Bob Vila Radio: Pros and Cons of Metal Adhesives
When bonding metals, your best bet, at least in some situations, may be to use nothing more complex than adhesive.
When you want to join two pieces of metal, your first impulse may be to go for a rivet or even a soldering iron. But there are alternatives to consider, one of them being metal adhesives.
Photo: fotosearch.com
Listen to BOB VILA ON METAL ADHESIVES or read the text below:
Adhesives offer several advantages. Unlike bonding methods that use heat, adhesive don’t cause metals to distort. And since there’s no heat involved, you can use an adhesive to join different pieces of metal, each with different melting points. There are a couple more positives too: Adhesives generally don’t cause discoloration, and you don’t have to pre-drill holes for fasteners.
Adhesives do have some drawbacks, however. There’s usually a bit of surface prep involved and once applied, adhesives may take quite a while before they cure to full strength. When the bond has fully cured, though, you won’t want the job of detaching the two pieces—that could be a major undertaking!
Bob Vila Radio is a 60-second home improvement radio tip of the day carried on more than 186 stations in 75 markets around the country. Click here to subscribe, so you can automatically receive each new episode as it arrives—absolutely free.
