (not stand-offs)

Thanks for the help guys

cheers

Warren

[Alistair Richards]

Why not use VHB, as well as for piece of mind a few screws, because as you were saying, 3 thicknesses of dibond =9mm, enough thickness for a few small screws.

[Warren Beard]

Hi Alistair

As you can see from the design it would be hard to hide the screws so that they did not show, I’m sure VHB tape will be enough( and I’ll use lots of it)

[Dave Harrison]

Hi warren. . my advice would be the same as robs stay well clear of any grab adhesives ( sticks like serious stuff blah blah ) for bonding of composite boards. . I learnt the hard way and killed a 10×5 sheet of brushed ali finish reynobond. .. was an expensive mistake at nearly a £100 a sheet ! 🙄

Looks like you’ll be in the market for a CNC router soon. Who are you going to sub the machining out too.. or are you going to cut by hand ?

[Warren Beard]

Hi Dave

I hear what you saying about the adhesives and thanks to this site I knew it could be a problem and this is why I thought I better ask. Glad I did so I will stick with my first thought of VHB tape.

It will be a long time before I get a cnc router as I have no space at all, maybe when I get a unit, I do love the idea of it though :lol1:

I sub my work out and am waiting for prices from SMP and someone from the boards. this is my first tray so still feeling my way around suppliers and prices.

cheers

Warren

[Martin Pearson]

I would go with VHB tape as well for a job like this, like Dave I apply round the edges and a couple of strips in between.
Make sure it is actually VHB you are using though and not another double sided tape.
One of the tapes I use is very thin so you get next to no gap in the panels, great for perfectly flat panels but absolutely no good if the two surfaces are slightly uneven. Make sure you clean both surfaces properly before applying and use a roller to apply.

As for screws although it doesn’t need it you could always use a few through the back of the panels unless you intend fitting this on site.

[Warren Beard]

Hi Martin

The tape I have is the "Starbond 6 Foamed Acrylic High Bond tape" from Grafityp. Do you know if this is the same? Or should I buy something else?

Warren

[David Rogers]

Your tape sound like a VHB. Best used in conjunction with an ‘adhesion promoter’ – or wipe down with IPA first.

In reference to ‘Evo – serious stuff’ – it’s a cold cure rubberised adhesive, a bit like ‘Tiger Seal’ – but less noxious!

It is almost completely inert as far as materials compatibility – so wont melt or deform anything.

Dave

[Ian Johnston]

quote Dave Harrison:

Hi warren. . my advice would be the same as robs stay well clear of any grab adhesives ( sticks like serious stuff blah blah ) for bonding of composite boards. . I learnt the hard way and killed a 10×5 sheet of brushed ali finish reynobond. .. was an expensive mistake at nearly a £100 a sheet ! 🙄

I have had the same problem that took a lot of money to fix,
if you want an adhesive that will not affect the dibond use "tiger Seal" or the likes from a good motortraders, it’s a polyurethane adhesive that stays totally flexiable, it’s the stuff that you can see used on your car if you lift your boot mat, used to stick car panels together.
I had to take a sheet of a sign that i had bonded to ply using it the other day. the back face layer of the dibond actually came off onto the ply. that’s how good it is 😀 just hope you are never asked to remove :lol1:

[Robert Lambie]

thats for the product info Ian, how would this stuff do with nylon locators?
i do allot of flat-cut dibond letters with locators and now very wary of these super adhesives.

[Ian Johnston]

takes a while to go off but has unreal grip. it come in a tube like gripfill or the likes. set to a rubbery texture. we normally use TA431 for locators on dibond, rough the back with a bit of 60 grit sand paper and stick them on, only ever had failure with polished chrome 4mm dibond an locators , the back is mill finish and slightly oily , give them a good buff with a table top grinder to rough them well and haven’t had any probs since.
Ian

[Robert Lambie]

cheers for the feedback Ian, i use a 3M two part adhesive… i forget the code for it but its not the cheapest. goes off pretty fast but does heat up before so… sets in about 30 minutes but doesnt completely cure for about 48hrs then its hard as plastic. as i said though, it does react with dibond and any other composit board we use.

[Martin Pearson]

Hi Warren, haven’t used it myself but as Dave has said it sounds fine, I use a 3m promoter after cleaning with IPA but just cleaning with IPA as Dave says will be fine. In actual fact the promoter has a high degree of IPA in it for cleaning anyway. When you apply it to the first panel use a roller and try not to stretch it. I normally just draw a pencil line and follow that to ensure I get a straight line.

[Warren Beard]

Hi Guys

Can I use anything else besides IPA to clean the surface? Will meths be OK?

If not could somebody tell me where to get some IPA from as I did look once before but never got anywhere and ended up just buying meths and been using that since but in this case I need to make sure it all bonds 100% 😕

Thanks

Warren

[Martin Pearson]

Warren, I buy it from an industrial chemical supplier in a 25 ltr container but I have been told by others that you can buy it in small bottles from the chemists. I would try a couple of your local chemists to see if any of them do it.

[Peter Normington]

print one sell small bottles,

500ml I think, but it does go a long way

Peter

[Lynn Normington]

print one are doing a deal at the moment £20.00 5 litres £2.50 for 500 ml

Lynn

[Warren Beard]

Thanks Martin & Peter

I’m presuming IPA then by your response is the way to go and not use meths for cleaning the dibond before applying VHB tape

I will try the chemist tomorrow and if they don’t have I will contact print one

Thanks

Warren

[Warren Beard]

quote Lynn:

print one are doing a deal at the moment £20.00 5 litres £2.50 for 500 ml

Lynn

Thanks Lynn, I think I might give them a call anyway.

Warren

[Lynn Normington]

I think from the chemist it may be more expensive !!!! they will assume you want to drink it ? it is cheaper than vodka :lol1: as for meth’s haven’t tried it I know a lot use it so it must be ok.

Lynn

[Glenn Sharp]

Warren – i would imagine your tape supplier would sell the appropriate cleaner for their product

We buy "VHB Surface Cleaner" which is an isopropanol from our tape supplier

[Graeme Harrold]

You would manage with a 1 part adhesive similar to "no more nails" They tend to be easier to work with especially compared to "Evostik" as this is a contact adhesive (used correctly you only get 1 shot at alignment). Basically the greater the surface area bonded the stronger the the completed product will be. Silicone based adhesives have a very good degradation resistance to the outside environment, easy to work with plus they will prevent water/moisture ingress between layers.