Adhesive for Stainless Steel to Plastic?

[FergusonTE]

1) Is there an adhesive that will bond stainless to plastic?

I have had a lot of success with super glue (CA). To make sure it sticks, I roughen the two surfaces with sandpaper first, then make sure they're clean and dry. You can also use two-part epoxy, which also sticks well when you roughen the surfaces, but has a longer curing time.

2) If I purchase an appropriate piece of K&S steel, what's the best method of cutting it into strips? I have a dremel tool - a minature dewalt chop saw would be perfect :lol: I think the approx dimensions of the strips would be about 1/8+" wide by 3/4" long (or whatever the width of the steel sheet)

I'd just cut it with a hacksaw but it's not pretty unless you take your time and file or grind the cut edge smooth afterwards. If you have access to a sheet metal shop, they'd be able to chop it for you.

-mike

[turbine682]

Thanks for the info Mike,

Followed your advice with the sandpaper and some Duro Super Glue I had laying around. TEST SUCCESSFUL. That Atlas connector strip is now strongly attached to the bottom of some spare ties.

I should only need to bond one end of each steel strip to a track section. That way, the "uncoupler track" can be removed as a single piece if necessary.

All I need to do is get the steel and cut it down into the strips.

FYI, Radio Shack has those rare earth magnets for 1.89 a pair. In other posts, Kozmo mentioned that once covered with ballast, the magnets essentially disappear from sight. I have no doubts that these mags will pull through the ballast and uncouple both MTL and Accumates without a glitch.

Best,

--Ed

[tommann]

Ed;

I would love to see some pictures. I'm in the process of starting to lay track and hate the big microtrains magnets.

Thanks,
Tom.

[oroka]

I use silicone for semi-permanent stuff, a thin layer works wonders. I siliconed a dime to a key (so it would be attracted to a magnet) and I had a heck of a time getting the dime off later. For permanent items with no hope of getting it apart without breaking something, I use WeldBond... I call it my 'glue everything to everything glue'. Home depo has little boards with foam glued to glass, wood to ceramic, metal to plastic, and all combinations in between... and they encourage you to try and pry the stuff apart. It is pretty much a advanced formula of white glue.


As for magnets, computer hard drives have GREAT magnets in them, very powerful. I have a screen door that closes with 2 magnets (glued to the wood with silicone) to a metal frame... no latch or nothing, it works great! Just pop into your local computer repair shop and ask if they have any dead hard drives, and if they are nice, they will give them to you for free.

[turbine682]

Thanks for the info guys!

I would love to see some pictures. I'm in the process of starting to lay track and hate the big microtrains magnets.

Tom,

If you run a search on these forums (mainly Rolling Stock) for "rare earth magnets", or "Accumates", and enter Kozmo as the author, you will find a thread where he shows how the magnets are placed under the rails between two sections. These mags are 1/8" dia, and about the same heighth as code 80 ties so they fit right under the rail - you'll probably have to come up with an alternative if you're using code 55.

Oroka,

Thanks for the WeldBond and silcone info. Also, very interesting about HD magnets.

One thing I can mention about the Radio Shack magnets is that you really need to tweak their positioning. They do have the ability to pull an Atlas tank with Accumates off the track. Also, you have to be a little more precise with positioning your engines / cars as you are no longer working with a huge bar. Kozmo mentioned using 2 mags under each rail to give a larger working area, but like I said, the mags can pull cars off of the track - I'll try to stick with just 1.

I have a 10 pack of MTL Bettendorfs (Good deal from Fifer Hobby!) on the way so I can start converting the Rapido fleet. I'll let you know how things progress. There are several folks on this forum who have had great succes with the RS mags.

Best,

--Ed

[Bryan]

Like painting, the quality of a glue job is dependant on preparation...
Some glue types like good fitting components, where others will tolerate some gaps... some will work with smooth surfaces, but many prefer lightly roughened surfaces for better adhesion...
But the big one, is having clean and dry surfaces... dust or a blob of grease may be obvious, but the one most commonly overlooked is finger oils (body oil)... if you've touched the surface, it has finger oil on it... wipe the surfaces with an appropriate cleaner and let dry fully before gluing, then don't touch the surfaces again...
Following the manufactures instructions also helps when it comes to clamping and drying times...

[turbine682]

Moved final note to Topic: "Uncoupler track complete"

--Ed

[FergusonTE]

I neglected to mentionin an earlier post that I'm a fan of Gorilla Glue as well. That stuff is basically the same kind of stuff as the expanding foam in a can, but in liquid form. It doesn't expand much but it holds tight to a lot of things.

-mike

[uwe4877]

I am a littel late butt stainless steel is not magnetic.
Silicon is your best option. :P

[Bryan]

...stainless steel is not magnetic...

It depends on what grade of stainless steel you're talking about...
Some is, and some isn't...

[edit]
Here's a Tech Brief

[turbine682]

Hi,

I am a littel late butt stainless steel is not magnetic.

This is exactly what a senior pro at the LHS said. However, at the same time there happened to be a customer who was a metallurgy expert :!: He said that the attraction to SS depends on "something"... he mentioned numbers like 304 and 306... I can tell you that the mags are neither attracted to Atlas nickle silver rail (304 or less :?: ) nor the lugs used to connect swtich machines and selectors.

Bottom line: the K&S strip that I bought holds the RS mags in place -- big time. I think this type of SS is the 306 the expert referred to.

I am using my bashed UC tracks even as we speak :dance

--Ed

[Bryan]

Excerpts from the above link:

"All stainless steels, with the exception of the austenitic group (300 series), are strongly attracted to a magnet"

"All austenitic grades have very low magnetic permeabilities and hence show almost no response to a magnet..."

[Bryan]

... I can tell you that the mags are neither attracted to Atlas nickle silver rail (304 or less :?: ) nor the lugs used to connect swtich machines and selectors...

"Nickel-silver" rails are a nickel-zinc-copper alloy (mostly copper)...
No Stainless Steel involved...

Nickel silver alloys contain 10-25% nickel and 17-40% zinc with the remainder being copper...
They're also known as German Silver...

[uwe4877]

Interesting!
All the Stainlessteel I workt with on food processing eqipment was not
magnetic.
This was in Germany 1980's but it was not stainless they call it Rostfrei
(Rustfree)this is probably the stuff with the higher Crome and Nikel Content.

[Bryan]

...All the Stainlessteel I workt with on food processing eqipment was not magnetic...

"Food grade" stainless steel is usually 304 or 316...

[uwe4877]

Germany has a diferent system to identifey ther stainless steel the numbers wer longer and listet the % off the diverent metals in the stainless steel.
I think they have changed this now .
But I have not workt in this for 25 Years.
:roll: