How To Glue Glass to Glass

What is the best glue for sticking two pieces of glass together that dries clear?

Selleys recommends Araldite Ultra Clear for this — a clear-drying epoxy adhesive that bonds strongly to glass surfaces. Selleys does not publish a technical data sheet for Araldite Ultra Clear, so we cannot quote set times, pot life or strength figures for it here; follow the directions on the pack.

If you want a clear-drying Araldite epoxy with published technical data behind it, Araldite Super Strong 5 Minute Epoxy is the one to look at. It is described as a clear, fast-setting two-part epoxy that gives a rigid durable bond, and glass is named on its technical data sheet among the surfaces it fixes, alongside china, metal, leather, rubber, wood and most plastics.

Why epoxy, and not a silicone or a super glue

Glass is non-porous, dimensionally stable and smooth. That combination rules out anything that needs to soak in or that cures by absorbing moisture from a porous substrate. A two-part epoxy cures by chemical reaction between the resin and the hardener, so it does not care that neither face can breathe, and it sets to a rigid solid that holds two rigid parts in fixed alignment — which is usually what you want when you are joining glass to glass.

It also dries clear, so the bond line is not a grey smear across a transparent joint.

Published figures for Araldite Super Strong 5 Minute Epoxy

Property	Typical result
Technology	Two-part epoxy
Colour	Dries clear
Set time	5 minutes
Initial bond time	30 minutes
Maximum bond time	After 16 hours
Temperature resistance	Up to 60 °C
Strength	Holds up to 150 kg/cm² when fully cured on clean, abraded copper
Pot life once mixed	2–3 minutes at 20 °C
Pack sizes	8 mL and 24 mL syringes; 35 mL tube

Indicative data only, not intended for the preparation of specifications.

The number that catches people out is the 2–3 minute pot life. On a glass job you usually want to position the parts precisely, and three minutes disappears quickly if you are still cutting masking tape when you mix. Dry-fit everything first, work out how you will hold the pieces, then mix.

If three minutes is not enough, Araldite Extra Time 60 Minutes Epoxy gives a far longer working window for careful alignment. The whole range is on the epoxy glue page.

How to bond glass to glass

1. Dry-fit the pieces and decide how you will support them while the adhesive sets. Glass will not stay where you put it on a smooth bench.
2. Clean both faces thoroughly and let them dry. Any oil or fingerprint residue on glass sits directly in the bond line.
3. For the syringe pack, snap the cap out of the plunger and cut the sealed tips off the nozzle. For the tube pack, pierce each tube with the spike in the cap.
4. Dispense equal parts of both liquids onto a clean disposable surface and mix thoroughly with a spatula. Do not use the plastic blister as a mixing tray.
5. Apply the mixed glue to both surfaces and bring them together.
6. Do not apply undue strain to the bond for 30 minutes. Hold the join with tape or weights if needed.
7. Leave it 16 hours for maximum strength. In cold weather, allow longer.

Limitations to be aware of

• The bond softens above 60 °C, though strength is restored when the temperature returns to normal. Do not use it on anything that gets hot — an oven door, for example, needs Selleys Silicone 401 RTV instead, which is rated for continuous service from −60 °C to +205 °C.
• UV exposure may discolour the product, which matters on a clear joint sitting in a sunny window.
• It is rigid. Epoxy does not flex. Where the joint needs to move or absorb vibration, a sealant rather than an epoxy is the right family of product.
• It will not bond PTFE, polyethylene or polypropylene — relevant if one side of your job is plastic rather than glass.

Safety: eye protection is not optional on a glass job

Two of the products named above carry a Category 1 eye classification — permanent damage rather than irritation that passes.

Product	Classification
Selleys Silicone 401 RTV	Danger — H318 causes serious eye damage; H315 causes skin irritation
Araldite Super Strong — Part B, hardener	Danger — H314 severe skin burns, Category 1 serious eye damage, H317 allergic skin reaction. Part A is Warning: H315, H319, H317
Selleys Glass Silicone	Warning — H227 combustible liquid, H319 serious eye irritation, H317 allergic skin reaction
Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal	Warning — H317, H319

What follows for this job

H318 is permanent injury, and glass work puts your eyes in the worst place for it. Bonding glass to glass is close, bench-height, fiddly work: you lean in over a small joint to check alignment, often with a light behind it, because you are trying to keep a clear bond line thin and even. That is your face directly above the work. If you move to Silicone 401 RTV for the hot job the page describes — an oven door — you are working a cartridge at close range, and a caulking gun can spit when the pressure releases. Safety glasses, not reading glasses.

An H318 splash is a 15-minute flush, not a rinse. Irrigate with copious water for a full fifteen minutes, holding the eyelids open, then ring the Poisons Information Centre. The instinct to blink it out and carry on is what turns a treatable exposure into a permanent one.

The hardener is the dangerous half of the epoxy pack. Part B is H314 — severe skin burns. The method above has you dispense both parts onto a disposable surface and mix with a spatula inside a two to three minute pot life. Working that fast is when people mix with a finger. Use the spatula and wear nitrile gloves; both parts also carry H317, which is sensitisation — permanent once acquired, and built from repeated small contacts rather than one incident.

If the job is sealing a glass joint rather than bonding it, Glass Silicone carries H319 (Category 2A irritation) rather than a Category 1 eye classification — a genuinely lower eye hazard, at the cost of adding H317 and a combustible-liquid classification. Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.

Common questions about gluing glass to glass

Will the joint be invisible?

Araldite Super Strong dries clear, so the glue line is far less visible than with a filled adhesive — but a bond line in glass is never truly invisible. Keep the layer thin and even, and mask the outside of the joint against squeeze-out.

How long before I can handle the piece?

Avoid loading the bond for the first 30 minutes, and allow 16 hours for maximum strength.

Can I use it on a drinking glass or something that goes in the dishwasher?

Nothing in the Araldite technical data sheet covers food contact or dishwasher use, so we cannot recommend it for either. Do not use it on anything that will hold food or drink.

Is this suitable for sticking glass to a wall?

No — that is a different job. Liquid Nails Mirror & Metal is the product made for adhering mirrors and glass to walls, applied as parallel beads roughly 8 cm apart and supported for around 72 hours while it develops strength. Note its own limitation, though: it is not for repairing broken glass.

What about sealing a glass joint rather than bonding it?

Sealing is a silicone job. See the glass silicone range, and silicone between a glass splashback and a stone benchtop for a worked example.

How do I clean up spills?

Acetone removes uncured Araldite. Cured epoxy is very solvent-resistant and has to be removed mechanically — see how to remove dried Araldite.

Which Araldite should I choose if I need more working time?

Araldite Extra Time 60 Minutes for slow, careful assembly; Araldite Super Strong 5 Minute for a quick, clear-drying fix; Araldite Rapid 90 Seconds where speed matters more than alignment.