Repair guide
How to glue a stainless-steel house number to a pine gate
Stainless steel is harder to bond than mild steel because its passive chromium oxide layer is so stable. Abrade it hard, bond with two-part epoxy, and seal the pine first so it does not drink the adhesive.
The short answer
Abrade the back of the number with 80 grit, seal the pine with a thin skim of epoxy, and bond with a fresh mix once the skim is tacky. Outdoors, add a bead of sealant round the edge so water cannot sit between the metal and the timber. On a gate that slams, consider a couple of small stainless screws as well.
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time needed
- 20 minutes work, 24 hours cure
- What you need
- Two-part epoxy, 80 and 120 grit abrasive paper, isopropyl alcohol, exterior grade sealant, low tack masking tape, pencil, gloves
Stainless steel owes its corrosion resistance to a chromium oxide film that reforms the instant it is damaged. That film is chemically inert, which is exactly what you want for rust and exactly what you do not want for adhesion. Coarse abrasion, immediately before bonding, gives the epoxy a rough profile to key into, and a fine scratch pattern works better here than a polished one.
Softwood is the other half. Pine is open-grained and absorbent, and a bare face pulls resin out of the joint by capillary action. The fix is to seal it with a thin coat of the same epoxy and let it go tacky, then bond onto that. It costs twenty minutes and roughly doubles the joint strength.
A gate adds vibration. Every slam is a small shock load at the bond line and the corners of the numerals take the worst of it. Round the abrasion at the corners, make sure the whole back face is bonded rather than just the middle, and seal the edges so damp cannot creep in from outside.
Step by step
- Lay the numbers out on the gate and mark their positions with low tack tape and a pencil.
- Abrade the back of each numeral with 80 grit until the finish is uniformly dulled, then wipe with isopropyl alcohol.
- Sand the pine where each numeral sits with 120 grit and brush the dust away.
- Mix a little epoxy and brush a thin sealing coat onto the bare pine only.
- Wait until the sealing coat is tacky, usually 20 to 40 minutes.
- Mix fresh epoxy, spread a thin even layer on the back of each numeral, and press it into place.
- Tape each numeral so it cannot slide and leave for 24 hours.
- Run a thin bead of exterior sealant round the edge of each numeral where it meets the timber.
What to avoid
Do not bond stainless to a polished or brushed factory finish. It is the one preparation step you cannot skip with this metal.
Do not glue onto old paint or varnish on the gate. Sand through to bare timber or the joint is only as good as the finish underneath.
Do not leave the edges unsealed outdoors. Water sits in the gap, the pine swells, and the numerals lift at the corners.
Wear eye protection when abrading stainless, the swarf is fine and sharp. Uncured epoxy irritates skin. On a gate that is exposed to driving rain, expect to reseal the edges every few years.
The full bonding guide
Everything about gluing Stainless steel to Pine
Last reviewed 13 September 2026.