Best Place To Buy Weld-on? Ie Acrylic Questions

Poseidon

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 15, 2012
Location
SW Ontario
I have a cracked skimmer to repair.

I was just going to put weld-on (3 or 4?) on either side of the crack (skimmer body).

A; would that work?

B; where can i buy weld-on? (im near woodstock/tillsonburg ontario)

Another note:
My new (to me) acrylic tank is holding water just fine and the seems have minimal hazing/crazing, but i still wouldnt mind some reassurance, would it be stupid/pointless to run a bead of weldon along some of the 'rougher' parts of the seams?

Nice thing about this tank is the two front corners are rounded. So no seams are "visible"

Thanks ahead of time for the advice!
 

AdInfinitum

Super Active Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Location
Thorndale, Ontario
Weldon 3 and 4 don't fill they just melt the acrylic to weld pieces together same as using methylene chloride, they just allow more working time and add heat to give deeper weld penetration. If the cracks are not missing material you could seep the thin solvents in and let the material weld or groove the cracks and fill with new material (Weldon 40).

Applying solvents to existing seams would actually weaken them and could trigger significant crazing. If you have sketchy seams that really need to be reinforced your options are to weld some rod down the insides of the seams or tip the tank to 45 degrees and run a bead of Weldon 40 to lay pure fresh material in. This would add the most strength but would be visible although less than the silicone on a glass tank. Any welding of used acrylic that has been machined, stressed and not annealed can cause more crazing so I wouldn't do any work that is not actually necessary.
 

Pistol

Super Active Member
Donor
Joined
Aug 16, 2012
Location
Corunna
I have a cracked skimmer to repair.

I was just going to put weld-on (3 or 4?) on either side of the crack (skimmer body).

A; would that work?

B; where can i buy weld-on? (im near woodstock/tillsonburg ontario)

Another note:
My new (to me) acrylic tank is holding water just fine and the seems have minimal hazing/crazing, but i still wouldnt mind some reassurance, would it be stupid/pointless to run a bead of weldon along some of the 'rougher' parts of the seams?

Nice thing about this tank is the two front corners are rounded. So no seams are "visible"

Thanks ahead of time for the advice!
Drill a small hole at each end of the crack, that will stop the crack from advancing further and seal it with a little weld on.
 

Poseidon

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 15, 2012
Location
SW Ontario
Weldon 3 and 4 don't fill they just melt the acrylic to weld pieces together same as using methylene chloride, they just allow more working time and add heat to give deeper weld penetration. If the cracks are not missing material you could seep the thin solvents in and let the material weld or groove the cracks and fill with new material (Weldon 40).

Applying solvents to existing seams would actually weaken them and could trigger significant crazing. If you have sketchy seams that really need to be reinforced your options are to weld some rod down the insides of the seams or tip the tank to 45 degrees and run a bead of Weldon 40 to lay pure fresh material in. This would add the most strength but would be visible although less than the silicone on a glass tank. Any welding of used acrylic that has been machined, stressed and not annealed can cause more crazing so I wouldn't do any work that is not actually necessary.
i think i like this idea, i saw another post on a diff forum showing what it looked like and i was pleasantly surprise.
It would only be the bottom, and back seals and the back is blue so hardly noticeable at all.

now just to get some weldon 40


heres a link for anyone interested:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/weld-on-40-and-42.544585/
 
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