What kind of glue do I need?

October 18, 2006 1:00 PM

How can I glue a photo behind perspex?

As a light-weight (for posting overseas) Christmas gift, I am considering copying an idea I have seen in stores where a photo is "mounted" behind perspex. There is no backing to the picture (i.e. nothing to sandwich the photo between), so an adhesive must have been used.

What would work to glue a picture to perspex without the picture being ruined by the glue? Or do I really need to seal it to the perspex with some sort of backing sheet?

posted by szechuan to media & arts (10 comments total)

Could you get two sheets of perspex and sandwich them together?
posted by suedehead at 1:08 PM on October 18, 2006

ThisToThat suggests a 3M spray glue.

You'll probably want a rubber roller or a print-making squeegee to get out any air bubbles.

Also I would wash the plexi with soap and water, let it dry, then wipe it with high strength isopropyl alcohol just before you apply the glue (but then let it evaporate completely) I’ve had to clean plexi this way to get paint to stick.
posted by JulianDay at 1:39 PM on October 18, 2006

Something like this maybe? There are tons of products out there, just Google "double-sided adhesive for photos".
posted by JJ86 at 1:40 PM on October 18, 2006

Yeah, I think what you're seeing is a photo sandwiched between two pieces.

The only other way I can think of to do it would be to use spray mount (just spray it all over the photo and press it against the perspex). But I can't imagine that would provide very good archival qualities.
posted by bcwinters at 1:40 PM on October 18, 2006

Thanks JJ86, but I think those products are largely for the back of photos. I'm looking for something to adhere the front of the photo to the back of the perspex, so I think it will need to be a spray, as JulianDay suggests.
posted by szechuan at 1:43 PM on October 18, 2006

I'm pretty sure sandwiching two sheets is the right answer. Assuming a tight sandwich and regular photo paper, it would take enormous disturbance (like tens to hundreds of G's) to make the photo slip.
posted by Chuckles at 2:12 PM on October 18, 2006

The thing with sprays szechuan, is that many of them use solvents that may not work too well with a plastic such as Perspex. There could be a possibility of ruining the Perspex. The double adhesive plastics have no problem working with that and are also archival which will work great in the long run. It may be worth experimenting with
posted by JJ86 at 2:44 PM on October 18, 2006

Why not adhere the back of the photo to one sheet of Perspex, then adhere that first sheet of Perspex to a cover sheet of Perspex with some kind of completely clear spray adhesive? That way you're not putting adhesive on the actual photo surface...

Alternately, you could go to a store where you've seen this done and ask them about it. I'm sure they have a manager who could tell you.
posted by limeonaire at 3:40 PM on October 18, 2006

I have a frame at my desk that sandwiches a picture between two sheets of Perspex clipped together. The clips hide behind the rim of the metal frame.
posted by mendel at 5:51 PM on October 18, 2006

I've done this before with double sided adhesive film. The trick is to get it bubble free, which can be done sometimes with something like window cleaner, sprayed onto the glass with the image applied, bubbles squeezed out and then left to dry. Using a double sided film in this instance means that the film acts as a barrier between the liquid and the surface of the photo.
posted by tomble at 8:20 PM on October 18, 2006