Gluing Corian to plywood

[kevin nee]

What adhesive would you advise for attaching Corian to plywood for an outdoor table?
it has to be ready for a 6:00 PM cookout. Thanks, Kevin

[Cary Falk]

Silicone would probably work best. I'm not sure it will be dr in time. Screw it from the bottom to hold it in place till the glue dries.

[andy bessette]

Epoxy will do the job. I use WEST system, which would take about 4 hours to achieve a permanent bond. Silicone would not be a good choice, under the circumstances.

[peter gagliardi]

Actually, silicone would be the better choice. Epoxy is too ridgid. The plywood and corian will expand and contract at different rates according to solar gain and humidity swings. You need permanent flexibility.
Yes, plywood DOES expand and contract with moisture change, just not as much as solid wood.

[andy bessette]

Unless you had an extra ordinarily thick bond line I see no possible advantage to using silicone; the downside being it could take days to cure, where the OP has only hours.

[Martin Wasner]

Screws.

extra words

[Eric Rimel]

Ok, lots of well meaning, but bad advise here.

Dont use screws unless you'd like your Corian in multiple pieces. Guaranteed best way to break Corian is by trying to drive a screw into it.

Silicone is the way to go. It provides a flexible bond. Corian expands and contracts and if it is restricted while its expanding it simply breaks.

throw down 1" diameter blobs every 16"-24" around the perimeter with a couple in the middle.

If if you need to use it before the silicone sets, throw down a few blobs of hot glue to keep it from moving.

[Larry Edgerton]

Ok, lots of well meaning, but bad advise here.

Dont use screws unless you'd like your Corian in multiple pieces. Guaranteed best way to break Corian is by trying to drive a screw into it.

Silicone is the way to go. It provides a flexible bond. Corian expands and contracts and if it is restricted while its expanding it simply breaks.

throw down 1" diameter blobs every 16"-24" around the perimeter with a couple in the middle.

If if you need to use it before the silicone sets, throw down a few blobs of hot glue to keep it from moving.

Used to be a Dupont certified installer, what he said is absolutely correct.

[Eric Rimel]

Used to be a Dupont certified installer, what he said is absolutely correct.

As was I. :)

[Martin Wasner]

Screw through the solid surface into the ply. Over size the hole, torque by hand to get through whatever was needed today. Make it big and cut off the screws later

[Wayne Lomman]

Eric and Larry are dead right and I know for the same reason. Rigid fix it and it's history. Hope the cook out went well. Cheers

[Bill Dufour]

Flush wood trim around the edges and let the top float. it will not blow away. The wood can be screwed or nailed so no wait time for glue to dry.
Bill

[Art Mann]

I would use rubber cement as if you were applying plastic laminate to the plywood. It is made for the purpose. The bond is very quick curing and is flexible enough to compensate for minor differences in expansion due to temperature or humidity. No fasteners would be required but you need to be careful with assembly. Once you make contact between the surfaces, no adjustment is possible.

[Eric Rimel]

I like that three certified installers have told how to do it, yet there's still a debate.

No, that's NOT what rubber cement is for.

For anyone cruising the webs wondering how to hold your Corian down, again:

Silicone blobs about the size of a quarter every 16"-24". Don't put screws through the top. Don't try to drive a screw into it. Silicone.

[Bill Dufour]

My idea also has to do with this being outdoor table. I assume it will be moved around. Having the top floating means it can be pulled off to lighten the load. I see no reason for the top to be permanently attached to a table. Surface plates are not attached to their supporting tables and heavy work is moved around on them all the time without issues.
For a light weight tops indoors I can see why you would need to glue it down so it does not shift around. But laminate floors are not glued down and they work fine that way.
Bill

[Eric Rimel]

Bill,

Your method is just dandy, because you aren't describing an incorrect method of joining Corian to another material.

one of the issues with Corian, and why you weren't able to purchase it as a raw material 'back in the day', was the improper installation that led to cracking. There's literally ONE approved way of attaching it, as I've described.

Our installation methods were warranted by DuPont for 20 years. I've seen hack installs last a day....literally. Corian grows with heat, and it grows quickly. Anything restraining its growth will cause a crack.

Water boils at 100 degrees Celcius at one atmosphere and you attach Corian horizontally with silicone.

Anyone claiming differently is presenting 'personal oppinion' and not actual fact.

[Sam Murdoch]

Too late for the party but just setting it on carpet pad - not the thick foam but the thin basket weave non skid stuff - would hold it in place effectively certainly for a short term. Corian is not as heavy as stone but I have used this method for many years for a stone top. We have a 3' square x 3/4" thick granite top that we simply set on a plywood top table each summer on a few strips of the pad. Never moves until I put things away in the fall.

