I get a lot of messages asking what to do about affixing your artwork to a Bestbeltbuckle blank. These buckles are produced with holes so you can use small screws to attach them to your object. Although this may work for some people, if your are like me and make a object that cannot be screwed into so easily I have found a great solution. Being a glass artist for almost 20 years the Bestbeltbuckle blanks that I sell are a direct result of me needing a product that I could not find anymore or at times was out of stock when I needed them. This is a solution for those of you who are affixing these belt buckle blanks to something that cannot be drilled into so easily or just may be too thin for that type of application.
So what do I use?... my secret is E6000 glue. I like this glue because it is easy to use and has a very strong bond. Clean up any excess that might go where you do not want it too by waiting for it to dry and just peeling it off with your finger or using rubbing alcohol and some q tips while it is still wet. Another great reason I like it is because even know the bond is very strong in a glass to metal application I can easily heat the metal part a bit with a lighter or heat gun and remove my belt buckle blank from the glass. It is then pretty easy to just rub off the dried glue with your finger so both glass and metal are completely free of glue. This is great if you have a customer that wants to change the size of the buckle or maybe you just have a buckle that has been beat up too much and your customer wants it back to looking fresh. Below I will show you how I attach a glass belt buckle I made to a bestbeltbuckle blank. But first if you don't have any E6000 glue make sure to check out your local craft, hardware store or we stock small tubes under the Glue/Adhesive section of our website.
The glass piece above is hollow about 12mm thick.
Before I apply the glue I will make sure the orientation is correct and how it's looking when viewing from the front. After I have the position the way I think looks best I have used a silver marker to mark the area where the belt buckle blank will be glued and I put a small circle to indicate which side I want the hook of the blank facing. I have used a Dremel with a diamond bit to score up the glass a bit and the buckle for better adhesion since neither one of these are porous.
Next, I apply a small amount of E6000 to the glass and the metal. Its ok if you use too much clean up is easy. Slap them together and move them around a bit to ensure you have a nice layer of glue spread in between both objects. I will usually check the orientation again at this point ensuring everything looks correct. Set aside to dry on a level surface. Check a few minutes later to make sure everything is still in place. A new tube of E6000 might be a bit fluid and will take a few minutes to set up and become stiffer and at this time a slicker surface may have some movement. It's possible to be able to slide what you glued around to adjust up to 20 mins or so after placement, but allow 24 hours or more to dry. You can at this point use a q tip and rubbing alcohol to clean up any excess carefully or wait until it dries and just rub off with your finger. Any marks left from the marker will also clean up with a little rubbing alcohol.
Some other tips:
When you get a brand new tube of some E6000 it has a very nice flowing consistency which is great for certain applications. If you need it a bit stiffer you can wait a few minutes before you slap the to objects together, it will become a bit more tacky left to the air. Similar to using rubber cement.
Now if you have a tube of E6000 that's been sitting for a while initially when you squeeze some out it may be a bit thicker than you like. I just squeeze a a bit onto some paper and discard to revel some of a better consistency below what was near the surface close to air.
The application of this glue can pretty much be used for any non-porous materials like plastic or a rock slice. I would even recommend if you do use screws also using a bit of this glue to ensure a solid attachment to your buckle.
Thanks for reading and good luck on your belt buckle projects!