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I am currently working on a project that would require me to glue several acrylic pieces to an acrylic base plate. The pieces would be laying flat on the base plate. The problem is that the acrylic pieces are transparent and have been laser engraved and I want to be able to see the engraving clearly, without seeing globs of glue that are between the two pieces. The laser engraving is on the back of the pieces. Does anyone have any ideas on how I can make this work?

example of engraving

This is an example of the type of engraving. The engraving is also rough to the touch.

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  • This may work: crafts.stackexchange.com/questions/384/…
    – Joanne C
    Commented Oct 26, 2016 at 20:26
  • Could you specify the depth of the engraving?
    – Oneira
    Commented Oct 27, 2016 at 6:57
  • The engraving is not very deep, it is shallow enough where I can't measure it, I tried to use super glue last night on the off chance it would work but the glue just filled the engraved area Commented Oct 27, 2016 at 13:32

2 Answers 2

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I would like to expand on EmRoBeau's answer a little. Acrylic cement is the common product used when trying to merge pieces of acrylic together. It is important to note that while it is commonly referred to as a glue it does not function as one. It is actually a solvent that fuses or welds the plastics components together.

It is really important that your pieces lie together and flat with no seems or gaps. This could also be called perfectly mated. Acrylic cement only makes a strong bond when there is no space between the merged acrylic and the actual fluid. Since you are not joining on edges since, in theory, should be of less concern as the sheets should be manufactured flat.

I would caution that you try this on progressively larger pieces though. If an incorrect amount of fluid is used it will make for a poor weld and the project would be potentially ruined.

A good primer video would be one from Tap Plastics. While it does promote a product there is more useful information beyond that.

Video thumbnail
Introduction to acrylic cement

Since the product you are working with is a chemical solvent use the proper protection measures as described on the labeling.

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There is such a thing as acrylic cement and it can be purchased on Amazon. I'm sure it can also be found in some plumbing or home improvement stores.

There is also a WikiHow on safely gluing acrylics.

It seems that the main points are to have properly prepared acrylic pieces and be in a well ventilated area when using the glue.

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