gluing lexan/plexiglass to wood

[wannabedivin]

After all the posting about the best glue lexan to wood, I did my own non-scientific test.  I glued scrap pieces of lexan (Optix brand from home depot) to maple and let sit.  12 hours later more or less fully cured.  After 24 hours no additional changes

I tested 5 different types of adhesive and/or sealants. 

Test 1 and 2:  I tested two types of paintable caulking.  any caulking without silicone is useless for gluing lexan to wood and did not have any adhesion

Test 3:  two part epoxy.  adhered really well, but has the shortest working type and hardens completely inflexible.  It looked like there was a slight melting factor of the lexan but I could not be sure.  Not removable

Test 4:  Pure epoxy (comes in a caulking tube)  from Lowes/home depot.  Adhered really well easy to use and long working time and after the requisite time was still rock solid adhered and the nice thing about silicone is that it still remains a little flexible if there has to be any final "persuasion" in assembly.  If it has to be removed it could be with a little work

Test 5:  I had some aqua seal left over from repairing some of my dive gear.  has the same working properties as silicone.  When it hardens it is not near as flexible as silicone but adheres really well.  It is quite expensive.  Comes in tube but no matter how good the cap is put back on, it hardens. and have to poke holes in the bottom each time for the next use.

After all this, I will be using silicone once I get done tweaking the project

[galerdude]

Glue that bonds plexiglass will not bond lexan and vice versa. As far as bonding to wood, I've not seen that be successful in the various sign shops I've worked in. Silicone will adhere to either one but the joint will not hold up to any sheering type stress. I would suggest talking with your local plastics distributor, let them know what you want to achieve and most times they can get you dialed right in.

[wannabedivin]

okay after a couple of days the silicon just peeled off both the wood and the lexan.  The 2 part epoxy and the aqua seal is still solid. 

[retired2]

okay after a couple of days the silicon just peeled off both the wood and the lexan.  The 2 part epoxy and the aqua seal is still solid.

I'm guessing the reason for your testing is to find a way to secure lexan separator walls to a wood frame.  In my build, the wall is a single continuous strip of material.  Each end is constrained by a rabbeted piece of wood.  When the plastic is cut to exactly the right length, it is forced into place and restrained by the end rabbets..  No screws or adhesive are needed.  I made the mistake of installing screws as an insurance policy.  All that would have been necessary was sealing the top and bottom edges to prevent air leaks, but not for restraint.