Mixed material Project Questions

[Greatwhitewing]

Planning a potential project with multiple cabinet like structures of PVC face frames, 3/4" melamine panels for bottoms and sides, with some sort of plastic panel for rear panel and the orange will likely be PT lumber milled down. Initial idea is to use dowel joints for face frame and indexing sides and bottoms with pin/brad nailing as appropriate. Planning on silicone bead at joints. Also in the plan is iron on melamine edge treatment where "fall-aparticle" edge is exposed.

Doors will likely be PVC frames and a non corrosive metal or plastic screen. I located some CRES lift off hinges and CRES bail type tension latches. Thinking of CRES through hardware for hinges and latches.

First question is about adhesive. Polyurethane construction adhesive (PL300?) for everything or should I use PVC cement for face frame joints? Or use three different adhesives for various joints. Have wood to plastic, PVC to PVC and PVC to edges of melamine panels.

Second question is about any alternate construction options? This for wet wipe-down several times week maybe a squeegee, Not hose down levels of moisture. Small animal enclosures.

Yes I know I need more hinges... lol

 

[Ohmthis]

curiosity has me wondering why so many different materials? Is it in a wet location?

 

[Greatwhitewing]

curiosity has me wondering why so many different materials? Is it in a wet location?

Small animal cages. Trying to find the best available materials to withstand the conditions. They can destroy a coating on plywood.

 

[Ohmthis]

Small animal cages. Trying to find the best available materials to withstand the conditions. They can destroy a coating on plywood.

Ahh, I see. I e always had very good luck with T88 epoxy adhesive. I don’t have any ties to them so do your homework. Here’s a link.

T-88

T-88 is a high-performance, non-brittle, two-part epoxy adhesive designed to give superior results under adverse conditions.

www.systemthree.com

 

[PCustoms]

Ahh, I see. I e always had very good luck with T88 epoxy adhesive. I don’t have any ties to them so do your homework. Here’s a link.

T-88

T-88 is a high-performance, non-brittle, two-part epoxy adhesive designed to give superior results under adverse conditions.

www.systemthree.com

That's going to peel off PVC and likely melamine as well.

 

[Ohmthis]

That's going to peel off PVC and likely melamine as well.

I appreciate the input. It just reads that it will bond “Wood, Metal, and Composites”. Polyester is in a lot of composites and I’m reading between the lines . That’s why I said to do some homework. Thanks for your help.

 

[danielbuck]

Small animal cages. Trying to find the best available materials to withstand the conditions. They can destroy a coating on plywood.

I've never tried PVC, but I've helped a friend build and fix quite a few squirrel and other cages/enclosures. Seems like everything except for metal gets chewed on. Well, I suppose the metal might get chewed on... but it doesn't suffer wear. . Aluminum seems to be best, since it doesn't need paint or anything to stay rust free.

 

[PugetDude]

PVC is a rodent delicacy.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Anything particle/press board WILL bubble/expand with continuous exposure to moisture no matter how artfully you address the edges.

 

[ArcIndWeld]

In my experience aluminum or stainless is the way to go for animal cages. But the only animal cages I have experience are in a lab setting which needs the more robust materials. That being said last Stainless countertop I did I bonded to the below plywood with Loctite PL Premium Max and it's held up quite well. I ended up denting a section during install and had to remove it and it pulled the top layer of plywood off **** to the stainless top that was unprepped other than an acetone wipe down.