Gluing wood to styrene

[HO-Velo]

Wayne, You the Doc!  Thanks for another clear and concice tutorial.  The wax paper trick sounds good.

Regards, Peter

[doctorwayne]

If you follow the manufacturer's instructions, contact cement is probably the best choice for dissimilar materials where there are no interlocking surfaces, and it will not harm plastic.
I use Weldbond or LePages gelled contact cement, and have found that "prepping" the styrene using a solvent such as MEK improves the bond - otherwise, too much of the contact cement's solvent is drawn into the styrene, making it difficult to apply a smooth coat of cement to that surface.
Use a disposable brush of suitable width, and simply paint the gluing surface of the styrene with MEK, then coat the wood with contact cement and then the styrene - most of the MEK will have softened the surface of the styrene, and the rest will have evapourated.
Allow both surfaces to dry to the touch - the brands which I mentioned suggest a minimum of 15-20 minutes, but should be useable even if left up to an hour.  Not allowing sufficient drying time here is what damages plastic long after the work has been done, as the solvents continue to be active if they can't evapourate.
If alignment of the two surfaces is critical, wait until the suggested drying time has elapsed, then lay a sheet of waxed paper over the surface of the wood.   Add the styrene atop that, then jockey things around until everything lines-up as it should. Carefully pull the waxed paper so that one edge of the wood is just barely visible, re-align the plastic, then carefully push its edge onto the exposed edge of the wood.  The bond will be instant, so you can then begin to slide the waxed paper from beneath the styrene, following along with your free hand pressing and smoothing the styrene onto the wood as it's exposed - the idea here is to prevent trapping pockets of air between the two surfaces, as contact cement requires contact.

Wayne

[SeeYou190]

I have had excellent results with Loctite Control Gel super glue in the "blue wing" bottle.

.

-Kevin

.

[Eric White]

I've used carpenter's wood glue, the yellow stuff, to glue plastic to wood. It's stickier than white glue, and stronger too. You just have to let it dry before you try to move it around much.

Eric

[RR_Mel]

Any brand of Crafters Tacky glue works great.  I use Aleene’s Tacky glue to attach Stryene pattern brick and rock sheets for foundations.

 

 

Mel

 

Modeling the early to mid 1950s SP in HO scale since 1951

            

 

My Model Railroad   

http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/

 

Bakersfield, California

 

I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.

[dstarr]

Depends.  For low stress joints, say styrene detail parts e.g. windows to a scribed wood wall, Duco cement (cellulose cement of any manufacture is good, does not need clamping and dries fast. 

  For your application, gluing plastic brick sheet to a wood core, you can use latex acrylic caulking compound, like Phenoseal or DAP. 

  I'd be reluctant to use contact cement.  Many contact cements use agressive solvents that will warp the plastic over time.  Walther's GOO is one of them.  I think there are water based contact cements but I have never used them and have no idea how well they stick.  Also the zero working time of contact cements is daunting.  You get just one chance to assemble the parts.  The contact cement bonds hard immediately.  You don't get a chance to slide things into alignment. 

   For high stress joints, epoxy or superglue will bond, and give really good stick. 

   Styrene cement, the clear watery stuff, doesn't stick to wood at all.  PVA glues, white or yellow, bond very weakly to styrene.  Duco cement works better.

[zstripe]

Mark,

Been using Dap Weldwood contact cement for yrs. and it never harmed any plastic, using it on styrene sheets etc. Coat both surfaces, let almost dry and touch together.....will bond instantly so there is no room for placement error......just about impossible to pull apart again....so don't mess-up in placement of parts.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/DAP-Weldwood-Original-Contact-Cement-16-oz/17243980?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=335&adid=22222222227015514204&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=42978148352&wl4=pla-81470001272&wl5

Take Care! 

Frank

EDIT: The framing for this building on the walls is white pine cut on My table saw and then cut down on a smaller 2'' table saw then glued to the walls with contact cement as is the Northeastern wood scribed sheeting which is stained and glued to bottom of walls is also glued with contact cement......it is shown here painted, didn't harm any plastic:

 

[DSchmitt]

On one Forum I found recomendations for contact cement, gel type ACC, and Weld-On.  

Contact cement requires accurate placment and alignment.  You only get one chance.  Also solvents in it might melt the plastic.   

Weld-On makes a lot of products. I wasn't able to figure which one(s) were recomended. 

On another Forum epoxy and Liquid Nails are recomemded as well as ACC.

I personally would try ACC.

 

[kh25]

Im scratch building a structure and im gluing the walls to a block of plywood to form the building.

[tstage]

Mark,

What's the application?

Tom

[kh25]

Whats the best glue to use to adhere stryene to plywood?

Thank you 

Mark Kingsbury