Gluing MDF to aluminum & acrylic

[Chris_B]

I'm building a dust tray for my ambient air cleaner to replace the plastic bag diaper, and have a couple of related fastening questions. Wood/wood is pretty straightforward, but I don't have much experience gluing wood or MDF to other materials.

1) MDF/Acrylic
I need to mount a thin circular sheet of acrylic inside a ~12" diameter hole with a routed rabbet edge. Essentially this is a window in the MDF, and the acrylic is cut to 'snap' into the rabbet (IOW, a tight fit). I'd prefer not to have to mechanically (brads/screws) fasten this if possible, and the joint needs to be air-tight.

2) MDF/Aluminum
Similarly, I want to fasten a thin strip of aluminum around the circumference of a 3/4" MDF round approximately 18" in diameter. This is basically an edge band. Mechanical fasteners are less of an issue for this, but I'd still prefer to avoid them if possible.

What glue would you recommend for these jobs? Poly?
Does is matter if the MDF has been coated with varnish and/or sealed with shellac?

Any tips would be most welcome!

[BigguyZ]

I would seal the MDF with Poly, and then use clear silicone caulk to adhere the parts.

[cabinetman]

A two part epoxy would likely do the trick.
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[Uncle Cracker]

DuPont has a website with recommendations on what to use to glue practically anything to anything... I can't remember the address, but a little 'net sleuthing should yield the answer.

[cabinetman]

DuPont has a website with recommendations on what to use to glue practically anything to anything... I can't remember the address, but a little 'net sleuthing should yield the answer.

Is this the one?
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[Uncle Cracker]

Is this the one?.

No, but similar. The Dupont one was geared toward their own products, which are excellent, but yours seems really good as well. I haven't had a chance to search for the one I'm thinking of, and perhaps it is not up anymore.