Glue Suggestions to attach rubber feet to a laptop.

I've always used contact cement. I've glued hundreds, if not thousands of feet back on equipment and don't remember ever seeing one come off again.

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Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Sorry for my ignorance, but you're not talking about rubber cement are you? That stuff doesn't seem like it would hold anything.

- Mike

No, Contact Cement. Its used to glue formica to countertops but you can buy a two ounce bottle with a brush a lot of places. I think my last bottle came from K-mart.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

You can go to the hardware store and buy contact cement. This will work well.

Also, in the hardware stores, they usually sell generic type rubber feet. The other alternative is to call the manufacture rep and order the original rubber feet for your laptop.

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Jerry G.

What do you guys think the best glue would be to use for this? I've thought about using cyanoacrylate glue but that seems like it might be a bad choice. Especially if it doesn't bond well you can't ever get that junk off.

Thanks for the help. I'll have to buy some next time I go by K-mart.

- Mike

Hi...

Fantastic stuff, but if I may, a heads up to the OP...

It's not called "contact" cement for nothing, it truly is. So put the two pieces together in one motion exactly where you want them; you can't slide them around to re-position them once they touch :(

Take care.

Ken

Thanks for the warning.. I'll keep that in mind. :-)

- Mike

I was about to say contact cement also. One of its advantages is that it

*can* be peeled if you have to peel it, which is not the case with cyanoacrylate. It's used a lot in camera repair. It's great when you need a glue of moderate strength (not totally un-unglueable) that sticks to *anything*.

You don't have to use it as contact cement (let it dry and then stick it together); you can use it as ordinary glue. I think the resulting strength is slightly less, but this is a job where you don't need tremendous strength, you just need it to stay *moderately* strong for a long time and never weaken.

Or you can just not follow the instructions. Put some adhesive on the pads and put them in place immediately; they'll stick just as well after it dries, and you don't have the "instant stick" problem.

Isaac

This is one of the very few instances where I'd use cyanoacrylate glue on plastic. The glue sticks so well to rubber that it's the adhesive included with drive belt kits for repairing old VCRs, phonographs, and tape decks. Just make sure the surfaces are perfectly clean (use alcohol), and don't waste time spreading the glue -- just apply a drop and attach the foot to the case. One CA manufacturer's training emphasized that the faster the bond was made, the stronger it was, and they instructed against wasting time spreading the glue, even in the case of a certain aircraft.

Rubber/contact cement comes in different qualities, and I've had the worst luck with the kind sold among the office supplies, such as Pliobond, and the water based type made mostly for laminating Formica to countertops. Automotive weatherstrip seal works well, as does disk brake anti-squeak glue sold in squeeze bottles (not aerosol).

Are there any non-exotic contact cements that aren't rubber based?

Probably. There are synthetic rubbers.

If this question is in reference to his comment about rubber cement, it is used as a temporary mount for hand layout of items for printing. It is also used as a peelable adhesive for layout work for prototypes. Draw or print it on a sheet of paper, glue it to the wood or metal and cut along the lines, or drill the marked holes. When you finish, it peels off and any bits left behind are easily rubbed off with a fingertip or a soft pink eraser.

As far as the composition of Contact Cement, I haven't looked at the label for years, but I've used it for 40 years. If you're interested, look up the MSDS for the brand in question. Anything in production is usually available online. I really don't feel up to dragging myself out to the shop in the middle of the night to see what brand I have right now.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
prove it.
Member of DAV #85.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

Do you get Evostick products in your country? Evostick Serious Glue sticks just about anything including soft plastics with the exception of polythene. Best general purpose glue I've come across.

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*Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.) *

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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You can get thixotropic versions called 'time bond' or whatever that do allow a small amount of movement before a harder press makes them grip.

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*Some days you're the dog, some days the hydrant.

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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No Evostick. Perhaps Gorilla glue?

I'm sure there will be an equivalent. Unfortunately no formulation on the tube. ;-) It takes 20 minutes to set so things don't drop off and 24 hours for full strength. Starts out grey and dries clear.

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*Why is it that most nudists are people you don't want to see naked?*

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
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I have had to re-attach the small snap fit flapper doors that cover the connectors on IBM Thinkpad 600E (and similar) notebook computers. I have used the glue called GORILLA GLUE that I purchased at a local hardware store. This stuff works great BUT IT MUST BE CLAMPED or WEIGHTED during the 3 to 4 hour drying process. (Make sure to clean off all old glue and oils first).

- mkaras

"Goop" is very good for this sort of thing. Unlike "super glue" or regular contact cement, Goop takes a while to dry so you aren't hosed if you make a mistake. It can also be peeled off later kinda like rubber cement, but it's much, much stronger. You can usually find it at bigger hardware or drugstores: