This is going to sound really weird, but I chose this forum because hobbiests and builders are always looking for new sources of building materials and techniques, I would like to use plastic coat hanger stock to construct a support structure. I'm talking about the ones you buy at wally world and others for about a dime apiece and are made with an oval or round shape to the bars or stock.
What will weld or bond this material? I tried a solvent weld solution for acrylics--absolutely nothing except I wasted my time. Next attemt was 5 min epoxy. The epoxy was old and slow to cure but didn't stick.
This project requires structural integrety at least as strong as the hanger stock itself.
What am I building? A spent brass catcher for automatic pistols. I know, I could buy one but I think I have a better design in mind.
Thanks, Steve
My guess is the hangers are made of styrene plastic. If so, any liquid styrene cement should do such as Testors or Tenax.
So I was wrong. Curiosity caused me to test my theory on one of my plastic hangers. The styrene cememt didn't make a dent. Sorry.
Many plastic coat hangers are apparently made of Polyethylene, which seems to be a bear to glue:
WikiAnswersUnfortunately Polyethylene is a long molecule with no specific functional groups anywhere along it. The molecule is also very stable, making it difficult upon which to perform chemical reactions, that would allow to parts to be truly joined. It would only be soluble in hot ethylene monomer, and even then it wouldn't really "dissolve" to where you could glue it like polystyrene in a hobby model, only swell and become gushy. If you need real strength, such as for weight bearing you're out of luck. If what you want to do is only decorative, you might be able to get satisfactory results, by roughing up both surfaces and joining them with a self-hardening material like epoxy, polyurethane glue, or even Elmer's..
So this plastic may turn out to be unsuitable for your purpose.Actually, I'm wondering if the Atlas 'Hairpin Decorative Fence' is made of this material, as it seems unaffected by the usual plastic solvents I have. Hmm, apparently there are several classes of Polyethylene (I should have known that), including PEX which is used for some plumbing application, and LDPE, used for plastic bags among other things.
I would try a construction adhesive which is compatable with plastics. Never tried it on plastic hangers, but I use PL Premium Polyurethane Construction Adhesive on lots of things around the house, from vinyl siding to linoleum to pink foam sheets on my model railroad layout. It sticks like all getout.
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"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
My guess is you won't find any glue that will be strong enough for your purpose.
I would be thinking a peice of all-thread and tack weld it.