Polymers, whether nylon, the poly-plastics of the 60’s (polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, and the ubiquitous polyester), or the newer incarnations of polymers and copolymers, such as; Teflon®, Delrin®, ABS (a co-polymer) and the UHMW’s, can’t be glued or bonded by using over-the-counter CA’s, or epoxies.   The reason?  Polymers gain their strength (and their shiny appearance) because they bond to themselves, so there’s nothing for a glue or epoxy to “grab” onto. 

Tech-Bond’s Poly Prep (PP) is an adhesion promoter that enables these space-age materials to be bonded (glued).  Our PP solution etches the surface of the material while also “opening up” the surface polymers of the material.  Once the surface is primed, Tech-Bond™ Bonding Agents or other premium CA’s serve as monomers and will bond with these materials, either the polymers to themselves or to another substrate. 

Epoxies will NOT work on polymers even after these surfaces have been primed with an adhesion promoter.   If desired, a Tech-Bond™ Bonding Agent can be applied to a treated polymer, after which an epoxy can be applied to the Bonding Agent.  Another solution that engineering firms have used to resolve problematic issues is to use both the thicker viscosity, Tech-Bond™ Black label and the thinner Tech-Bond™ Blue label together in combination as a solution when working with polymers.  

Examples of common items made with polymers

Polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, polyester:  cell phones, cameras, computers, printers, eye glass frames, dentures, plastics on cars, motorcycles, ATV’s, power tools, X boxes, knobs on kitchen appliances, plastics found in farm machinery, plus the plastics in radio control helicopters, storage bins, etc.

Silicone rubber:  Silicone is a highly durable material which normally can’t be bonded.  Silicone is common in marine applications, like wet suits, diving suits, etc.  For the younger generation, silicone is the rubbery coating on cell phone.

UHMW’s, Nylon, Delrin®, Teflon®:  Very durable materials for their weight and are becoming common in manufacturing, hobbies (model engineering, model railroading, radio control, cars, boats, etc., woodworking, and others, plumbing and industrial applications.