Acrylic Faced Letters

[Dcsigns]

Really enjoy this forum and all the knowledge shared by like minded craftsman.

Here is my challenge and my current plan. I am looking for any guidance or insight that may prevent me from trouble down the road.

The Job: 19mm PVC letter set with a routed accent, the edges with be leafed. Faced with 1/4" black acrylic.

So, what is the best method of adhering the acrylic to the PVC. Here are my options, I have tested and the results are included in the option.

1. Silicone-I never uses silicone alone, so this option won't work because I do not want a gap between the pvc and acrylic, eliminating the VHB option. The test results were as expected. Good adhesion(mostly due to the suction effect of the silicone, but I was able to pry the face off with minimal effort.

2. Lexel-Similar results to the silicone, with a little more grip. I fear that lexel with never properly set due the lack of air flow between materials.

3-Weld-On- cannot get them apart.....my worries with the Weld On are temperature fluctuations in my area. -20-90 degrees. I also worry about over spray from my base coat on the pvc jeopardizing the chemical properties of the weld on. THIS IS THE BEST OPTION I SEE.

4. High Bond contact cement. I know this will work but only having one shot at lining everything up seems far to tedious And probe for mistakes.

Thank you in advance and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

 

[MikePro]

threaded studs, epoxy'd into the acrylic. holes through PVC where letter/stud aligns, stud goes through PVC and into wall/panel you are mounting.

 

[Dcsigns]

threaded studs, epoxy'd into the acrylic. holes through PVC where letter/stud aligns, stud goes through PVC and into wall/panel you are mounting.

Mike,

Thank you for your suggestion. I will stud the acrylic on a couple points of each letter. I still like the idea of an adhesive as well. I can not get the Weld On samples apart. I just glued up some scrap with a 4 inch over hang so I could really put some tourque on it. I even gave it some good wacks on the bench with no failure.

I am always weary with adhesive only on dissimilar material. Your suggestion of tapping the acrylic make me rest a little easier knowing there is hardware on the acrylic.

I

 

[Johnny Best]

Are you sanding or roughing up backs of acrylic and face of pvc before using Weld-On.
I have use West System SixTen with great success on this combo, acrylic / pvc.
Contact cement is not good for exterior work from my experience, also no to silicone, never tried Lexel.
Studs sound like a good idea to strart a good bond with epoxy while it sets up.

 

[Gino]

I don't think gold leaf will stick very well the edge side of pvc, unless you very carefully smooth it. It's very porous otherwise. Also, weld on is good for the scrylic, but not the best idea for pvc. While it's kinda in the same family, it's just not a good idea. I like something called AM35 or 75.

Your problem really stems from using two substrates that really aren't compatible. Can you use acylic in place of the pvc ?? That would solve all your problems

 

[Johnny Best]

Yea, you probably would be better off using Matthews gold and spraying the edges of the PVC instead of leafing them.
What kind of size are you planning to use on the edges if you do leaf them.

 

[visual800]

why dont you just order metal fabricated letters from Gemini and be done with it. that way you wont worry about adhesion of face nor a poures edge for goldleafing, that shound like what I would do. Those letters wont warp they will be lightweight and look great.

you are working with too many substrates and they really dont play nive with each other and ordering 1" acylic would kill pocketbook

 

[Dcsigns]

Yea, you probably would be better off using Matthews gold and spraying the edges of the PVC instead of leafing them.
What kind of size are you planning to use on the edges if you do leaf them.

I think painting will be the best bet as well. I have leafed pvc many times but the process is time consuming. Seal edge, prime, sand, prime, sand, then finally leaf. In this instance, since the edge is not the most dominant element of the work leafing is probably overkill. Thank you!

 

[Dcsigns]

why dont you just order metal fabricated letters from Gemini and be done with it. that way you wont worry about adhesion of face nor a poures edge for goldleafing, that shound like what I would do. Those letters wont warp they will be lightweight and look great.

you are working with too many substrates and they really dont play nive with each other and ordering 1" acylic would kill pocketbook

1" acrylic is a killer! If this wasn't family I would not use "creative" license for this experiment.

My first proposal to them was Gemi letters. After my markup they are 30% more expensive than these can be. And my margins were 20% less on top of that.

Plus in my opinion these will be far more handsome than a metal letter.

 

[Dcsigns]

why dont you just order metal fabricated letters from Gemini and be done with it. that way you wont worry about adhesion of face nor a poures edge for goldleafing, that shound like what I would do. Those letters wont warp they will be lightweight and look great.

you are working with too many substrates and they really dont play nive with each other and ordering 1" acylic would kill pocketbook

1" acrylic is a killer! If this wasn't family I would not use "creative" license for this experiment.

My first proposal to them was Gemi letters. After my markup they are 30% more expensive than these can be. And my margins were 20% less on top of that.

Plus in my opinion these will be far more handsome than a metal letter.

I have never had issue with 3/4 PVC warping if properly installed. 1/2"....no go!, but the thick stuff with proper stud placement and wall adhesion we have never had an issue.

 

[visual800]

I have never had issue with 3/4 PVC warping if properly installed. 1/2"....no go!, but the thick stuff with proper stud placement and wall adhesion we have never had an issue.

me either just wondering if the 1/4" acrylic would affecr that. I was also thinking how much easier it would be on you labor wise by sanding, sealing the edges of pvc

 

[Dcsigns]

me either just wondering if the 1/4" acrylic would affecr that. I was also thinking how much easier it would be on you labor wise by sanding, sealing the edges of pvc

Agreed. Not worth all the extra work. Think we'll just shoot em.

 

[Dcsigns]

So I really put the Weld On to the test. As the picture shows the materials have chemically welded and it took a full force whack to break off this piece.

I'm rolling with the Weld On. Thank you guys for the advice it's greatly appreciated.