Adhesive Advice Required (Macbook)

Correction:

After closer inspection, I think the plastic frame is more likely to be ABS.

To find your adhesive, go to your local auto parts store. They should have a good selection of adhesives that meet your criteria. Good luck

With all due respect, I would tend to think that luck has nothing to do with it, and it's a basic question of alternative choices:

It's obvious that any glue of some kind, wouldn't change the computer's number-crunching abilities, and it just might be possible, that the bent ABS is not curable anyway.

Then the options are: keep working with it as-is, replace the computer, or replace the wife.

Replacing a wife, in general, is a much more expensive choice than replacing the computer, even when it comes to an Apple computer, albeit an old Apple computer is somewhat cheaper.

How old is the wife ?

Just kidding...

Nylon or derlin would be tough to bond. Probably is ABS.

I would think an epoxy would be a good choice. I use JB Quick or JB Weld as a generic epoxy.

Surface prep is important. You should sand both mating surfaces so that the epoxy has some tooth to adhere to and then clean thoroughly to remove any contamination and remove any oils. I like acetone, but that may attack the plastic, so isopropyl alcohol would be a good choice.

Hi AH,

Thanks for the advice. JB Weld is not readily available in the UK but I have managed to find a local auto-accessories shop that stocks it. I will give it a go

FYI : JB weld do not recommend alcohol based pre-treatment - see extract lifted from their website

_{Q: What can I use as a surface cleaner before using J-B Weld?}

A: We recommend using acetone or lacquer thinner. In the absence of these two, soap and water can be used. Just be sure that the surface is completely dry before applying J-B Weld. DO NOT use alcohol, or any other "cleaner" that will leave a petroleum residue.

Thanks again for your help

It's not ABS nor nylon. More likely an alloy of polycarbonate/acrylic. ABS/nylon does not have the impact resistance for this service. If it's ABS it's readily soluble in MEK or acetone.

PC/acrylic is not either. Still, epoxy may work.

There is a website that gives recommendations for gluing various substrates. I can find it if you need it.

I seem to remember from various articles that I have read, that gluing low surface energy plastics is quite difficult. That means that the glue won't stick! I think some of them require a primer.

If the computer still computes OK, why bother with a cosmetic repair? But maybe you like the challenge.

Epoxy glues: Many people mention JB Weld--my experience with a filled JB Weld epoxy was poor. There are many generic epoxies, but I think Devcon is one of the good ones. I tend to like 2 squeezable tubes, as opposed to the ones that squirt out both components with plungers in 2 hard tubes. Reason: I use little dabs, and the plungers get stuck.

Hi Lehman 57,

Thanks for your input. I think Lynlynch was right, the plastic frame is most probably polycarbonate. I took Anonymous Hero's advice and purchased some JB weld (comes in 2 squeezable tubes) It seems to have done the trick - let's hope the bond lasts the test of time. The reason I am repairing the laptop is because I am gifting it to my mother. It has been held together with Sellotape for the last few months and I don't think it would have lasted much longer without a repair.

She has had numerous problems with her PC lateley and so I am trying to convert her to Mac.