Glue for tarps?

[nopeda]

Hi,

I want to glue some tarp sections together and bought HH-66 and tried it out but it didn't stick at all. Then found out it works on vinyl but the tarps I'm using are polyethylene or polypropylene I don't know which. They are green on one side and brown on the other got at a hardware store and HH-66 doesn't work on that stuff. Can anyone suggest a type of glue that will work on it?

Thank you for any help!

David

Maine, USA

 

[abnorm]

NOPE........I haven't found any glues

I regularly SEW Blue Tarps for waterproof covers......pockets for poles..........reinforce corners

Eternabond double-stick tape will bond but only temporary....Never tried VHB

HEAT is the trick I hear.......WELDING.....I just bought a cheap Harbor Freight "welder" to try on my plastic tarps !

and Welcome to the Forum

 

[bullfrog !]

NOPE........I haven't found any glues

I regularly SEW Blue Tarps for waterproof covers......pockets for poles..........reinforce corners

Eternabond double-stick tape will bond but only temporary....Never tried VHB

HEAT is the trick I hear.......WELDING.....I just bought a cheap Harbor Freight "welder" to try on my plastic tarps !

and Welcome to the Forum

lol!!! I used some blue tarp material to smooth out scratches as a filler on a blue kayak once. They melt pretty fast and burn. You might try something like a heat strip from a vacuum sealer or an iron but you probably have to heat it from both sides and it can get brittle if you over heat it. I’m getting old and memory is failing but I made a sail out of one by glueing a flap over a rope at the edges but can’t remember what I used, there is something out there that works for sure though.

 

[Gr8ful]

I just found this so it may or may not help.
Horace Tucker
Former Polymer Applications Chemist (1981–1988)Author has 6.8K answers and 7.9M answer views1y
Many years ago, I developed an EPR-based adhesive for polyethylene. I don't know if the company is still producing it. But you can make your own. Buy a small quantity of low temperature hot melt sticks, and a small can of toluene. Cut the glue sticks into small pieces and dissolve them into the toluene. Do this in a well ventilated area, in a closed container, if possible. You can make it thicker or thinner as you wish. Apply the mixture to one clean tarp, and allow it to dry. Then overlap the other clean tarp and press them together. Good luck. More I've found but no guarantees.
3M Super 77 and Super 90 work well as an alternative to sewing blue poly tarps. For edges, maybe just spray a line along the unfinished edge and roll a hem?
From what I could find on gluing polyethylene, it is a problem. TAP Plastics makes an epoxy glue to it, but the cost would negate the savings in using a poly tarp in the fist place. They did mention flaming the material with a propane torch before bonding. I imagine that removes the skin formed in manufacturing. I would vote for the contact adhesive backed with sewing.

 

[maki2]

Sewing will work best but you need to use longer stitches to prevent a situation that using short stitches can create. That situation is easily tearing along a line of close perforations in a material when wind force meets a tensioned line of perforations.

The plastic tarps are popular because they are intentionally slick surfaced, naturally nonstick in the physical property, to shed off water and dirt. Every advantage has its disadvantage! In this case you can’t get both nonstick properties as well as an easy to adhere to surface. Those physical properties are engineering opposites.

there are special primers for particular types of plastics to allow adhesives to bond to the primer which bonds to the plastic, but “special” does not equate to inexpensive and easy to find from local sources. The online 3M data base of their adhesives and primers has an inquiry function where you enter the type of material you wish to bond to and it gives you a list of adhesive and primers. Those results will each have a sheet of instructions for bonding as well as surface prep and temperature range of application, etc.

 

[jonyjoe303]

I have some blue tarp and tested with my hotglue gun and generic glue sticks and blue tarp to blue tarp will stick with hotglue, blue tarp to plastic surface will also stick. You have to put effort to get them to come apart.
When I have to join blue tarp with other blue tarp I usually use plastic ties, thats the quickest way to join them without sewing them.

 

[maki2]

I have some blue tarp and tested with my hotglue gun and generic glue sticks and blue tarp to blue tarp will stick with hotglue, blue tarp to plastic surface will also stick. You have to put effort to get them to come apart.
When I have to join blue tarp with other blue tarp I usually use plastic ties, thats the quickes

Hand sewing an edge hem in a blue plastic tarp is pretty easy to do. A sewing machine or adhesives are really not required. It does not even have to be perfectly even stitching to be functional.
The cost of a thimble, needle and a spool of thread is very modest.

If you can’t sew use an office stapler. Staples will hold better than glue.

 

[rruff]

zzzzzz

 

[maki2]

zzzzzz

You are fired without notice or severance pay. No sleeping is allowed on the job when monitoring conversations in this forum

 

[rruff]

Just realized my post and already been addressed, and you can't delete here, so...

 

[eDJ_]

A simple device to carry along that takes up little space and can take care of a lot of sewing needs is a hand "awl". Harbor Freight has these reasonably priced when on sale. These come with instructions extra needles & thread and can sew anything from a plastic film tarps to a leather item.

But it would be less of a headache to buy a larger tarp if possible. Carrying a 18 ft tape rule and taking notes on the size of tarp you'll need while you're in camp so you can outfit for what you need before going out the next time would leave you with more time to enjoy being outdoors.

But the awl and a roll of duct tape could get you thru in a pinch.

A kit like this on Amazon is about the same thing Harbor Freight carries:

Awl Kit

 

[maki2]

Using a leather sewing needle is the easy way to get through tough materials. It will slice a tiny hole right through multiple layers of tarp or marine vinyl.

 

[jacqueg]

Just sayin - there are at least a couple of places on the web where you can buy a custom poly tarp. I've never ordered one myself, so I have no idea how the service (or the price) is, but it is another option.