Best Adhesives for Bonding Metal to Metal or Nonmetal

Metal Bonding Adhesive

Metals are readily bonded with a variety of adhesives.  It can be challenging to choose the best metal adhesive, given the vast number of options.  Each chemistry has its own unique benefits.  A quick review of the benefits by chemistry follows:

• Structural adhesives, such as structural acrylic adhesives and epoxies, are ideal metal adhesives for forming strong bonds that resist stress, temperature, and chemicals.
• Anaerobic adhesives are used as threadlockers, pipe thread sealants, retaining compounds, or FIP gaskets.  Anaerobic adhesives are only used on metals.  They do not cure on other substrates such as glass and plastic.
• Cyanoacrylate adhesives develop strength very quickly.  Consider the methyl cyanoacrylate, Permabond 910®, the original cyanoacrylate metal glue if you need strength quickly.  These bonds perform well in shear and resist non-polar solvents.  Consider structural adhesives if you require an adhesive for metal that provides impact resistance or resistance to polar solvents.
• UV Curable adhesives are ideal for invisible bonds between glass and metal.  These are used extensively to bond metal hinges, knobs, and fixtures to glass doors.
• MS Polymer adhesives are ideal for thin sheets of metal – such as truck panel bonding. The low shrinkage provides no read-through (you can’t see where the adhesive is placed through the panel), providing a good aesthetic finish.

Permabond adhesives are supported by a team of sales, customer service, and technical professionals. This team will help you select the proper adhesive for metal for your application or develop a product to meet your application’s requirements.

The featured products below are examples of some good metal adhesives.

Featured Two-Part Epoxy Adhesive for Metal: Permabond ET5422

• High Strength Metal Bonder – high shear, peel, and impact strength
• Full cure at room temperature
• Easy to apply
• Good chemical resistance
• Non–drip rheology

PERMABOND® ET5422 is a thixotropic two–part adhesive with excellent resistance to impact and vibration. The controlled flow properties as well as its ease of mixing and application enables the adhesive to be used where gap filling is required. Permabond® ET5422 has been found to provide exceptional performance even at elevated temperatures. Permabond® ET5422 has been specifically formulated for use in applications requiring toughness and high strength.

Featured Structural Acrylic Adhesive for Metal: Permabond TA4246

• High Strength Metal and Plastic Bonder – high shear, peel, and impact strength
• Fast strength development at room temperature
• No-Mix application

Permabond TA4246 is a structural acrylic adhesive that is used with Initiator 46.  The adhesive is applied to one surface and the Initiator to the other.  Upon joining the components, strength develops rapidly.  In addition to excellent bond strength on metals such as aluminum & steel, it has excellent bond strength on plastics.   Bonds to ABS, Phenolic, Polycarbonate, and PVC exceed the strength of the plastic.

Featured One Part Epoxy Adhesive for Metal: Permabond ES569

• Excellent adhesive strength
• Excellent resistance to vibration
• Easy to use –no mixing required
• High shear and peel strength
• High-temperature resistance
• Good resistance to chemicals
• Non–sag, thixotropic

Permabond ES569 s a single–part heat-cured epoxy adhesive with excellent adhesion to metal surfaces. This adhesive’s high bond strength allows it to replace mechanical fastening, soldering, brazing, or welding. ES569 has been designed to be non–sagging, allowing it to be used in large gaps and on vertical surfaces. It is also ideal for bonding electronic components. It has high wet strength and is non–stringing, and produces an excellent drop profile and withstanding solder reflow processes.

Click the links below for more information on how to bond specific metals:

Aluminum

Brass

Copper

Magnets

Mild Steel

Stainless Steel