Best Glue For Rubber To Plastic in 2022 (5 Reviews & Buying Guide)

Both rubber and plastic are notorious for being tricky to bond, especially if you need to join the two materials together.

You will always have fewer adhesives to choose from when you are looking to bond two different materials. The list of adhesives is further reduced because of how challenging the materials are to bond, so it can be quite hard to find glue that will work on both plastic and rubber.

Luckily, there are a few models that will help you bond the two difficult materials. We compiled a list of those models and ended up with the 5 best glue for rubber to plastic. Each one of the 5 adhesives works excellent with both materials and can successfully bond them.

Along with the list, we’ve included an informative guide where you can learn more about the features of the two materials and the adhesives used to bond them.

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Our Pick
IC-2000 Rubber-Toughened 1oz CA Adhesive Glue
Runner Up
3M Scotch-Weld Plastic & Rubber Instant Adhesive PR100, Clear, Low Viscosity, Fast Handling Time and Cure, 20 g (0.07 fl oz) Bottle
Best Budget
Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control, Clear Superglue, Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Instant Glue, Quick Dry - 0.14 fl oz Bottle, Pack of 1
Barge All Purpose Cement Quart (O22721)
E-6000 Adhesive Metal, Glass, Fiberglass Masonry And Concrete Clear Carded 2 Oz
Product
BSI Rubber Toughened Adhesive
3M Plastic & Rubber Adhesive
Loctite Super Glue Gel
Barge All Purpose Cement
E6000 Craft Adhesive
Drying Color
Black
Clear
Clear
Gold
Clear
Viscosity
Medium
Low
Medium
High
High
Waterproof
Drying Time
20-40 Seconds
20 Seconds
30 Seconds
5 Minutes
10-60 Minutes
Our Pick
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IC-2000 Rubber-Toughened 1oz CA Adhesive Glue
Product
BSI Rubber Toughened Adhesive
Drying Color
Black
Viscosity
Medium
Waterproof
Drying Time
20-40 Seconds
Where To Buy
Runner Up
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3M Scotch-Weld Plastic & Rubber Instant Adhesive PR100, Clear, Low Viscosity, Fast Handling Time and Cure, 20 g (0.07 fl oz) Bottle
Product
3M Plastic & Rubber Adhesive
Drying Color
Clear
Viscosity
Low
Waterproof
Drying Time
20 Seconds
Where To Buy
Best Budget
Image
Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel Control, Clear Superglue, Cyanoacrylate Adhesive Instant Glue, Quick Dry - 0.14 fl oz Bottle, Pack of 1
Product
Loctite Super Glue Gel
Drying Color
Clear
Viscosity
Medium
Waterproof
Drying Time
30 Seconds
Where To Buy
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Barge All Purpose Cement Quart (O22721)
Product
Barge All Purpose Cement
Drying Color
Gold
Viscosity
High
Waterproof
Drying Time
5 Minutes
Where To Buy
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E-6000 Adhesive Metal, Glass, Fiberglass Masonry And Concrete Clear Carded 2 Oz
Product
E6000 Craft Adhesive
Drying Color
Clear
Viscosity
High
Waterproof
Drying Time
10-60 Minutes
Where To Buy

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API


Best Glue For Rubber To Plastic – Reviews


We started our research with more than 40 potential adhesives that we thought were good candidates for bonding rubber to plastic. Only 5 glue models performed well enough to be included in our list, and those 5 are truly the best adhesives for rubber to plastic you will find. We included models for different sizes of projects as well as models with different price ranges.

Our Pick

BSI IC-2000 Rubber Toughened CA Adhesive

IC-2000 - Rubber Toughened CA Adhesive

Drying Color: Black

Setting Time: 20-40 Seconds

Viscosity: Medium

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The most important property that the best glue for rubber to plastic should have is flexibility, and this is where this Bob Smith Industries CA adhesive shines. It offers incredible flexibility while being compatible with both plastic and rubber.

Since this is essentially cyanoacrylate or super glue with additives, its strength is pretty obvious. It not only works great on most plastics and rubber but is strong enough to hold them even when the stress on the bond is high!

The strength of this glue is great, we know that, but what really impressed us is the aforementioned flexibility of this adhesive. This kind of flexibility provides the longevity of the bond because rubber is a material that is prone to movement post gluing.

If we just used a standard super glue adhesive, the bond will become brittle over time, and the movement of the rubber will weaken the joint. By using this rubber-toughened glue we ensure that the bond is more resistant and lasts a long time.

