Material guide
Gluing Polycarbonate
Tough transparent sheet used for safety glazing, machine guards and greenhouse panels.
Also called Lexan, Makrolon, PC, polycarb.
How Polycarbonate behaves when you bond it
Polycarbonate is far more impact resistant than acrylic but much more prone to stress cracking from the wrong chemistry. Cyanoacrylate in particular can fog and craze it, so clear-finish jobs need care.
Polycarbonate is a tough transparent thermoplastic with moderate surface energy. It bonds readily with selected products but is vulnerable to solvent attack, crazing and locked-in moulding stress; visible work also reveals fogging and bubbles.
Material properties
- Surface energy
- Medium
- Porosity
- Non-porous
- Rigidity
- Rigid
- Maximum service temperature
- 115C
- Normally needs abrading
- No
- Normally needs a primer
- No
- Solvent sensitive
- Yes. Solvent-based adhesives can craze or dissolve the surface.
- Recommended degreaser
- Isopropanol or Permabond Cleaner A (Permabond adhesive preparation for polycarbonate; acetone is identified as too aggressive.) Manufacturer verified
Surface preparation
Use clean, dry, unstressed material. Permabond permits bonding as received and names isopropanol or Cleaner A for wiping; it warns that acetone is too aggressive. Use minimal compatible cleaner, avoid excess cyanoacrylate and confirm that UV-stabilised sheet transmits the cure wavelength.
Which adhesives work on Polycarbonate
Excellent
Structural acrylic
Structural acrylic is rated excellent for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Good
Two-part epoxy
Two-part epoxy is rated good for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Good
UV cure adhesive
UV cure adhesive is rated good for this material as an application-level assessment, not as a blanket manufacturer claim. Suitability still depends on the other substrate, joint design and service environment.
Bonding Polycarbonate to something else
Polycarbonate to Glass
Polycarbonate to Glazed ceramic
Polycarbonate to Painted metal
Polycarbonate to Aluminium
Polycarbonate to Mild steel
Polycarbonate to Polycarbonate
Polycarbonate to Stainless steel
ABS to Polycarbonate
Last reviewed 8 October 2026.