I remember darkknight and his crossover mod used two pieces of plexi one clear one blue (if I remember correctly). I'm making those signing books for my little cousin's sweet 16 in a similar way. I'm going to have her name airbrushed on acrylic but I would like to cover the (EXPENSIVE) artwork with a clear sheet to protect it.

So my questions are:
1. What type of glue was used to keep the two pieces together? The two acrylic sheets are both clear with the artwork between so the glue must dry completely clear and not damage the paint.
2. What glue should I use to attach the metal hinges (zinc I believe) to the acrylic cover?


Thanks for the help! I know this isn't really electronics but I know that many of you work with these materials and should know best.

 

If allowed to dry without contact with air, cyanoacrylates (Superglue) will do as you ask. The trick is getting the glue ONLY in the seam of the two jooined pieces. Do not touch the plastic with your bare hands as the glue will stick to your fingers' oils and leave unsightly white marks all over the place.

I have a small bottle of Krazy Glue that uses a brush... that stuff is thin enough to go on without bubbles, but you can't do a very large area before it starts to dry out. In that case, you would paint the edge of a piece and stick it down. Using a jig to do all of this is best... you only get one shot.

Goop also works well, but the trick with THAT stuff is it's damn near impossible to get a quality bead without air bubble in it.

You need a very liquidy glue for the best results without air bubbles

 

Take at look here for hinges http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/category.php?bid=12& They offer Plexi hinges that would be better then zinc.

They also offer a glue for plexi that is more of a solvent. It chemically welds the plastic together. This is how the make large scale fish tanks and the like.

 

I looked everywhere for those plastic hinges! Thanks man. Great site.

Wouldn't a solvent type of glue just melt the artwork away? Do you think if I just bond around the edge with one of their gel type glues that it would work? That way it doesn't seep in between the two sheets and I dont have to worry about the artwork. Do you think it would hold up to like 50 people passing it around and signing it? I doubt they are going to toss it around but it still needs to be able to hold fairly well.

EDIT:
Is this the right thing for what im talking about?
http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=130&

 

The glue is going to melt the artwork. I have no doubt. You should polish the sides to a nice finish then use strips to bond/hold the pieces together(almost like a picture frame. You can even use black plexi to cover the edges and hide the glue work, and then polish the frame part.

Its really not that hard. You should use WELD - ON #16 PLEXI GEL for the glue, as it will polish up nice. Its kinda sticky takes a good overnight to fully dry but once dry if you do it correctly it dry completely clear.

So by doing it this way you leave the airwork alone and if you ever wanted it out you can simply cut the edges off and its free from the plexi tomb.

If you need me to I can draw it out for you.

 

Ok let me try to explain it to see if I got this right.

With the two sheets together I should glue the edge and put a thin piece of acrylic along it? So it would actually looks like the letter "E". With the two sheets together and the one strip long the edge of the two. Is this correct?

The only problem I see is that the two sheets combine for a thickness of like .18 inches. An actual picture frame style would be nice making a "U" around the edge but it would be impossible to make a bend that precise and I have no access to a heater. I'll attempt to make a strip that would go along the edge and serve as a border of sorts. If I dont polish the edge of it and just use fine sandpaper.

 

Well if you really like the frame idea, I can tell you exactly how to do it.

 

Without access to a strip heater? How??

 

Do you own a router or table saw?

 

No but I can get access to one.