In the plumbing industry, solvent-based PVC cements are used. However, if you need a solvent-free system, cyanoacrylates and reactive acrylics have been widely used on rigid PVC. In fact, the building industry has in recent years been using reactive acrylics for the bonding of trim pieces in house construction.

Be careful if bonding plasticized flexible PVC, however. Successful bonds can often deteriorate over time due to attack by the plasticizer. Polyurethane adhesives have shown success in bonding plasticized PVC.

Question

We are looking for a fast-curing cyanoacrylate adhesive to bond EPDM rubber grommets to a XLPE-insulated wire. This is to replace a UV-curing cyanoacrylate, because we don’t use light curing.

Answer

Any good ethyl cyanoacrylate adhesive should bond well to the EPDM. As far as the XLPE (crosslinked low-density polyethylene) is concerned, you will need to treat it with a polyolefin primer. Different chemicals are supplied by a few manufacturers, and you will need to test them to get maximum adhesion. An alternative procedure is to perform plasma treatment of the XLPE prior to bonding.
 

Any views or opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent those of ASI, its staff, Editorial Advisory Board or BNP Media.