Glass Primer for Silicone

[Elemeno]

Is there any advantage to applying a silicone primer to the glass before assembly or is cleaning the glass with acetone or isopropyl alcohol enough?

In other words, would the primer increase the adhesive strength of the joint?

Momentive makes several primers for their silicone products, claiming that they do increase the adhesive strength of the joint, though none of them are listed as suitable for application to glass.

(Apologies, this appears to be a duplicate post, for some reason my other post just appeared in the list, perhaps it had to be approved first.)

 

[wolfblue]

They been going straight to clean glass for over 40 years. I say just use denatured alcohol.

 

[toothybugs]

I wouldn't use IPA because it often is diluted with water, which will affect the adhesion to the silicone. Acetone, denatured alcohol, toluene, MEK, etc all will be fine. Don't use "paint thinner" aka mineral spirits because it tends to leave an oily residue.

The silicone-glass bond is very, very strong by itself due to the chemical composition of them both. They are very similar materials on a molecular level. It won't need a primer.

 

[Alohadood]

you can preclean the surfaces with rubbing alcohol. That's about it though. Most else will either kill your future tankmates be leaching, or are unneeded due to the way silicone bonds with glass.

 

[Shivsreef]

Just use some acetone to clean it if it was acrylic then possibly but still you would be taking a risk only use primer for aquariums when welding PVC

 

[toothybugs]

you can preclean the surfaces with rubbing alcohol. That's about it though. Most else will either kill your future tankmates be leaching, or are unneeded due to the way silicone bonds with glass.

"Rubbing alcohol" is fine as long as it isn't diluted with water. If it is, you might as well be wiping with a damp rag because the alcohol will evaporate, leaving the water. You can get by with it but make sure to dry the surfaces well (paper towel, etc) before applying adhesive.

Just an FYI.