[carbonetc]

I have the standard Knape & Vogt plastic E-track for sliding doors: Plastic Track and Upper Guides for 1/4 - Series 2412 and 2416

I should have gone with aluminum, but I'm wondering if I can still make these work. I'm learning that plastics like this (probably polyethylene or polypropylene) are miraculous at being unbondable. You can't weld them with solvents, you can't silicone them, you can't glue them. In my own tests silicone and gorilla glue just pop right off after curing. It's like teflon.

So, how have you guys made this stuff work? I really want the tracks to be absolutely secure or I'd rather go with aluminum.

With plastics like these you usually just have to screw them on, but I don't see an easy way to do it that won't interfere with door movement. That's what I'd do if I could just for the peace of mind.

 

[parkanz2]

I used the plastic E track on a boa cage a long while back (security is very important for that as you can imagine,) I used 40 grit sandpaper to roughen the back surface and used gorilla glue if I can remember correctly which held for several years until I dissembled the cage.

 

[Pumilo]

The 5 Euros I have were siliconed in place. They came off very easily so I sanded them for better grab and resiliconed them. They are holding nicely now.

 

[carbonetc]

Hmm, I'll give it a shot with a test piece.

I also just found these: C.R. Laurence CRL Lower Gray Plastic Track for 3/16" Sliding Panels - 12 ft long | D706GRY

I'll go with these instead of aluminum if I have to. PVC you can weld to your heart's content.

 

[bobrez]

Just thought I would mention that silicone will not stick to pvc, but will bond to aluminum best of all.

 

[Pumilo]

Another possibility would be Weld On 40. It would stick extremely well to the plastic tracks and pretty good to the glass. The bond to the glass wouldn't have a huge amount of shear strength, so if you whacked the track with a hammer, it would pop loose. However, if you are in the habit of whacking your vivs with a hammer, I think you'll have more to worry about than the track popping off!

 

[carbonetc]

Just thought I would mention that silicone will not stick to pvc, but will bond to aluminum best of all.

It sticks very well to PVC in my tests so far. Maybe I should try a few more tests to make sure.

 

[bobrez]

Most definately make a test. You could try to stick 2 piece together and set outside for a week. It should fail in that time frame. You have to let it get the elements heat cold sunlight, if you put outside will speed up the process for faster results. It will stick too alot of plastic just not pvc. Hope this helped.

 

[carbonetc]

Most definately make a test. You could try to stick 2 piece together and set outside for a week. It should fail in that time frame. You have to let it get the elements heat cold sunlight, if you put outside will speed up the process for faster results. It will stick too alot of plastic just not pvc. Hope this helped.

I siliconed two pieces together a month ago and still can't pull them apart. This is cellular PVC rather than solid PVC, however. Maybe that makes a difference.

 

[carbonetc]

Success! I siliconed my sanded plastic track to some PVC last night and it's already stuck on there really well. I'll expose it to the elements a bit at bobrez's suggestion, but so far it looks like this will actually work out. Thanks guys.

 

[Noort]

Just silicone it into place.

It won't stay there for ever. (Silicone will nog bond really well with that type of plastic)
All my tanks are secondhand and I always have to re-attach the plastic E/U-tracks when I fix 'em up. After that they are good to go for a long, long time.