If you plan on using this glue in moist or high-temperature conditions, you won’t have any problems with it. It is waterproof after it cures and can resist both high and low temperatures with ease. The bond will be preserved whatever the weather!

When using this glue, you benefit from the quick drying time of cyanoacrylate adhesives. You can expect it to dry in just 20 to 40 seconds, which is lightning fast! If you need an even faster drying time, pairing this glue with an accelerator can get you instantaneous setting time! We recommend an accelerator from the same company that you can get on Amazon here!

The only thing we don’t like about this glue is the drying color, which is black. If the bond is visible and needs to look good, this might not be the best glue for the job. If you, however, don’t care about the aesthetics of the bond and just want to get the best glue for rubber to plastic, this is the one to go for!

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3M Scotch-Weld Plastic & Rubber Adhesive

3M Scotch-Weld Plastic & Rubber Adhesive

Drying Color: Clear

Setting Time: 20 Seconds

Viscosity: Low

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3M offers a lot of great adhesives, and while we mostly reviewed their spray adhesives, they do have some excellent liquid models like this plastic to rubber glue. It is specifically designed for this application and works phenomenally on both materials!

This glue combines exceptional strength and flexibility to provide inseparable bonds on rubber to plastic. It’s designed to work on most plastics, and we are yet to find the type of thermoplastic it won’t bond. The flexibility allows it to bond every type of rubber and holds its bond for years!

This adhesive has to be one of the strongest rubber too plastic glue models we’ve ever seen. After the full cure, the bond reaches the sheer strength of 2000 PSI, which is incredibly strong! This glue is sufficient for even the most heavy-duty projects as it will withstand high stress from different directions.

Unlike the BSI rubber toughened adhesive we reviewed above, this glue dries clear, which something we like. You can use it on visible joints where aesthetics are important.

The drying time is super-fast as the adhesive sets in under 20 seconds in most cases! This will save you a lot of time and will make you finish your project or repair a lot faster!

No product is perfect, and while we like this glue most of the time, we have some complaints about its viscosity. Its consistency is as thin as water, which makes the glue runny and application somewhat more difficult.

We do realize that the low viscosity is a trade-off for a faster drying time, but we still wanted to point it out since most people prefer medium and high viscosity adhesives as they don’t flow as much.

This adhesive is a bit more costly than the others but is definitely worth the price! Its performance on rubber to plastic and lightning-fast drying time makes it a worthwhile purchase!

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Barge All Purpose Cement

Barge All Purpose Cement

Drying Color: Gold

Setting Time: 5 Minutes

Viscosity: High

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The legendary Barge All Purpose Cement is mostly used for shoe repairs and sole replacement but is also a great adhesive for all types of rubber and most plastics.

Again, as we already mentioned, flexibility is the key property of the adhesive we are looking for, and this cement certainly has it. After all, flexibility got it as popular as it is now since it works marvelously on rubber.

This cement is compatible with most thermoplastics and bonds them very well on rubber. You will have no problem bonding large or heavy-duty parts with this adhesive, as its strength is exceptional.

The Barge Cement is great for tough rubber to plastic repairs where you need both superb strength and environmental resistance. It has incredible water resistance and will hold its bond even if it’s fully submerged, making it great for rubber to plastic boat repairs.

One of the things that make this cement so convenient to use is the applicator that comes attached to the lid of the can. It makes the spreading of the glue much more controlled and gets just the right amount of glue where it needs to be with no wastage of the cement.

This neat applicator, and the thick consistency of this cement, make it a joy to work with. The cement goes where you want it to go and stays where you want it to stay!

You can expect this cement to dry in around 5 minutes, which is pretty fast, but the problem some people have with it is that it dries a gold color. Again, if you need the bond to look good, go for one of the clear rubber to plastic adhesives we reviewed.

We wish that there was a smaller packaging of this great cement. It comes in the big 32 Oz can, which is too big for a lot of people. Still, you can do a lot with this cement as it is all-purpose and very versatile, so saving it for later isn’t a bad option either.

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Loctite Super Glue Gel

Loctite Gel Super Glue

Drying Color: Clear

Setting Time: 30 seconds

Viscosity: Medium

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Ah yes, the Loctite super glue. It is an adhesive that seems to find its way to every one of our lists. We found that this gel control version of the Loctite super glue works wonderfully on rubber to plastic and is a great and affordable option for bonding these two materials!

First of all, this is one of the few cyanoacrylate adhesives that we found to be truly flexible. It won’t get brittle over time as most super glue adhesives do, so you can count on it to work on rubber.

