Gluing acrylics problem, *

I'm new to fabricating acrylics. I use Weld-on #3 for gluing pieces
together. I'm having a problem with tiny bubbles in the joints. Not the
larger one from poor fitting pieces. These appear to be .25mm in size. My
joints don't look bad from a distance, but up close, I can see these
bubbles. Since I work with acrylics, I notice other work in stores and such
and see that non perfect joints are the norm. Some look downright ugly.
Perhaps I'm over reacting to the small bubbles I do get.

Another effect I see in my work and in other work is a white spots that
appear in the joints. They seem to appear weeks after the joint was made.

Weld-on 3 is fast drying and water thin, I was considering a slower drying
water thin solvent if that works better. (I use capillary action for
gluing.). Is that the way to go?

Thanks for any tips.
BG

Hi BG,

Can't help with your glue problem but would like to connect with anyone working with glass and acrylics. I am a custom woodworker and have in the past few years begun to use glass in my projects. most recently I am trying to combine glass sheets and acrylic rod to create a handrail for an exterior deck. I am currently looking for suppliers , info on tooling techniques and gluing in general (specifically bonding glass to acrylics. Other chat forums would also be of interest.
Good luck with your glue problems.
papa

Try to use some epoxide resin, not the solvent glue. The epoxide resin would require the surface treatment of acrylics to increase the adhesion, though.

Unfortunately capillary type solvents such as ethylene-di-chloride or methylene-cloride will produce the effects you speak of. A thickened acrylic cement will solve those problems but do not exhibit the capillary induction and so must be put on the acrylic before positioning. Putting the glue on one piece only works better than on both pieces.