# What will glue rubber to hard plastic or metal?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 25, 2005, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273 "2005-03-25T23:09:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Ace309](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ace309/32/1050_2.png) [@Ace309](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace309)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273/21 "2005-03-27T20:52:59Z")

</div>

Ahh, so it’s a 2005-style “[http://www.thistothat.com/](http://www.thistothat.com/)” link.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273/22 "2005-03-27T20:54:10Z")

</div>

And if you want a bond that’s not amazingly strong but quite flexible (as perhaps befits the rubber feet on a laptop) you might want to try silicone RTV (aka bathtub caulk). Clean both surfaces with acetone or alcohol before application.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Elvez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@Elvez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvez)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273/23 "2005-03-27T21:52:31Z")

</div>

Just to get a plug in for one of my favorite adhesives (we all have favorite adhesives, right?), I think [Aquaseal](http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2291) would do the job really well. It always stays a little flexible, which can be nice. It’s like silicone caulking, but much stickier.  
(It even works in Mariana’s Trench. Or it did once. Not many people know that.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273/24 "2005-03-27T21:58:55Z")

</div>

> [@Elvez](#):
>
> (It even works in Mariana’s Trench. Or it did once. Not many people know that.)

The problem is, it only worked for 20 minutes and that was 40 years ago.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Elvez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@Elvez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvez)\
**Post date:** [March 27, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273/25 "2005-03-27T22:05:36Z")

</div>

> [@danceswithcats](#):
>
> The problem is, it only worked for 20 minutes and that was 40 years ago.

:smack:

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-glue-rubber-to-hard-plastic-or-metal/296273.md?page=1)