Adhesive for Acoustical Shell Repair

[MarshallPope]

Does anyone have a suggestion for an adhesive to reattach the formica (?) laminate to an acoustical shell that I can recommend to our TD? Several of our laminate panels are now gaffed to the walls of the shell, and a few of the ceiling panels are in storage because they have come off. (One of them fell during the night after we set up the shell last semester. We were just glad no one was under it when it came (presumably) crashing down.)

 

[Footer]

One surface is that formica laminate stuff, what is the other surface? Foam?

 

[MarshallPope]

I believe that it is some form of compressed wood. MDF? It has been a while since I have looked at it.

 

[SHARYNF]

Use contact cement. Each part needs to be coated and dry and the coats need to be SHINY (this means that there is enough cement) and then PRESSED TOGETHER. If it is a large area you might want to use some dowels to allow you to position it. Once stuck it is next to impossible to move so make sure you get it right the first time.

That said it does work quite well. Dap or 3m make the product

Sharyn

 

[Van]

I agree with Sharynf , contact cement is the proper adhesive. HOWEVER....
If you don't want a repeat of the "falling off" incident I suggest you take the time to properly prepare the surfaces. As you will be re-installing on a previously used surface, you will want to clean off as much residue from the previous installation as possible. While dry use a putty knife or light sand paper to remove any residual glue or surface roughness. Once you've removed as much 'big stuff' as possible then wipe down the surfaces with Lacquer thinner. < Please read and observe all the safety precautions that go along with the use of these HIGHLY dangerous products.> Ideally you would be replacing one piece or the other < Laminate or substrate> altogether, but since you're probably not, you'll want to go with a thicker application of Contact cement and or purchase a Thick Bodied or Rough Surface cement. This will help cover the inconsistencies of the surfaces, and make things much better.
Obviously, follow all the directions on the can of cement, Wear Gloves, wear a respirator, Wear trashy shoes and a smock, safety glasses, and do this in a well ventilated area away from any windows or other points of 'air intake'. It's not a hard project, and working with laminates can be a lot of fun but it does have risks.

 

[BrianWolfe]

Welwood's contact cement

 

[venuetech]

I would recommend that you add some sort of fastener 4-6 per panel. perhaps pop rivets
these panels were held on by contact cement before and that failed.
you really cannot expect contact cement to hold laminate overhead without a bit of help from a few fasteners. best to do all the overhead panels
use contact cement to replace fallen panels then pop rivet or secure in some manner all panels on the cloud.

 

[BrianWolfe]

...these panels were held on by contact cement before and that failed.
you really cannot expect contact cement to hold laminate overhead without a bit of help from a few fasteners.

Another possibility is that they were glued poorly. While I do prefer the addition of some sort of mechanical connection it does not follow that it cannot work with adhesive alone.

 

[venuetech]

Contact Cement is designed to hold things together, largely with the assistance of gravity. (think counter-top) Its a fine product, but this is the wrong application. I believe that the original design is at fault and cannot be trusted.

can you put 4 classes of First grade students under this and trust that a wee bit of glue alone will continue to hold this knife blade up?

it is in need of some sort of mechanical secondary support.

what did they end up doing to the King Dome in Seattle when the adhesive tiles started falling?

 

[BrianWolfe]

True but when the space shuttles heat shield tiles fell off they got a better adhesive and better techniques to apply the adhesive.

 

[venuetech]

Nothing is imposable.... given the right budget.

 

[scenerymaker]

Since this is apparently a device to reflect sound, are the individual panels flat (easy to glue) or curved (harder to glue)? How far away is the audience? Will they see some small screws or if they did, would they care? I would consider that a glue bond already failed once, and would think about additional fasteners along with the Weldwood contact adhesive.