Acrylic bonding question.

[LukeOscar]

I am in the process of building a sump and tank using cast acrylic. i used methylene chloride for bonding the sump. overall it turned out decent. couple small bubbles in the seams but nothing major. i used sci-grip 16 for the baffles.

here's my question. the baffle seams turned out just as good if not better as far as clarity and bubbles is concerned. can i use the 16 for bonding the panels on the display tank or should i keep using methylene chloride? is 16 strong enough for panel bonding?

 

[wednesday13]

I am in the process of building a sump and tank using cast acrylic. i used methylene chloride for bonding the sump. overall it turned out decent. couple small bubbles in the seams but nothing major. i used sci-grip 16 for the baffles.

here's my question. the baffle seams turned out just as good if not better as far as clarity and bubbles is concerned. can i use the 16 for bonding the panels on the display tank or should i keep using methylene chloride? is 16 strong enough for panel bonding?

16 is solvent with acrylic melted into it for the thickness… this process makes it weaker than just a solvent bond. You can still use it for small applications, probably even small tanks but solvent will always be stronger than 16. I wouldn’t build a tank out of 16 personally. Thats not saying u can’t tho. Its probably fine for tanks built with 1/4” material or a sump where its only half full. If ur good enough with solvent i wouldn’t choose to use 16 over it unless u absolutely had to for some reason. 16 “looks” to come out good, but it is also brittle. IME ive had 16 fail after time where solvent or weld on 40 does not. U can check out the weld on website for the actual material strengths and psi ratings for each glue. In order of strength its goes #40, #3 or #4 solvent, then #16…

 

[LukeOscar]

16 is solvent with acrylic melted into it for the thickness… this process makes it weaker than just a solvent bond. You can still use it for small applications, probably even small tanks but solvent will always be stronger than 16. I wouldn’t build a tank out of 16 personally. Thats not saying u can’t tho. Its probably fine for tanks built with 1/4” material or a sump where its only half full. If ur good enough with solvent i wouldn’t choose to use 16 over it unless u absolutely had to for some reason. 16 “looks” to come out good, but it is also brittle. IME ive had 16 fail after time where solvent or weld on 40 does not. U can check out the weld on website for the actual material strengths and psi ratings for each glue. In order of strength its goes #40, #3 or #4 solvent, then #16…

fair enough. im going to keep using the methylene chloride for the seams then.

 

[wednesday13]

fair enough. im going to keep using the methylene chloride for the seams then.

Smart choice IMO… some people love #16 and stand behind it. Im on the other side tho lol… Only time ive had it really “last” is on non load bearing repairs like patching over bulkhead holes on upper tank walls or using it over top of solvent work for extra assurance. You can use #40 for tank construction like #16. Just have to mix it up and put it in disposable bottles or larger syringes.