The versatility of the Loctite super glue is unmatched, so we had no doubt it will work on almost all types of plastic and just about every type of rubber. We are yet to find a material it doesn’t work on!

The strength of the adhesion is sufficient for small and medium-sized projects and repairs. We wouldn’t recommend it for anything heavy-duty that requires great shear strength, but for small crafts and repairs, it will work excellently!

One reason we always get back to this super glue is its convenience. It is so easy to use and dispense this glue just the way you want it. The mess-free application is possible because of the two little dispensing buttons on the side of the bottle. By pressing the two buttons, you can get the glue out evenly and slowly, almost drip by drip.

For added precision, this glue is made to be gel-like in terms of consistency and doesn’t run or spill. The accurate application and the clear drying properties of this glue make the bonds look really clean and professional-like.

All in all, this is, in our opinion, the best glue for rubber to plastic when it comes to small and medium-sized projects and repairs. It is very affordable and readily available online so that you can get started on your project right away!

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E6000 Craft Adhesive

E6000 Craft Adhesive

Drying Color: Clear

Setting Time: 10-60 Minutes

Viscosity: High

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The last glue on our list is the adhesive that is so versatile that we use it almost daily. It is one of the best glue for rubber to plastic on medium and small repairs and projects.

As with the Loctite super glue, we are sure that most of our readers are already familiar with the properties of this popular glue. It dries clear, is strong, very viscous, and works on a ton of materials.

But the question is, how does it perform on rubber to plastic bonding? Well, it doesn’t disappoint.

Because this crafting version of E6000 is flexible and strong, it can bond most types of rubber to most plastics easily. The bonds are strong and also resistant to extreme temperature and water.

One of the main advantages of using this glue over the others is its affordability, as it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. If we compare all the adhesives prices on the list ounce to an ounce, this one seems to be the best budget option.

The one thing that draws people away from using this adhesive is the slow drying time. Depending on the size of the parts and the amount of the glue, you might need to wait up to 60 minutes for the glue to set.

If you want more assembly time, this can be beneficial, but if you want quick results, super glue is a better choice.

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Glue For Plastic To Rubber – Guide


As we already mentioned, both plastic and rubber are very problematic when it comes to gluing them. The situation gets even more complicated if we have to glue them together as rubber is porous and plastic is a non-porous material.

All this means that we have to choose our adhesive carefully and take into consideration the properties of the materials we are bonding. We will now go through the main characteristics that you should be looking for when choosing glue for rubber to plastic.

Flexibility

We mentioned this one a lot through the article, but we can’t stress it enough. If the glue you are using for bonding rubber to plastic isn’t flexible, it won’t hold it for too long.

Rubber is prone to movement, which means that if the glue can’t move with it (e.g. isn’t flexible), it will break, as it is brittle.

Whichever glue you choose, it has to be flexible. Otherwise, you are wasting your time.

Versatility

bottle of glue

After you’ve made sure that the glue is flexible, you need to find out if it will work on both materials.

This one is a bit tricky as plastic is non-porous, while rubber is a porous material.

Adhesives we had the most success with on both of those materials are contact cement and flexible cyanoacrylate adhesives.

Super glue was able to glue the most plastic types such as ABS plastic, polystyrene, PVC, and more!

Other adhesives might bond rubber to plastic but are usually not flexible enough or don’t have enough power.

Environmental Resistance

Do your rubber and plastic parts need to be submerged? In that case, you’ll have to go for a waterproof rubber to plastic glue that works with both materials and is flexible.

Most contact cement adhesives and flexible super glue models will be sufficient for that kind of application. Both also have good temperature resistance and can tolerate difficult conditions.

Drying Time

The drying time of the adhesive is largely an individual preference. Most of the time, you will want a fast-setting adhesive to get the job done as quickly as possible.

If you, however, need more time for the assembly of the parts, going for a slower drying glue might be your best choice.

Super glue is a clear winner if you’re looking for the quickest drying time. Low viscosity or liquid super glue is the fastest and can set in just 10 seconds!

IC-2000 Rubber-Toughened Adhesive - Best Glue For Plastic to Rubber

  • Drying Color: Black
  • Setting Time: 20-40 Seconds
  • Viscosity: Medium

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API


Wrap Up


Gluing rubber to plastic certainly isn’t child’s play and requires some knowledge about the materials and adhesives.

We tried our best to present you with all the necessary information so that you can choose the best glue for rubber to plastic for your project.

You can’t go wrong with any of the models we reviewed. They all perform excellently on rubber and plastic and will give you quality and long-lasting results!