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Which glue?


Mark CP

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I use a number of glues for building models, for main assembly Tamiya Extra Thin cement (TET) is quite popular, available able from most good model outlets. Also I use old fashion tube poly cement and Tamiya cement for basic construction as well as super glue for various detailed parts and PE(not suitable for clear parts) and PVA for clear parts.   

HTH

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Something fluid and fast drying (Tamiya Extra Thin or Mr. Cement S) for small parts and for capillary action. Something viscous and slow drying (Revell Contacta Pro) for large areas. Clear glue (anything that doesn't damage plexiglass) for windows/canopies/lights.

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Hi all, 

 

this mimics a question I was going to post but as related to resin. I am used to small resin parts and using superglue but how about for full resin builds? What is best. And then what about the best filler for the same?

 

Thanks a lot,

 

Martin

Edited by RidgeRunner
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Almost all fillers that work with plastic work with resin, too. For Glueing a slow curing Superglue with baking soda works well. This also works nicely for filling. 2K-Glues also work well.

 

You are probably aware you need to clean resin parts to get rid of release agents from the casting process.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 28 March 2020 at 8:45 PM, Schwarz-Brot said:

Almost all fillers that work with plastic work with resin, too. For Glueing a slow curing Superglue with baking soda works well. This also works nicely for filling. 2K-Glues also work well.

 

You are probably aware you need to clean resin parts to get rid of release agents from the casting process.

Doesnt CA have a shelf life and then things start pinging apart? What does the baking soda do?

Edited by RidgeRunner
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I use tamiya extra thin - but I also use the Revell Precision (the blue bottle with the thin metal tube) a lot.

 

I also use thicker polystyrene cement, in tubes or bottles sometimes for small parts that benefit from the vicose nature to hold the part in place while it dries.

 

PVA for transparencies, polystyrene cement will work but the fumes sometime fog the transparency.

 

Superglue or sometimes PVA for photo-etch.

 

Basically, polystyrene cement is better for plastic than superglue because it melts the two surfaces together.  You get a stronger bond and the result ‘weld’  when sanded is often enough to make the join invisible.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

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@RidgeRunner I think Nigels answer applies to the topic starters question while it ignores your more specific request.

2 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

Doesnt CA have a shelf life and then things start pinging apart? What does the baking soda do?

 

Shelf life only tells you how long the glue will be usable. It doesn't tell you about the properties after using. CA is a pretty hard material when dried. If the surfaces don't lend some teeth it will eventually detach. This is even more the case if there's residue on the parts (Mold release, finger oils, dust - you name it). But this applies to all glues. It is always a good idea to roughen up larger surfaces.

 

Baking soda acts as a filler. CA has some filling properties, if you use the gel types. But these are slow curing. The thin stuff is usually faster curing but cannot fill gaps well. Here comes baking soda into play - just dust it in and you have a very fast curing filler that is well sandable. It needs to be build up in layers, but that is no problem as it hardens very fast. When freshly cured it is comparable in hardnes with plastic or resin, so best to sand and smooth out while it is still fresh. The stuff becomes very hard within a few hours. It's probably a good idea to search youtube for some tutorials on gap-filling with CA. Better to see then to describe.

 

With the slow curing gel types you can add baking soda to get a paste that lends itself very well to remodelling and filling large areas. This paste also is perfect for building support from the inside of structures by simply adding it generously over seems or where stiffening is needed. I think Paul Budzik has a video about doing that. Though he uses some different paste the technique is the same.

 

 

 

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Well, it depends on what you're "glueing.

 

For a bog standard plastic kit I use Tamiya thin and extra thin. I also use Revell Contacta with the brass / copper tube - excellent suff and very strong but but slower curing.

 

Superglue (CA) for some uses (PE, resin, even plastic etc), Wood glue, paper glue, JP Weld (an epoxy glue and the strongest glue I've yet come across)

 

Another very useful type of glue is the UV (Ultra-Violet) light setting glue. This is actually a resin that remains liquid pretty much as long as you want (even days outside the tube) but sets very quickly (10 seconds) when the UV torch is shone on it. It is fantastic for setting parts (e.g. PE) and even scratch building parts but (and this is extremely important but) will not join parts where the UV light cannot reach. 

 

Another extremely useful item which can be used as a glue, but strictly speaking is not a glue, is bog standard nail varnish (like what is generally used on wimmen's finger nails). Makes very thin, fine, clear windows too - just don't let it touch acrylic paint unless you use the none acetone versions which I've never tried. 

 

Horses for courses, it depends on what you want to do with the "glue".

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