Regluing a Corian countertop

[Don Frambach]

We had a small disaster at our house where a warm cooking element was left on the corner of our kitchen counter for several hours. The Corian was not burned or melted but the glue in that corner failed and the Corian is now raised by about 1/4" and easily pushed back into position. The area involved appears to be about 18" x 18".

The Corian was glued to 1/2" plywood by our home builder. I have good access to the underside of the counter and can easily apply good clamping pressure.

I propose to drill multiple (perhaps 10-20) 1/4" holes through the plywood (but not the Corian). I plan to inject glue though several of the holes while other holes in the plywood will allow glue to egress. I will then apply clamps for a long time (several days).

Does anyone have any comments about this plan? What would be best glue to use?

Thanks.

PS the glue failure is between the Corian and the plywood. The plywood was not damaged.

[Andrew Nemeth]

Epoxy would be my first choice. If you buy it in the tubes with a mixing tip you can size the holes you drill for a snug fit allowing you to inject glue directly into the holes. I assume the only glue failure is between the solid surface and the substrate not any of the joints between solid surface and solid surface?

[Jamie Buxton]

I've seen solid surface adhered with urethane or epoxy or silicone. You might consider the epoxy system Simpson sells for retrofitting bolts into cured concrete: http://www.simpsonanchors.com/catalog/adhesives/set/
There are a couple of useful things about this system. First, it is epoxy. Second, the two components are mixed in the dispensing nozzle. Third, the nozzle can be shoved up into the holes you propose drilling, so the caulking gun squirts the epoxy up into the area where you want to deliver it. An alternative would be silicone caulk, again squirted up into the holes with a caulking gun. The epoxy is probably stronger, but the silicone may well be strong enough.

[Mike Wilkins]

I recently completed a project in which I glued a piece of Corian material to a piece of Melamine. I used a polyurethane glue product from H***Depot called PL Glue. So far no delamination problems.

[Don Frambach]

While thinking about the problem last night, it occured to me that the area between the Corian and the plywood is contaminated with the old glue that might interfere with good bonding when the surfaces are reglued. I wonder if it is possible to make a slightly larger hole to reach in with a scraping tool to clean some of the old glue out. If I go this route, then I will need a glue with gap filling capibility.

Am I making this project too difficult?

[Bob Lang]

Can you completely remove the piece of Corian? If you can the best move would be to clean off the plywood and the bottom of the Corian by scraping or other means. Best practice is to use quarter-sized dabs of silicone every six inches or so to hold the two together. Solid surface materials expand and contract with changes in heat and humidity, but not at the same rate or speed as plywood, the silicone is flexible enough to deal with this while keeping the two together. If you use a rigid glue, such as epoxy or polyurethane something will likely crack at some point in the future.

Bob Lang

[Bill White]

Ah, the joys of acrylic countertops. You don't want to get me started....
Bill

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

If you don't want the Corian to crack, use silicone, and spend the $6 for the best stuff. It has to be able to move with temperature changes.