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surely i'm not the only one doing this type of work...so please, if you know of a solution.....i'm up against the wall on this one folks. doing a nice piece for an art gallery that's opening next friday...part of the design is an 18" x 36" copper (16#) oval that i will patina and apply gold leaf hdu lettering... i cut my oval substrate (mdo) and coated both the copper and mdo with west system two part epoxy...applied weights and let sit 36 hrs...before i cut the copper to the oval shape i thought i should see if it really was laminated to the mdo...one hard pull on the copper and it popped right off..........would silicone work better ? after i glued the pieces together, i realized that i hadn't cleaned the copper with lacquer thinner, nor scuff it up... would that make the difference ?...i'm begging for responses on this one......thanks......vance....i might add that the mdo has a nice even coat of glue on it and the copper has none !!
posted
I've never worked copper, but I have had glue test failures like yours with other materials. You've already figured out there is no bond to the copper. Hopefully you have a small piece of copper you can test with. Cleaning the copper is a good idea. There could be a production solvent of some kind on it. If you flamed the face, then the back is probably loaded with copper oxide.
For two smooth hard dry surfaces, my first choice is 3M VHB tape. They make a thin version for trophy plates and a thick version for jobs like this. The nice thing is, you can do a test piece and check it instantly. Once you press the pieces together, that's as good as it gets, and I have never had a field failure where the test piece was solid.
As an old friend of mine used to say, I've already told you more than I know! Hope this helps you. Vic G
------------------ Victor Georgiou AnchorBlanks.com Jack Wills Clipart CD's Designs Cut to Any Size Serving the Trade Only
Posts: 1746 | From: Danville, CA , USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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posted
Vance, I would try 3M VHB tape or something of the like. I had a sales rep in a few months ago & he showed me a catalog with the tapes 3M makes & the applications they are used for. The double sided tapes look very impressive, as some are used to hold the panels on the sides of tractor trailers. Good Luck & let everyone know how it turns out!
------------------ Jeffrey P. Lang Olde Lang Signs Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 412 732-9999 oldelangsigns@msn.com
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I've glued copper to copper...it lasted 7-8 years at the top of a mast. Scuff the copper with very rough sandpaper and use a Urethane glue...Gorilla glue is perfect. hk
------------------ Howard Keiper Sales Mgr., Graphtec Benicia, Ca. keip@pacbell.net
Posts: 409 | From: Benicia, Ca., USA | Registered: Dec 1999
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Silicon might work if copper was made shiny, and there was time enough for the silicon to harden.
Best would be a mechanical hanging. If copper is thick enough you might get screws into it from backside without them showing. I would have soldered a piece, a string or a bolt of copper to it, but if it is already painted its no longer an option.
Or could you consider hanging it with four clamps/supports like the way the hung bathroom mirrors in the old days
Depend on the weight of the sign, but could you along the outline/edge of the copper put 4 nails from the back of the MDO, showing on front a little longer then the copper is thick, then just bend them up and/or in to make them support and hold. Or this combined with silicon.
Good luck,theres always a way or 5
------------------ Stein Sæther GullSkilt AS Trondheim
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thanks to all for the replies....not much time to do research, so i went with gorilla glue and it seems to have bonded........maybe i should do some tests before the next application (now there's a smart idea)........vance
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