Gluing ABS? Acetone or Methyl Ethyl Ketone(MEK)?

[crowe-t]

What works best for bonding ABS, Acetone or Methyl Ethyl Ketone(MEK)?

[Snake45]

Dunno about acetone, but MEK-based cements won't work. You need something with methylene chloride. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

55 minutes ago, crowe-t said:

What works best for bonding ABS, Acetone or Methyl Ethyl Ketone(MEK)?

 

22 minutes ago, Snake45 said:

Dunno about acetone, but MEK-based cements won't work. You need something with methylene chloride. 

 Yup. Plastruct Bondene (active ingredient on label is dichloromethane, same as methylene chloride) is labeled for bonding ABS.

 

[SfanGoch]

Like Rich and Bill said. Instead of Bondene, which comes in 2 Fl.oz bottles, you can get a pint can of Sci-Grip 4/Weld-On 3 for as little as eleven bucks, the cost of two bottles of Bondene.

[crowe-t]

I tried Acetone and it works well.  I did order some Bondene and sheet ABS to add some support.  This is actually an ABS plastic cover for a door of a microwave oven.  It says it's ABS on the backside.

[peteski]

I seen this question in the truck section. Any solvent glue which bonds (dissolves) Polystyrene, will also bond ABS (  Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene which is simply another styrene flavor).  Nothing special about ABS.  Of course non-solvent glues like Epoxy or CA will also bond ABS (not not weld like solvent cements do).

Actually some newer plastic model kits are molded from ABS nowadays.  No magic, no mystery.

[935k3]

This is Plastruct for ABS, look for the orange label

 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

9 hours ago, 935k3 said:

This is Plastruct for ABS, look for the orange label

Hmmmmm...why do you suppose Plastruct specifically labels the white-label Bondene for ABS then?

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[peteski]

All those various liquid cements (which bond those plastics by melting and welding them together) will work just fine.  I suspect that (since they weld the plastic) the bond strength is pretty much identical (or the difference is negligible).

[Ace-Garageguy]

13 minutes ago, peteski said:

All those various liquid cements (which bond those plastics by melting and welding them together) will work just fine.  I suspect that (since they weld the plastic) the bond strength is pretty much identical (or the difference is negligible).

Actually, the acrylonitrile and butadiene components of ABS affect its properties, including solvent resistance, relative to "styrene". ABS is, in general, more resistant to solvents than straight "styrene". There are many grades, different formulations, of ABS...just as there are many grades of "styrene", and they have different amounts of the A (acrylonitrile) and B (butadiene) that tailor their specific properties.

I have some ABS that the MEK solvents will hardly touch.

Generally, as I don't have an advanced degree in organic chemistry or a lab to test the stuff with, I tend to follow the manufacturers labeling and instructions.

But hey...whatever works.

Edited March 26, 2020 by Ace-Garageguy

[peteski]

Sure Bill, there are different formulas of ABS, but in general, the type used for injection-molded model kits or architectural shapes (like Plastruct) can be bonded with most polystyrene-compatible liquid cement. And even some of the harder to work with ones will be easily bonded using methylene chloride based cements, like the one SfanGoch mentioned earlier ( Sci-Grip 4/Weld-On 3 ).

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 minutes ago, peteski said:

...And even some of the harder to work with ones will be easily bonded using methylene chloride based cements, like the one SfanGoch mentioned earlier ( Sci-Grip 4/Weld-On 3 ).

Which is the active chemical in Bondene, and is labeled as such.

The orange-label Plastruct cement is MEK, methyl ethyl ketone, and may or may not bond engineering-grade ABS. The op's reference to the part in question mentions it being the cover for the door of a microwave.