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what adhesives and sealants can i use for cases?
Hi,
I am looking for a sealant for outdoor aluminium casings.
The cases are made from Aluminium Extrusion and we need to seal the back plate against water ingress, we will be using 6" Dualcase extrusion.
I have looked at 3M Scotch Weld DP190 for bonding the sections and trying to make the joints watertight. Does anyone have any experience in making up this type of casing?
The cases we are looking to make can be quite large at times around 3 metres x 3 metres, we are thinking of using galvanised mild steel or Aluminium for the back plates and possibly riveting the back plate to the extrusion and using the Scotch Weld to help water seal the cases.
Any advise is welcome
Darrell….
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4 Replies
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The people who manufacture lightboxes dont seal them at all, they are just riveted together. If I am making up my own boxes though I do always use a sealer on the joints. Tried a double sided tape but as I work on my own found it difficult to assemble the boxes sometimes as the tape would stick the bits together before you had them aligned properly. I now use a silicon sealant and pop rivets as I know the sealer is weather resistant and is flexible so if there is any movement while boxes are being made, transported or installed it will still be water resistant.
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I would agree with Martin above – Silicone is best to seal up your Dual-case miters, use grey or black to block light leakage. If your using Dual-case for double-sided applications continue the sealant up to the inner edge of the extrusion, water can creep along the panel retainer and seep into the box. For single-sided boxes, run a bead of sealant around the backing lip before riveting the stucco or backing sheet. The sealant gives the box added rigidity and dulls down vibration if part of the backing sheet is exposed i.e. above shutter casings. As a complete precaution run a bead of clear silicone around the face panel after installation, it’s a bitch later on if you need to service the box but it keeps out the damp and give extra security to panels especially at the dimensions your working at.
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NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! 😮 😮
Don’t seal the cases its the worst thing you can do! (hot)
Water will find its way in anywhere and the last thing you need is all that extra weight in the sign. Also water and electrics don’t mix! that is why the gear trays are riveted to the backs and not set on the bottom of the box.
I also drill small holes either end of the boxes to make sure that the water that gets in can also get out again!
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Well there you go, Mike has a lot more experience in the business than me so if Mike says don’t seal them then I would listen to what he says. Maybe thats why the likes of Universal dont seal them at all.
As for the electrics don’t worry Mike I do always mount the gear trays on the back of the box not the bottom and I do also drill a couple of small holes one at each end but I do this just in case condensation builds up in the box rather than to let any water that has leaked in back out again !!
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