Plastic of choice for 3M 9485 tape

[Steve B]

Read somewhere here that the tape to use for cuben is 9485 from 3M.

3M's website states that is has excellent adhesion to plastics and foam, http://tinyurl.com/849bgas

I'm not a materials specialist; does anyone know what plastic it would adhere to the best? I'm looking at making my own grommet-like pieces for a cuben tarp, and would like to choose the best plastic from my local plastic supply company. These grommet like pieces would be used similar to the nylon washers that were used for the polycro tarp (thread on this website).

Thanks for your input!
Steve

[Colin Krusor]

The tape will be adhered to the grommet-like components?

Among common plastics, nylon has excellent bonding characteristics partly because it has high surface energy. Polycarbonate, acrylic (typically polymethylmethacrylate), and epoxies also bond well. Here is a table of solid surface energy values for a variety of plastics (in general, higher values correspond to better bonding; nylon is "Polyamide"):

http://www.surface-tension.de/solid-surface-energy.htm

Among structural plastics, it's hard to beat nylon's bonding properties.

[Steve B]

Exactly what I was looking for, perfect. Thanks!

I will make cuben tape, then use that like the gorilla tape was used in the polycro tarp tie-outs. Details to come.

Steve

[Roger Caffin]

3M9485 is used by sailmakers as a substitute for sewing, and is often called 'seam-stick' tape by them. It makes a permanent bond to many things, including PU coating. I know about the latter, because when I tried separating two layers of fabric which had been taped together, the tape ripped the coating off the nylon base fabric!

Cheers

[James Reilly]

I bought and used two rolls from this guy. http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=260990708324&index=0&nav=SEARCH&nid=22676215254. Worked well and shipped fast. Was only $15 but even at $18 it's a good price.

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