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Good glue for paper modelling


Jasonb13

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Hi all...

 

I got my hands on a paper model and am going to make a start on it. Just looking for some advice on a good glue for it. It basically seems to be PVA, either School Glue or Craft Glue (whatever the difference is!) but most of the brands recommended online are in the US. Any suggestion for good glue I can get in Ireland or the UK? Thanks...

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There are different kinds of PVA,  high strength quick bond wood glue is handy stuff,  good for gluing on canopies and DIY jobs as well, but it is water based, which may affect paper by wrinkling.

 

Copydex seems a reasonale suggestion,  you may find something like classic UHU clear useful, https://www.uhu.com/en/product-page.3375

and you could use superglue, but that is liable to leave marks, but perhaps useful for doing internal parts and for speed of use.

 

Given it's paper,  you can experiment on scrap easily ;) 

Edited by Troy Smith
added "as well" for clarity
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I'll second @Troy Smith's recommendations.

Standard UHU tube glue -don't get the solvent free type, it is also adhesive free in my experience.

Good for smaller areas and where you want the glue to "grab" quickly, can be used on larger areas if you move fast and can spread it evenly and quickly. Has a tendency to string, a bit like tube polystyrene cement, can mar the surface if accidentally applied in the wrong place.

PVA wood glue/white glue/school glue

Takes longer to set up/grab (an advantage in some situations but not in others)

Can be used for general assembly

Good for laminating paper onto card, can be spread thinly and evenly but best left under a heavy weight whilst drying

Also good for adding very small details.

Can be cleaned off with care if incorrectly applied using a damp brush.

Depending on the consituency of the glue it can cause distortion/warping if too liquid or excess glue is applied.

PVA is available from hardware/diy stores and stationers/craft/toy stores

Elmers School glue is usually recommended in the USA and is now available in the UK from B&M

Evo-stik wood glue is available from many places including B&Q

 

Whilst buying large size bottles is cheaper per ml as @PhoenixII suggests, you're only going to be using very small quantities, and a litre bottle of the stuff on the workbench is going to get in the way.

It does tend to go off if you forget to close the lid up as well. I keep a scrap of thick card and squirt a small blob onto it and use a brush or cocktail stick to apply it where needed.

 

One other glue that can be handy, though not generally for assembly, is thin superglue which can be used to soak into small flimsy parts to stiffen them up.

Cut the part out but leave a tag on it to hold onto, apply CA glue (from the back/reverse if possible) and allow to dry before handling, then cut off the tag and apply part to model.

 

By all means try copydex, but it's not one I'd recommend.

 

There's a couple of my paper model builds here on BM

 

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Thanks for your reply, very helpful!

 

Some glue actually came with the kit, I tried it last night on some scrap paper from the kit's book and it worked really well actually, so I might just give that a go! First time for everything...

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56 minutes ago, Jasonb13 said:

Some glue actually came with the kit, I tried it last night on some scrap paper from the kit's book and it worked really well actually,

That's encouraging, what's the kit you're building? Shout up if you have any more queries - better still, start a build thread in the appropriate section, it would be good to see more paper models on here.

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