[kevin nee]

Thanks for the replies, I covered the plywood with vinal fabric for the cook out and will silicone and clamp the Corian overnight and should be good to go. Kevin

[Art Mann]

Buddy, you really need to do a little investigation before making statements like that. They make you look foolish. I have seen literally thousands of square feet of plastic laminate applied to plywood, particle board and MDF at a cabinet shop I am familiar with. Here is a link. http://www.wellborn.com/ It was, and probably still is, the largest cabinet shop East of the Mississippi river. Contact cement is what they used. In fact, I don't know of a cabinet shop that doesn't use it for the purpose. Now you tell me how that is different from attaching Corian to plywood. You could pry off the Corian stuck with a few dabs of silicone with a screw driver. You will never get the plywood to separate from the Corian without breaking something. My take is the OP wants laminate the top to plywood which is not the same as installing a counter top.


I like that three certified installers have told how to do it, yet there's still a debate.

No, that's NOT what rubber cement is for.

For anyone cruising the webs wondering how to hold your Corian down, again:

Silicone blobs about the size of a quarter every 16"-24". Don't put screws through the top. Don't try to drive a screw into it. Silicone.

[Adam Herman]

Buddy, you really need to do a little investigation before making statements like that. They make you look foolish. I have seen literally thousands of square feet of plastic laminate applied to plywood, particle board and MDF at a cabinet shop I am familiar with. Here is a link. http://www.wellborn.com/ It was, and probably still is, the largest cabinet shop East of the Mississippi river. Contact cement is what they used. In fact, I don't know of a cabinet shop that doesn't use it for the purpose. Now you tell me how that is different from attaching Corian to plywood. You could pry off the Corian stuck with a few dabs of silicone with a screw driver. You will never get the plywood to separate from the Corian without breaking something.


Corian is not plastic laminate. 2 totally different materials. We would all use contact cement for plastic laminate.

silicone it. be done. Dad was a distributor of of Avonite and some offshore versions of Corian.

[Andrew J. Coholic]

... Now you tell me how that is different from attaching Corian to plywood....

The difference is about 12mm of thickness.. and a whole lot more movement potentially without any forgiveness. Kept from moving, it will crack 100% of the time.

If held tight and not allowed to move, any solid surface will crack. No ifs ands or buts. It does move appreciably with changes in temperature.

I also have taken an installers course and have been working with SS since I was a teenager in the 80's. My father was one of the first people to offer Corian in our area (back in the early 80's).

Silicone if the proper way, as the other guys have stated. Even blobs on a grid about a foot and a half apart. Just look up an install guide on line for any brand of SS.

[Chris Fournier]

So many experts, so little understanding of the fundaments. You don't need to be a certified anything to figure out expansion and contraction and materials that are dissimilar in their reaction to humidity and temperature. Too many big dogs on this thread.

[Keith Outten]

Lots of ways to skin a cat.

IMO it would be almost impossible for half inch thick Corian to crack if it was adhered to plywood with just about any type of adhesive assuming the joint was laminated sheet on top of sheet. In this case the adhesive would surely fail before either material cracked or split. It certainly is possible for cracking to occur in other types of joints though.

Every counter top shop that I know of uses silicone adhesive, either round dots or long squiggly lines to join Corian to a plywood base for counter tops. I have a copy of the Dupont Corian installers manual and can get an exact quote if anyone is interested.

[Eric Rimel]

The issue here isn't what anyone's 'oppinion' is on the correct method.
theres the correct method and there isn't.

one of my posts was deleted while I was standing firm on the correct way of adhering Corian. I'm done with this place. I have 30 years of experience and don't need a group of self proclaimed oppinion holders spreading mis-information and poor advise to those seeking guidance.

[Keith Outten]

Eric,

The use of contact cement is an old school application that isn't the only way to adhere solid surface material to plywood anymore.


This is an excerpt from the Dupont Installers Manual Chapter 14 section 14.1

Corian® can be glued to wood or plywood to provide many unique
design applications.
This can be done by using three forms of adhesives:
1. Silicone
Silicone is best used where movement and cushioning are required in
the Corian®.
2. Clear Contact Adhesive
Clear contact adhesive is used in applications where appearance and quick
adhesion are important, such as in edge details or inlays into Corian®.
3. DuPont Surfaces Panel Adhesive
Neoprene Panel Adhesive is used to glue Corian® to wood in vertical
applications where quick adhesion and flexibility are essential.

Helpful Hints:
Use only the above-mentioned adhesives, which allow both materials
to expand and contract at a different rate.
It is essential that the adhesive is invisible and at all times forms a
waterproof seal.
Do not screw through wood into Corian® without inserting the brass insert. This
will cause “star” cracks to form.
Do not use adhesives such as P.V.A. or glues based on the M.E.K.
(ketone) family.


