What’s Best adhesive for Anodized Aluminum

[Chuck E Ducky]

So I have a few projects I need a good adhesive for.

I need to Glue a few barrels together and reset a glued stock Class fed to a body.

Anyone have any recommendations on a product? All the pieces never have to come apart. I would like a product thats easy to clean up and won’t harm Ano but will hold up to the Paintball oils and temperature fluctuations. I don’t mind spending more money to get a quality product.

Anyone have any recommendations?

[Brandon]

Jb weld works on all kinds of things.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I was thinking JB weld and I have used it before.

[netsurferdude2]

I would also say JB weld but make sure to rough up the surfaces a little before sticking them

[Grendel]

I use PC7 to glue barrels together I like that PC7 has some thickness to it. I still take some sandpaper to the "glue" area then clean off with tack cloth then alcohol.

I mask the barrel front with masking and I carefully apply wax to the inside of the barrel/back where it in not being glued just incase there is some squeeze out. I happen to have masking/molding wax made for epoxy because I do some epoxy molding on the side so that is what I use but any car wax and masking will work for JB Weld or PC7. Usually you only have to worry about squeeze out with the thinner 2 part epoxy. An 2 part epoxy paste works will without drip worry you have with the more liquid ones.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Yeah I got a few of those Dye UL barrels to do we got from you and my Carter Duck feed needs to be epoxied back on. It wiggles a bit and I don’t want it to fall off and mess the original ano up. I have seen people weld them on but I want to keep it original since it’s mint.

[Grendel]

I use a teflon tube turned down to fix those barrel fronts and backs to hold them straight that runs over a straight threaded rod that I use a washer and nut to put some light clamping pressure.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Yeah I was planning on making a Jig. Maybe spin it in my lathe to make sure it’s all true.

[Frmrspec]

figure just about any epoxy adhesive would work but I've used Gorilla glue epoxy and mount it between centers in my lathe with an indicator checking runout

[SignOfZeta]

At work we use this stuff called Plexus that is a two-part epoxy that mixes itself in the disposable nozzles you buy with the applicator gun. You can chuck the nozzle after a job and the actual product stays fresh. At the moment this is my favorite way to glue dissimilar materials together. I can’t say that it’s stronger than JB Kwick but it sure is easier to use…and reuse a month later.

BTW, gluing anodized metal is really just gluing to the anodizing itself. That will be the limiting factor of any bond with any glue you chose. For max success ideally the anodizing would be stripped.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I’m going to very carefully ruff up the surface for better adhesion. It’s all hidden so should not be a cosmetic issue.

[cougar20th]

depends on how permanent you want it.

There's a whole industry for adhesives. Industrial stuff. You may be able to contact a industrial adhesive distribution company. If they will talk to you. I will ask at work who we suggest if we do.

I know there's plenty of autobody "panel bonding" adhesives. These are what shops use to do alot of repairs now instead of welding. You have destroy the panel and grind the adhesive away if you misalign it.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Anyone know what Carter used to bond his feeds to his bodies?

Im thinking it’s like a JB or PC7 type two part epoxy. Maybe I will try it on something I got laying around to see how it reacts to Ano. I don’t want to put to much on have it mess up the bore of the barrels or discolor the Ano on my Duck.

[Grendel]

All I know is old Smart Parts barrels appeared to be glued with some type of PV glue, they are actually pretty easy to take apart.

I use PC-7 because I know I can use "Aircraft Stripper" to break it down and with time break the bond if needed. "Aircraft Stripper" does not harm anodization. Another thing you can do to help break down common epoxy is mineral spirits but I find Aircraft Stripper work better/quicker.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I think that’s the ticket then.

[cougar20th]

So the supply place we used to use doesn't exist anymore.

So I looked up adhesives in a tradshow supplier book i got earlier this year

[SR_matt]

The biggest thing really is going to be prep. if you don't have any tooth on the sub straight then even a really high bond adhesive isnt going to hold over time, same for it being clean.

I dont have any direct suggestions but like wasn't mentioned you can call some of the big adhesive manufacturers and they will get you with an applications person. I know loctite is great for that kind of stuff. When I called them up about a UV glue for glass the woman was able to pull up all sorts of technical data with yield strengths. But she was very confused as they didnt have one for the adhesive I was asking about... because the sheet only said that the glass broke before the adhesive did at 10 or 20 thousand pounds of tensile strength.

If its a really nice tight fit you may be able to get away with green wicking loctite, but it needs to be a pretty small tolerance.

[Grendel]

The Dye Barrels that Chuck E Ducky is needing to glue are the Dye UL Phantom Barrels and they actually have a pretty loose fit so need something with a little thickness to fill the void. This is the reason I use PC-7 as I can control the thickness without getting a lot of excess and fill the voids.

[SR_matt]

Ah fair, I assumed there was probably some notable gap but I had never had one of the glued barrels apart to know first hand.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I ordered some PC7 going to orientate it in my lathe. Thanks MCB Smarty Pants…

[k_obeastly]

I have an old phantom boomstick. I used to have a j&j ceramic tip glued in. Not aluminum to aluminum but super glue held it fine. No idea for gluing a feed on .

[flyweightnate]

3m VHB tape. It's about 200lbs per square inch, and comes a thin as .016".

[Tarsun2]

3m 5200 has a cult like following in the marine world. idk if it'd give you any structural rigidity though.
Lexel is awesome stuff. takes forever to cure through. (a few days). it almost shrinks as it dries and has some structural rigidity to it.
2 part epoxy's are great since they "cure" rather than "dry". form a strong bond, most can be sanded, harden quickly, and are overall pretty strong.
Gorilla glue foams up when it drys and might cause alignment issues.
automotive weather stripping adhesive is cool. dries quick, and has some rigidity to it.
3m has tons of products out there. maybe give them a call; chances are, someone has inquired about connecting two pieces of anno'd aluminum together before.

[Tarsun2]

i was kind of curious.
this is what a CNC forum recommended when someone asked about al to al. even though its sold as a glass adhesive.

Locktite E-30-CL