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Two part adhesive for plastic: name the plastic first

Updated: 23 October 2026

A clip has snapped on a trim panel, or a household moulding has broken, and the epoxy bullet says most plastics. That phrase is wider than the sheet behind it. Polyethylene, polypropylene and PTFE are the plastics Araldite’s own notes usually leave out, and they are common on bottles, tubs, car parts and cheap clips. This page follows one repair: identify the plastic, then see whether any pack in this amazon.co.uk set is even a candidate. The scored rows are the [two-part adhesive comparison](/hub/fillers-adhesives-and-sprays/two-part-adhesive). Products Compared did not lab-test polymers. Shelf prices are from 20 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

A clip has snapped on a trim panel, or a household moulding has broken, and the epoxy bullet says most plastics. That phrase is wider than the sheet behind it.

Our top picks

Sika Everbuild Mitre Fast 50 g, MITRE1IND

Best overall

Sika Everbuild Mitre Fast 50 g, MITRE1IND
9.2/10about £7.50
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Araldite Araldite Rapid ARA-400005

Best value

Araldite Araldite Rapid ARA-400005
9.0/10about £7.85
View offer
J-B Weld J-B Weld PlasticBonder 50139

Rank 3

J-B Weld J-B Weld PlasticBonder 50139
8.8/10about £7.84
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On this page
  1. 1.Most plastics is not every plastic
  2. 2.Rigid clips and car trim
  3. 3.uPVC trim is a mitre job
  4. 4.When this set is the wrong shelf

Most plastics is not every plastic

Ordinary epoxy wets wood, ceramic, glass and many metals. Polyethylene and polypropylene have a low surface energy, which is why trade notes, including Jamestown’s, say a standard epoxy does not bond them. Araldite sheets add PTFE and also exclude food-contact repairs and rear-view mirror bonding. Reviews of Araldite Standard include a failed nylon cog and a failed acrylic. As a rule of thumb for the recycling stamp, not a laboratory identification: 2 is HDPE, 4 is LDPE and 5 is PP. ABS and rigid PVC are the try-on-a-scrap-first cases. If there is no mark, do not guess from the colour. A drop on a hidden offcut, left for the full cure, tells you more. Do not heat a wire to smell the plastic.

Rigid clips and car trim

When the offcut holds, the pack named for plastics is J-B Weld PlasticBonder 50139, a black 25 ml syringe at £7.84, with 4.5 from 17,667 reviews, a 3,770 PSI figure and a 15 minute set. One review still found a car trim only marginally compatible, and black will show on a light moulding. The plunger can dump the syringe, so mix only what the repair needs. The UK full-cure cell repeats 15 minutes, while the US product page says a 6 minute set and a 1 hour cure. Follow the leaflet. J-B Weld’s FAQ calls polypropylene work cosmetic, and a catalogue line says the syringe is not for polypropylene or polyethylene. If the mark says PP or PE, do not use it on a clip that has to carry a load. Speed against a mitre kit is on epoxy or mitre adhesive.
Sika Everbuild Mitre Fast 50 g, MITRE1IND

Testsieger

Sika Everbuild Mitre Fast 50 g, MITRE1IND
9.2/10about £7.50
View offer

uPVC trim is a mitre job

White window board, architrave and skirting in uPVC are on the Mitre Fast use list. That is a close mitre, gap about 0.2 mm, grabbed in about 10 seconds. It is not a plastic weld, and it is not a bumper. The 50 g Everbuild kit at £7.50 is the listing with the large review file for that trim. Align the joint before the faces touch, because it will not slide afterwards. The water field on that ASIN says Not Water Resistant, so a wet external joint is a reason to read the tube. A clear 5-minute epoxy can stick some rigid PVC and still needs support while it cures. It will not hold a long piece of uPVC trim in the air for an hour. For a mitre you have already cut true, the activator kit is the one.

When this set is the wrong shelf

A scuffed bumper is sold in UK body-shop ranges as a polyurethane or methacrylate cartridge. Fast Mover, ONEBOND and Sealey list that class, and several of those cartridges still exclude polyethylene, polypropylene and PTFE. None of them is among the twelve packs here. PlasticBonder’s 25 ml syringe is not a structural bumper adhesive. A safety-related clip, a fuel-system part, or anything that must survive a crash load is a bodyshop or a replacement part, not a consumer syringe at £7.84. If the mark is 2, 4 or 5 and the part must hold weight, stop. A longer cure will not change the surface. For a rigid scrap that passed a test patch, PlasticBonder is the candidate. For uPVC mitres, Mitre Fast is the candidate. For polyethylene, this shelf is the wrong shelf.

Common questions

Will two-part epoxy stick every plastic?
No. Araldite sheets exclude polyethylene, polypropylene and PTFE, and Standard reviews here include a failed nylon cog and a failed acrylic. Most plastics on a bullet is not a list of recycling marks. A bottle, a tub or a flexible hinge stays outside the set until a scrap test says otherwise.
How do I tell polyethylene from ABS or PVC?
Look for the recycling mark. As a rule of thumb, 2, 4 and 5 are the polyethylenes and polypropylene this set should not be expected to hold. ABS is often marked 7 or ABS, and rigid PVC is often marked 3. No mark means you do not know. A scrap left for the full cure tells you more than the colour.
Is PlasticBonder the pack for car trim?
It is the pack in this set named for plastics, a black 25 ml syringe at £7.84 with a very large review count. One review called a car trim only marginally compatible, and the mend is black. It is reasonable for a rigid, non-safety clip after a scrap test. It is not a bumper structural adhesive.
Will it hold polypropylene?
Do not plan on it for anything structural. J-B Weld’s FAQ calls polypropylene work with PlasticBonder cosmetic, and a catalogue line says it is not for polypropylene or polyethylene. Those lines disagree. A recycling mark of 5 is a reason to replace the clip, not to wait longer on this syringe.
Is a bumper repair the same product?
No. Bumper adhesives in UK trade lists are polyurethane or methacrylate cartridges, and many still exclude polyethylene, polypropylene and PTFE. The 25 ml PlasticBonder syringe is not that cartridge. A scuff that must flex, or any safety-related plastic, is outside this set.

Related pages

Two-part adhesive buying guide

How to use two-part adhesive

Two-part adhesive

Best two part adhesive for the job in front of you

Epoxy or mitre adhesive: open time or instant grab

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. amazon.co.uk prices, stars and review counts were taken from the listings on 20 October 2026.

  1. Sika Mitre Fast product data sheet, August 2025 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. HSE, GB classification and labelling (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. HSE, safety data sheets (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. legislation.gov.uk, retained CLP (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, NPIS chemicals information (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. Araldite Rapid technical data sheet (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. HSE RR79, epoxy skin sensitisation (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. NHSGGC tissue adhesives (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  9. J-B Weld PlasticBonder (retrieved 20 October 2026)