Think pet collar material. I’m looking for the right glue to create a permanent bond – maybe something of a solvent-like nature? After seeing a recommendation on YouTube I tried Gorilla Glue, the clear liquid kind, which has some unpronounceable ingredients listed on p. 2 of this pdf, but no dice – after curing, the material ripped right apart quite handily. I want a bond so strong it’s like you melted the nylon together, but I can’t do that. Thanks.
What other requirements do you have? Flexibility, appearance, etc.? What kind of strength do you want?
If you saturate both pieces with epoxy or polyurethane resin, they’ll bond but won’t be flexible anymore.
Sewing - even hand sewing with an awl - would give the best mechanical results, if possible.
Nylon and other similar low energy plastics are inherently difficult to bond. When it is industrially necessary, techniques involving heating and other exotic treatments, followed by special primers and adhesives are required.
I’d be going with sewing if possible.
What is “pet collar material”? Nowadays collars seem to be webbing as likely as not, do you mean that? Are you sure it’s nylon? Webbing can also be polypropylene, and would need different adhesives.
Thirding the idea of sewing.
I suppose you could try some kind of acrylic or urethane adhesive (3M Scotch-Weld and so on) that says in the precis it will bond to nylon, or you could weld it together via heat like you say you do not want to try, but I too would just try sewing it together with polyamide thread—no way that is going to “rip apart quite easily”.
Have you considered hot glue?
This is for a pet collar, so flexibility is a must. I’ve thought sewing was the best way to go but I’m probably not skilled enough. The collar has a section of doubled material which the cat likes to get his paw stuck between, and I need to prevent that. (I didn’t mention the cat before now because of the pictures rule, but this is GQ so maybe I’ll get away with not having any.)
I guessed the opposite, thanks.
It is webbing, but I’m actually not positive it’s nylon. Another argument for sewing.
How would I weld it together via heat?
No, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to get a glue gun.
Thanks, all.
Warning: Remove collar from cat before attempting to glue
Also, hot-glued fabric is pretty stiff. You will not be able to un-glue it, so be sure it’s the right solution before you try it on the actual collar you want to keep.
It probably isn’t nylon. However, most plastics are hard to glue. There are some exceptions like polystyrene and pvc which can be bonded by solvents (as you say) but I doubt a woven collar would be these.
Hot glue will only work if you can get it to soak around and through the fibres so that it forms a mechanical interface. It won’t bond chemically to the plastic. However, if it were me, if I was trying for this solution I would a high flex polyurethane glue because it will be more flexible than hot melt glue, and is in my experience stickier.
Melting the surfaces together may be possible but IME it is difficult. It is difficult to get the temperature just in the butterzone between melting everything to ruin, and getting the plastic hot enough that it forms a good bond. Oh, and if you do achieve that butterzone you will probably have melted the fibres of the collar into something solid and inflexible in the area of the join.
The sewing probably doesn’t need to be neat in your situation and I still think it’s probably the best bet.
Finally, be very wary of glue manufacturer claims that their products will glue hard-to-glue plastics. There is very often a disclaimer in the fine print about the results, and correctly so.
If you can thread a needle you’re skilled enough to sew two layers of material to itself. Webbing will also be very easy to get the needle through, just go around and around a bunch of times. Sewing is very easy if you don’t care how it looks, and are willing to just “over sew” the thing by a factor of 2 or 3.
Splay the two sides apart, hold the interior sides near a candle, when they look like they’re about to catch fire (it won’t take long), put them together and press hard with a heavy flat thing that isn’t your finger.
Another option would be riveting.
That would make the cat look really tough, right?
Actually this is a really good idea. Although more expensive unless you can find someone to do it for you, given that you need a suitable riveter.
Actually if you went to a shoe repair type place they may well have the gear to put a leather style rivet in. Would only take them literally seconds, if they have the gear.
Not if it’s a pink rivet. But seriously, it doesn’t have to be a big bold chrome thing. You can get the type of thing that is more like a tiny eyelet, that would do the job (and they do come in different colours).
Ultrasonic welding is one possibility; you would need the right equipment, though.
I would try using a hot-air gun set to a specific temperature (290 C? depends on the type of nylon), testing with some scrap pieces. (But really I would try sewing first; that works for climbing harnesses.)
With this super strong tuff collar, are you concerned that if your kitty gets its collar hung up on a fence, branch, anything else it might encounter, that said kitty will be able to get free?
My son’s cat is just chipped and left to roam.
The typical safety cat collars I have seen have the breakaway mechanism in the buckle, not the webbing. Certainly that is an indispensable component; cats snag them on fences and branches all the time.
Stitching or rivets will be required. Glue won’t work well for reasons already mentioned. If you can’t rivet you can look for … don’t laugh… sex screws. Somewhere out there is a type of plastic rod you can turn into effective rivets by heating the ends of a piece of the material to make it swell up. I haven’t seen that stuff for years though.
Tandy-style quick-rivets really just need a hammer, and a hole punch or even a drill (or just something sharp to poke holes, in the case of webbing)
Knowing the type of material is important. As far as plastics go, Nylon is relatively polar and is easier to bond than non-polar plastics like PP or PE. If Nylon, both polyurethanes (Gorilla Glue) or acrylics should bond well if the Nylon does not contain a plasticizer or slippery processing aid. If using a hot glue, use a polyamide glue stick if you can find one.
If the plastic is PP or PE you are better off sewing if you can.