Filla-Glu CA Adhesives

[Mike]

Filla-Glu Adhesives

I first heard of these guys when they joined the forums, and have since received a pack of adhesives to trial for review. They have quite a range, which seems to have originally been aimed at the war-gaming community, but has perhaps unsurprisingly been latched onto by us "display" modellers.

There are many Cyano-acrylate Esters (CA or super glue) on the market, so what makes these products stand out?

From a non-chemist's point of view, not much on first inspection - Small neat bottles with screw on caps and colored dots on the tips of some of the range. Each bottle contains 10g of glue, which is dispensed by a reasonably fine nozzle with an external diameter of 3mm and internal of 1.5mm approximately. Most modellers decant their CA and apply with a pin, cocktail stick or piece of sprue anyway, but sometimes direct application is needed for large quantities.

The plastic of the bottles is also unusual in that it doesn't seem to allow the CA to stick to the outside of the nozzle, which is important if you're going to continue screwing the caps on - a common complaint I've had with many other bottles. Additionally, this means that the nozzle's glue path doesn't seem to clog - it hasn't so far after a week or so of use every day, and a quick wipe of the nozzle with a tissue seems to bring off the residue. That in itself improves the value for money, as you'll likely get to use every drop from this range, rather than throw away a clogged, super-viscous bottle when still a third full.

All good stuff so far. Practical packaging, but how to they stick? The short answer is "Very well", you'll be pleased to hear.

The black and clear are impregnated with rubber (no sniggering in the back!), so remain flexible and are more resistant to shock than standard glues, which should hopefully improve their shear strength, which is a common weakness with most CAs, and why we often lose parts to the carpet monster when we inadvertently brush past. I can see these glues being useful for small parts, and for attaching tracks together - particularly those that have metal track pins on plastic or metal track segments.

The above two glues are high viscosity, so have longer drying times and are good for filling gaps. Additionally, there are medium and low viscosity bottles in the range, which I should imagine need little explanation. The only point of note is that the low viscosity CA is more usable than most LV CAs, because it still has some surface tension, so stays in a puddle rather than spreading out all over the place. That's the one I see myself using a lot of.

The Wicking grade CA is more akin to the traditional low viscosity CA, and is great for attaching fine parts together. Just touch an old blade with some on against the joint and the glue just wicks away by capillary action, setting almost instantly. The joint remains a little weak for a few seconds though, so exercise caution there, but it does a great job with Photo-Etch parts and such like.

The Wicking grade can also be used with the funkily titled "Powda", presented in the same bottle, it contains a mineral powder that can be used to fill gaps. Simply apply some powder to the gap, add a dash of Wicking CA, and the whole lot sets up instantly, so don't expect to be able to brush away any excess afterwards! CA creates heat as it cures (Exothermic?), so don't try to fill really huge gaps in one go without melting your model... no, seriously. Don't.

The final item is Undo, a chemical debonder that works a lot better than some I've tried. It has almost no odour, and an oily texture, but it works just fine. It is also pretty good at removing the inevitable glue on your hands - something I do a lot.

Conclusion

A useful range of Cyano Acrylate (CA) glues for the modeller, with excellent adhesion and non clogging nozzles (a personal favourite of mine).

If you're used to the properties of other brands, you may have a short acclimatisation period, but once you become familiar you'll appreciate the range grades available, and soon be using them intelligently to do different jobs better than before, when you perhaps stuck with only one medium viscosity glue.

All glue puns unintentional.

Review samples courtesy of Jaime @

[little-cars]

Wonderful stuff, I had the sample set a few months ago and it is at least on a par with the ZAP branded glues.

Following discussions with Jamie they have re-packaged some of the items for me. The standard CA's & low bloom are now in a 20ml bottle and they have re-packaged their surface primer, accelerator and debonder into 50ml bottles with a screw in pump dispenser. So you can remove it to use the products with a brush.

I've been using rubber impregnated CA for many years. The 1/43rd cars I build have loads of PE wing end plates and wing elements, they were always getting knocked off. It still sometimes happens with the rubber impregnated type, but a lot less.

The black rubber impregnated glue is great, you can very easily see any glue that seaps out of a joint, which makes cleaning it up before it sets fully easier.

They have also stated that their accelerator is plastic safe.

The vitalbond product that a number of people had been using has changed packaging. It is still described as a pump spray, but the contents aren't accessable as it is now sealed just like an aerosol!

[Mike]

I'm reporting back on these glues, as I've found some substantial issues with them that have been backed up by experiences of others.

My first issue was when I was filling a seam with the glue, sanding back once first cured. After each attempt I'd end up with a slightly recessed smooth line, just below the level of the surrounding parts. The implication being that the glue was somehow shrinking, which I thought unlikely for the medium viscosity, and I've never come across before or since. I have since used the same technique with some cheap Javis CA and had none of the same issues. Around the same time friend of mine used Filla-Glu to complete a resin kit, including the main seams, which have all puckered up and split since painting, which I have seen first-hand. Again, this implies some kind of shrinkage or medium term chemical instability. Furthermore, I almost always decant my CA onto a glass or plastic surface to apply it with a cocktail stick or knife blade, so when I saw how it had dried this further confirmed my surmise. Each droplet had contracted leaving a wrinkled outer "shell" of air hardened glue behind, which was especially evident on the black thick CA.

Within about 3 months most of my glues were either dried up completely or had become so viscous as to be unusable. Initially I thought that this was because a couple of the screw topped lids had cracked (another common issue), but even those that were properly capped had suffered the same fate, while other brands have sat within a few inches of them and been totally unchanged during the same period. All of the Filla-Glue bottles have since gone in the bin.

Whether we were victims of a bad batch (my friend got his around the same time as me), I can't say, but the results have been less than stellar. Sadly, I have to say that I cannot recommend these products for use to members at this time.

[Moofles]

That's a disappointment, thank you for the heads up.

[mick b]

Glad I didnt waste my money on these after your first review! Would be interesting to hear from Filla-Glu themselves on the issues raised?

Mick