Gluing Plastic to Vinyl

[lbperry]

I need to glue a small LED indicator to a trim panel on the dash of my truck. The indicator is some type of hard plastic and the truck trim is the typical semi-flexible type (vinyl) that you find in the dash of most automobiles today.
This adhesive would have to withstand the typical heat and vibration you find in a vehicle.
Normally my go-to would be J-B Weld but I'm not sure how well it would adhere to plastic and vinyl. The other day I picked up some Loctite Epoxy that they say is for plastics. But the instructions say it's not for nylon or flexible material.
Do any of you have any recommendations based on doing something similar.
Thanks,

 

[astroracer]

Find GOOP adhesive at Meijers or Walmart. Get the "Marine" kind if they have it. It is a silicone based adhesive which stays flexible. It will work well with the vinyl/hard plastic mix you have. You may have to tape it on to maintain position while the adhesive dries.
Home Depot also...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amazing-Goop-3-7-fl-oz-All-Purpose-Adhesive-140211/202533796
Mark

 

[rlitman]

Don't LED indicators usually snap into a fitted hole. I've never needed to glue an LED.

The exact type of plastic in use is VERY important to know what adhesive to use. I'd expect to see markings on the reverse of the panel, but I have not seen vinyl in vehicle construction in MANY years.

The Loc-tite epoxy for plastics may be your best bet.

 

[rlitman]

Find GOOP adhesive at Meijers or Walmart. Get the "Marine" kind if they have it. It is a silicone based adhesive which stays flexible. It will work well with the vinyl/hard plastic mix you have. You may have to tape it on to maintain position while the adhesive dries.
Home Depot also...
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amazing-Goop-3-7-fl-oz-All-Purpose-Adhesive-140211/202533796
Mark

Goop is urethane based, not silicone. It is EXCELLENT stuff BTW. That's another good option.

 

[lbperry]

Thanks Mark and rlitman, I'll pick some up today and try it.
There are so dam many plastic? formulations today that I couldn't begin to identify which one of those these two item are. That's why I kind of tried to identify their usage. To give you guys and idea of what I am working with.
Thanks for your recommendation.

 

[astroracer]

Goop is urethane based, not silicone. It is EXCELLENT stuff BTW. That's another good option.

Thanks, I knew silicone wasn't right when I typed it...
Mark

 

[rlitman]

-sigh- plastics used in cars can indeed be hard to identify.
I'd expect to see ABS (easier to glue to), and sometimes PP (polypropylene), which is evil to glue to. Different plastics have different surface energies, and that can affect your choice of adhesive. There's a good description of what I'm talking about here:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/...0NI60IDFIPS8T3HR2000000_assetId=1319246224870

Most likely, if the indicator is a tight fit, and you scuff up the back of the panel to give more tooth to the adhesive, you'll be fine. I'd clean the panel with some alcohol or windex after you scuff it, and let it thoroughly dry. You'll have better luck with adhesion if the panel is warmer (it may have problems bonding well if it is too cold).

 

[Ramblin Man]

I've had good results with 3M structural adhesive on plastics. I think the part # is 8101. I used a lot of this when I did auto body work.

 

[lbperry]

Got a tube of the Goop adhesive and it looks like it's gonna be great stuff and become my go-to adhesive. Thanks for the suggestion, guys.
The only minor problem that I had was that there was no applicator spout and getting it into a fairly narrow slot was kind of messy.
It is fairly slow curing. Needs a full 24 hours and could probably use some more if it's applied with any thickness.
Thanks again for the great suggestion,