STEPS TO COMPLETION:
Silicone
1. Clean both surfaces that are to be glued together thoroughly with clear,
denatured alcohol.
2. If flexibility is a potential problem with the application, place dabs
of silicone approximately 4” (102 mm) apart on the surface that is
to be glued to.
Where flexibility is not as essential, place a bead of silicone around the
perimeter of the surface to be glued to, and place an “S” pattern bead
through the center.
3. Press the Corian® or wood into position and firmly clamp.

[Eric Rimel]

Eric,

The use of contact cement is an old school application that isn't the only way to adhere solid surface material to plywood anymore.


This is an excerpt from the Dupont Installers Manual Chapter 14 section 14.1

Corian® can be glued to wood or plywood to provide many unique
design applications.
This can be done by using three forms of adhesives:
1. Silicone
Silicone is best used where movement and cushioning are required in
the Corian®.
2. Clear Contact Adhesive
Clear contact adhesive is used in applications where appearance and quick
adhesion are important, such as in edge details or inlays into Corian®.
3. DuPont Surfaces Panel Adhesive
Neoprene Panel Adhesive is used to glue Corian® to wood in vertical
applications where quick adhesion and flexibility are essential.

Helpful Hints:
Use only the above-mentioned adhesives, which allow both materials
to expand and contract at a different rate.
It is essential that the adhesive is invisible and at all times forms a
waterproof seal.
Do not screw through wood into Corian® without inserting the brass insert. This
will cause “star” cracks to form.
Do not use adhesives such as P.V.A. or glues based on the M.E.K.
(ketone) family.


STEPS TO COMPLETION:
Silicone
1. Clean both surfaces that are to be glued together thoroughly with clear,
denatured alcohol.
2. If flexibility is a potential problem with the application, place dabs
of silicone approximately 4” (102 mm) apart on the surface that is
to be glued to.
Where flexibility is not as essential, place a bead of silicone around the
perimeter of the surface to be glued to, and place an “S” pattern bead
through the center.
3. Press the Corian® or wood into position and firmly clamp.


Keith,

You are ignoring the forest and focusing on the trees.

You are directly quoting a method to join drop edge and inlays. "Clear contact adhesive is used in applications where appearance and quick
adhesion are important, such as in edge details or inlays into Corian®."

Get over yourself and stop propagating wrong information.

I've already PM'd you.

[Larry Edgerton]

Exactly. The edging and the solid surface will both have exactly the same expansion/contraction rate as they are the same material so no stress is introduced to the product.

The plastic laminate argument does not hold water as it is not even close to the same product, and in fact not even plastic, is paper and bakelite.

Eric, it just does not matter. The forums are so full of misinformation, whats one more little tidbit?;)

[John A langley]

I built two tops for my deck first one I built I used Silicone to attach it it failed the first winter The second one I used stainless steel screws and finish washers with oversized holes it's been down 10 years with no problems The first one I just let sit there and it did fine. Not trying to start the argument all over just telling you my personal experiences
P S i've built A lot of solid surface tops over the years

[John A langley]

Do any of the pros here remember SSV ( solid surface Veneer ) Thy wanted you to use contact cement to put it down Big lawsuit over that one my point being even the engineers sometimes don't know what's going to work sometimes you have to go against the grain

[Keith Outten]

Sorry but I believe the instruction provided by Dupont for silicone adhesive above is not intended as the preferred method for edge joining it is meant to apply to large surface joining such as adhering the plywood counter top surface to a solid surface top. I'm not sure how using adhesive around the edges and then applying an "S" pattern could be interpreted as useful for as small an area as an edge. In item 2 above Dupont clearly recommends contact cement for edge details and inlays.

A friend of mine that owns and operates a company called Halmarc Solid Surface in York County uses Silicone adhesive to join counter tops to the bases of the jobs he does. I have been in his shop many times and witnessed his technique along with dozens of contractors who worked for us at Christopher Newport University providing cabinets for new buildings.

Its possible that I may have misunderstood the OP's application if so I stand corrected but it doesn't mean that there is only one correct way to accomplish such a simple task.

I can live with the idea that someone else has a preferred method that they feel is superior to mine or the Manufacturer's recommendation for that matter. However I am not easy to convince that my preferred method is incorrect just because someone else has a different opinion or experience. Since its not a life or death situation lets agree to disagree.

[Larry Edgerton]

I can live with the idea that someone else has a preferred method that they feel is superior to mine or the Manufacturer's recommendation for that matter. However I am not easy to convince that my preferred method is incorrect just because someone else has a different opinion or experience. Since its not a life or death situation lets agree to disagree.

By that logic no one should pay any attention to anything anyone says, including you.

So ya, I guess we are all good