Ultra Violet setting resin glue any good

[AltcarBoB]

A friend who does Decoupage (making fancy birthday and Christmas cards) has been using a UV cure glue recently and absolutely swears by it. I had a good look at it in use with a view to using it for models, however it seems quite soft and flexible when set though my friend says it does come in hard set versions. Has anyone used this glue in place of Superglue and 2 part resin glues. I was particulary thinking of its suitablity for use with Resin kits.

 

UV light glue pen

[thorfinn]

I use it quite often for incidental touch-ups and 'quick-locking' things in place, similar to epoxy. It's great because you can apply it, fettle with the fit till it suits you, then hit with the little UV light to set it in 5-15 seconds (depending on quantity used). It cures to approximately the same hardness as styrene, so it's relatively easy to 'feather in' repairs on seams and for filling mold-release pin marks, etc.

 

It's got a little bit of a resin smell, but nothing obtrusive.

 

It's also great for small clear windows and lenses. If needed, it can be polished and buffed out to a clearness like that of kit clear parts. One advisory for use with clear parts, however: it seems the UV won't actually pass effectively through clear styrene. If used with such parts, it's important that there be a good 'edge' visible to allow the UV to enter the resin and activate it.

 

In my experience it can be painted and masked without issue. I've been using it for about 3 years now, and so far, have seen no problems on old builds with paint coming up over even un-primed areas, or any kind of shrinkage or discoloration of the resin itself. Granted, I tend to use it on relatively small areas, but that's as much due to the (modest) expense as anything.

 

I wouldn't have thought it was particularly flexible...but then, I have never tried to use it in that kind of application. It seems to cure with a hardness similar to other epoxies; it might take a good 'knock,' but I'd be hesitant to 'flex' it. [Maybe that flexibility is a characteristic of a certain special type, but it doesn't sound like the typical 'pen' stuff I've seen.]

 

That's just the highlights. If you have any specific questions, chime right in.

 

Cheers

[BIG X]

I've just bought some of the Revell version - but not used it in anger yet.  I 'tested' it and found the following...

 

• Actually 'sticky' straight out of the tube - which could be a plus or minus
• quite viscous or 'thick'
• 'slightly' milky but 'almost' transparent before UV
• transparent after UV
• 'soft' after UV - but harder with a longer burst

Other observations - the UV light needs to be able to get at the glue - so bonding 2 opaque surfaces isn't going to work.  I bought it for canopies and the like - so not an issue.  In a 'previous life' I used to sell 'liquid laminators' - which used water like UV curing fluid, which was laid onto graphics and then passed under a UV source to create a solid lamination surface.

 

The process is actually known as 'photo initiation'.  Basically all the molecules in the liquid act as a liquid - ie they aren't reaching out to grab each other - but when you blast them with UV they all 'grow arms' and grab each other - thus acting like a solid.  I hope that makes sense.

 

Steve

[Giorgio N]

If you get one of those that set to a hard resin, then it is a very useful tool, particularly to glue clear parts. I've only relatively recently started using these glues and they are one of the best things I've found in the last couple of years.

However I would not use any of these to glue large parts for one simple reason: the mating surfaces where the glue is must be reached by UV light, and this is not so easy when building a model. If I have to glue two fuselage halves, the mating surfaces will never receive the amount of light needed for the glue to properly cure, so I'd stick to a good 2-part epoxy glue for these applications. I also don't know how strong the bond is, but I guess that this depends on the type of glue.

Said that, I use one of these glues as filler and works very well, can be sanded like plastic and grips nicely.

[AltcarBoB]

Thanks for the info guys very helpful. I have ordered one of the pens and a small bottle to try it out. I particulary like the idea of being able to use it to fill in small imperfections.

[Cheshiretaurus]

Brilliant glue for rigging