Glueing PERSPEX®: everything you need to know

It’s possible to glue PERSPEX® to a wide range of different surfaces. You can also glue acrylic sheets together, as long as you use the right adhesive. Handy if, for example, you want to make an acrylic aquarium, desk accessories or planter. In this blog, you’ll find out everything you need to know about bonding acrylic sheets together and bonding PERSPEX® to other materials, such as wood and metal.

How to bond PERSPEX® with transparent acrylic glue

Unlike when you glue wood or paper, regular glue does not work with PERSPEX® sheets because it will not adhere properly. The best glue for acrylic is a special acrylics adhesive, such as Acrifix acrylic adhesive. Glueing acrylic is more like welding than normal glueing because the glue softens the surfaces and then fuses them. Because Acrifix is watery, it will not fill in irregularities such as saw marks in the contact surfaces.

Handy tip
For accuracy, apply Acrifix via a bottle with a pin. Fill the vial and screw on the cap with the pin. Squeeze out the air from the bottle and keep squeezing as you tip the bottle over. This will stop the runny liquid glue from dripping off the pin. By slightly releasing pressure, the adhesive will stay in the bottle. If spots of glue end up where you don’t want them, don’t be tempted to wipe away the drops but wait and let them evaporate by themselves. Rubbing will create permanent marks on the PERSPEX®.

How to glue perspex with Acrifix:

• Sand the contact surfaces that you will be bonding.
• Start with a coarse grain and slowly work your way up to a fine grain (grain 400).
• Clean the areas that you are going to glue using an anti-static cleaner.
• Wipe the areas dry using a lint-free, anti-static cloth.
• Don’t forget to put on gloves and goggles.
• Make sure that the glue flows over the entire length over the two PERSPEX® sheets.
• Hold your glue connection in place while it cures with the help of wooden blocks.
• Use a square hook when positioning with a right-angle connection.
• Wait 20 minutes for the Acrifix to dissolve completely.
• Acrifix reaches its maximum strength after 24-48 hours.

When do you need to glue PERSPEX®?

There are many examples of when you might need to glue PERSPEX®. For example, when making a terrarium, tea light holder, aquarium, dust cover or propagator. You can use Acrifix to bond any type of acrylic sheet except for mirror acrylic.

Glueing mirror acrylic

Are you going to use mirror acrylic to create an acrylic pedestal? It’s a piece of cake when you use double-sided tape. For a clear explanation, take a look at our blog “IKEA Kallax hack: build an acrylic pedestal“. Another option is to transform a LACK table by attaching anthracite mirror acrylic with double-sided tape instead of adhesive.

Glueing PERSPEX® to wood

When you need to glue an acrylic sheet to another surface, for example to wood, you must take a different approach. In our blog “DIY: Making a plastic toilet ceiling“, we demonstrate how to glue a PERSPEX® sheet to a timber framework, we use both double-sided tape and High Tack adhesive to provide extra strength. This adhesive has a firm initial tack and no risk of staining.
Because we’re glueing the acrylic sheet to the ceiling on a timber frame, we use both double-sided tape and High Tack adhesive for extra strength. This adhesive offers instant tack without the risk of staining.

How to glue acrylic with High Tack adhesive

• Remove the protective film on the side of the sheet that you want to glue.
• Clean that area of the acrylic sheet using an anti-static cleaner.
• Only remove the protective foil on the front after glueing.
• Apply the adhesive and stick the sheet to the surface to be glued.
• Apply pressure to the sheet.
• The adhesive is fully cured after 24 hours.

Handy hint: Depending on the type of project, you may need to use one of the Bostik primers for optimal adhesion.