Its always a debate with which glue to choose...have u ever used the solvent #4 or any of the other weld on products before? U could get away with the #4 in 1/2" material but it takes a bit of practice to get ur technique down to make no bubbles or dry spots. If u have scraps available its worth a shot to practice with #4 and see if u feel confident enough to make a crystal clear seam. The #4 is the cheapest. Some members use #16 and the pin method but im only a fan of #16 for minor repairs myself. The #40 is by far the strongest but it is also messy. Practicing with #40 can get expensive and u only have around 20min before ur batch starts to heat up and harden. Any #40 you get on the material is there for good unless u sand/buff it off so u have to be careful and quick if u try and wipe anything off. When building with 40 you have to do a few pieces at a time (sides,all sides to bottom, top) rather than just clamping and taping the acrylic together all at once and shooting #4. #42 resembles the loctite brand 2 part epoxy and it mixes for u as u squirt it out. If u can locate the #42 for a reasonable price it may be ur best bet to be confident and make a clean product. A gallon of #40 runs around $100-150 and will be more than enough to put the whole thing together, tip and pour the inside seams and have some left for practice or other projects. Hope my jabber makes some sense lol, ive used all the products myself and its still hard to deciede for certain jobs. If i was building it id use #40, try to keep it clean and do no final buffing. The correct/professional way is to use #40 than completly buff out all ur mistakes and overspills but i am both lazy and not that knowledgable about the whole buffing aspect as theres several ways to do that too. Buffing alone is a project in itself, i am lazy so i flame polish my acrylic edges so there not sharp and deal with looking at whatever i spill as its still clear. My local acrylic shop uses #42 exclusively for everything they make, i think it has alot to do with convience tho. If i had to turn out alot of product every day mixing #40 and using #4 with messes of bottles/applicators would get old real quick. Feel free to p.m. me im always glad to share my experiences with acrylic.
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