What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Alternative adhesive for Click Bond nutplates

UnPossible

Well Known Member
Hey - I am working on mounting many of the small Garmin avionics boxes on the subpanel and there are a few places where a click-bond nutplate looks like it will come in handy.

I have a bunch left over from my RV-7A build, but I don't have any adhesive. Has anyone successfully used any other adhesives? Wondering if West epoxy or maybe fuel tank sealant might work? Any suggestions?
 
E6000 is what I use. I haven't had anything come apart yet. Clean both surfaces well.
 
Click Bond Packets

I always keep the Click Bond individual use packets on hand. They are really handy when you don't need a bunch of adhesive.

Also, check around for Hysol adhesive. Similar to CB.
 
Depending on how much strength you need, you might try one of the high strength tapes or shoe goo. I've used both of those successfully. Also, I've seen (read?) success stories where builders used JB weld.
 
Hey - I am working on mounting many of the small Garmin avionics boxes on the subpanel and there are a few places where a click-bond nutplate looks like it will come in handy.

I have a bunch left over from my RV-7A build, but I don't have any adhesive. Has anyone successfully used any other adhesives? Wondering if West epoxy or maybe fuel tank sealant might work? Any suggestions?

You can try epoxy thickened with flox and carbosil. It is basically similar to the more expensive Clickbond adhesive that has been formulates to not run on vertical surface.
 
You can try epoxy thickened with flox and carbosil. It is basically similar to the more expensive Clickbond adhesive that has been formulates to not run on vertical surface.


That's kind of what I was thinking..... and I have lots of expoy, flox and cabosil.
 
Adhesive For Clickbond Nutplates

I am using various Clickbond products in my RV-7 build, enough to keep a supply of the recommended Clickbond CB200-40 adhesive on hand. Depending on how many nutplates you plan to install, it is understandable that you may not want to purchase a 40ml cartridge ($43 approx including UPS shipping from ACS.)

But as suggested above, the small packets of CB200-40 adhesive are available if you only plan on a couple of nutplates. The cost of them adds up fast if more than a few nutplates are involved, justifying the 40ml cartridge price. By looking at the usual online sources including the auction sites, you can obtain the cartridge applicator gun for $20 approx. A mixing nozzle is not required and for small jobs wastes too much mixed adhesive inside the nozzle itself. Just squeeze out what you need from the cartridge directly onto a piece of foil or paper, and mix the two components by hand like you would with the small packets.

There are undoubtedly other consumer grade adhesives that might work, if economy is the only consideration.

I elected to not use anything other than the recommended adhesive, especially for Clickbond nutplates. My reason is that the nutplates are normally put in a place where dealing with them later would be difficult if the adhesive failed, at least they were in my RV-7 project.

That said, Clickbond CB200-40 adhesive is a methyl methacrylate based adhesive. Methyl methacrylate adhesives are used in critical applications, like human joint replacements and various industrial structural assembly processes where high strength is required but riveting or welding is not possible.

If I were looking for a substitute, I would look for something methyl methacryate based (it is different from crazy glue, and definitely is not epoxy/flox/cabosil although I have no opinion on whether those would work).

An example is the 3M Scotch Weld DP8410NS series. But there is no significant economy with using that instead of the Clickbond brand.
 
Last edited:
You can try epoxy thickened with flox and carbosil. It is basically similar to the more expensive Clickbond adhesive that has been formulates to not run on vertical surface.

The thing about the CLickBond adhesive is that when it is cured, you can still scratch it with your fingernail - it doesn’t get rock hard like resin/hard er/filler. I think that slight give makes it less likely to pop off.

That said, in times past, I have attached pseudo-CB standoffs and cable-tie attach points with Shoe-Goo and 6000 adhesives successfully.

Paul
 
Proseal

If you have any Proseal left over, it is a marvelous adhesive that stays pliable and withstands elements. At my dayjob working airliners it is used for many bonding scenarios as well as fuel tanks. All my tie-wrap bases in my RV-4 are bonded in with Proseal.
 
If you have any Proseal left over, it is a marvelous adhesive that stays pliable and withstands elements. At my dayjob working airliners it is used for many bonding scenarios as well as fuel tanks. All my tie-wrap bases in my RV-4 are bonded in with Proseal.

Yep what he said!
 
If you have any Proseal left over, it is a marvelous adhesive that stays pliable and withstands elements. At my dayjob working airliners it is used for many bonding scenarios as well as fuel tanks. All my tie-wrap bases in my RV-4 are bonded in with Proseal.

Yep, pro seal. No matter what the problem is, pro seal is your answer.
 
The thing about the CLickBond adhesive is that when it is cured, you can still scratch it with your fingernail - it doesn’t get rock hard like resin/hard er/filler. I think that slight give makes it less likely to pop off.

That said, in times past, I have attached pseudo-CB standoffs and cable-tie attach points with Shoe-Goo and 6000 adhesives successfully.

Paul

So far I've been using it on the Clickbond tie wrap anchors. I will monitor how the epoxy will standup after I get this thing built.
 
DIY bond studs

Bob Nuckolls tested several ways of bonding studs to aluminum, including JB Weld and E6000. He also tested several different substitutes for Click Bond studs. Here's a link to his results:

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/DIY Bond Studs.pdf

In my case, I decided on E6000 to reattach some failed tie-wrap anchors that a previous builder installed under the baggage floor.
 
DIY "Clickbond"

I've posted this before, but just as a refresher - look up thread starter "Nut Plate Tip" by Dave Paule from 7-19-21 and read Post #7 - "Oakie" Clickbond Anchornuts - DIY.

HFS
 
I have used 3M's 2216 B/A epoxy with success. It's a structural adhesive. I'd also be comfortable with West System's G/flex, but not their laminating epoxies.

There are no circumstances where I'd use Pro-Seal. It's not a structural bond and doesn't pretend to be.

Dave
 
Depending on how much strength you need, you might try one of the high strength tapes or shoe goo. I've used both of those successfully. Also, I've seen (read?) success stories where builders used JB weld.

I used Jb weld on one last month. It worked well.
 
I've used the Click Bond adhesive in the past but the last time I tried to find it it wasn't available. It also has a pretty short shelf life. I used 5 minute epoxy and that seems to work fine. It's actually more convenient than the Click Bond adhesive since you can just mix what you need. I also tried some other epoxy that I had but it was too thin.
 
Back
Top