discussion What is the best Plastic glue

[Guest]

Greetings fellow forum users

Just a quick question about plastic kit glue. Recently I have found that the glue I have been using has not had the desired effect in getting the parts to stick together very well. I have tried the following

Tamiya - Orange

Revell

Humbrol

Plastic Fantastic

All of these have not been of much use and I have found even after long periods of time that the parts have not stuck together................

So the question for all users that build plastic kits 'What do you use and have you had a good jointing with it?

Many thanks

Andy

 

[stona]

I use whichever of these two I can get my hands on. There's nothing between them.



I think the extra thin system of applying glue to a joint which it will then move into and along by capillary action is by far the best way to get a good join. I very rarely have to fill my seams later.

Cheers

Steve

 

[PaulTRose]

at the minute im using some liquid poly by Testors which is ok

to be honest i use ca most of the time

 

[mossiepilot]

I use Humbrol liquid poly, which works well for me.

Tony.

 

[Guest]

I use tamiya cement

 

[Guest]

Tamiya white lid cement

Humbrol liquid poly

Loctite easy brush and gel super glue

all work fine for me , only issue I`ve ever had was with some resin parts and could not get the super glue to go off , but to be honest it was down to me not cleaning the parts enough - cleaned them up again and it was fine .

Lesson learnt was Don`t cut corners with any prep work .

Richy

 

[Guest]

The thing that I do not understand Andy is why the Revell & Humbrol is not being effective as I have found that they work perfectly.

Actually to be pedantic they are not glues as such they soften the plastic which then fuses the two parts together.

Have you been applying pressure as the Humbrol & Revell types take a good time to cure. I take it you are applying the solvents to the parts before assembling which is the general way to use these two glues. But the parts do need holding tightly together while they are curing.

As Steve has mentioned the Tamiya & Mr Cement S are used where the assembly has been made in a dry form also holding the parts tight with tape or clamps. Beauty of these two glues is that you have all in position before applying the solvent. If you go to this type beware as the solvent tracks very quickly along the seams & will glue the holding tape to the seam. Best thing is to just touch a point with a small amount of solvent between the tape or clamps to tack the pieces together. Usually, although not completely cured, I find you can remove the tape or clamps after 15 or so minutes & complete the remainder. Often I will hold, say with two wing parts, the two pieces with thumb & finger apply the solvent to tack hold for 30 secs & release & go onto another part to tack. Warning Mr S will make very nice thumb & finger prints, if you are not careful, on your pristine plastic pieces.

For me the best way to go is the Tamiya & Mr Cement S as they are much quicker & give a better job. Just to add that after releasing, as mentioned above in 15 mins, does not indicate that they are cured fully by any means. Just enough to carry on working on the pieces. You need to fully cure before sanding etc.

Laurie

Edit. Just to add that my experience is with aircraft. Also not resin.

 

[Guest]

Hi guys thanks for the information, I have tried Tamiya white top and that does not seem to hold at times, Tamiya extra thin does work/ Revell and Humbrol for some reason, which I cannot explain do not seem to work. I use clamps and tape to get the tight fit and also use the capilary type fixing of parts when I can.

All my kits are washed and air dried before any build starts. It just seems that whichever glue I try I cannot seem to find a suitable one for aircraft parts. I will keep persevering and see what comes out the best but I have been dissapointed of late with all the Tamiya glue which was one of my favorites up until I started to ask the question on here.Other than the extra thin I really do not know what the answer is. I suppose I have just answered my own question there with the extra thin use .............

Once again thanks for the heads up on all the related replies on here!!

Andy

 

[Guest]

I use the contacta glue with the application needle which works very well, but have ordered tamiya thin glue to try as i have heard it is very good.

scott

 

[geegad]

i agree with steve all the way them too bottles are indispensable...then superglue for photo etch

 

[flyjoe180]

I use Revell Contacta with the needle and Tamiya Extra thin cement on most joins/parts. No complaints about either. I also have an old bottle of plain white top Tamiya cement which I have used for heavy duty stuff. It's thick and can be very messy but it is very strong. Surprised to hear that you have had issues with it sticking.

 

[Ian M]

Just a quick question. Are you trying to stick painted parts? I can tell you now, that is not going to work.

I've tried just about all and every "plastic glue" and they have all worked.. Some need longer to cure, thus need clamping. This is normally the thicker types of glue typically those that have the needle type applicator. A few hours is more than enough. Fuselage joints I would though leave over night.

The liquid glues that are normally applied with a brush work very quickly and I often find it has evaporated quicker than you can find the part that has just gone pinging off across the desk. The trick with this type is to place the part hold it in place then touch it with the tip of the brush and let just a tiny bit of glue get pulled into the joint.

You'll need to be careful or it will run where you don't need it. If this happens DONT touch it. Just let it evaporate and the remaining mark can easily be removed with a very fine wet and dry. 8000corn or finer.

Ian M

 

[Guest]

Hi all thanks for all the advice, having built models for many years it is only recently that I have had problems with the sticking of parts together. Ian no the parts are not painted I paint after construction. I cannot explain the reasons why other than I work in my garage but that is kept warm as I can so unless damp conditions play a part sometimes that may also be a problem for me.

I just can't explain why, at present I am encountering these issues, it is frustrating to say the least.

 

[Guest]

Another possiblity Andy. When I first started I used to flood the joints with Revell Cement. Found then that it took an age to cure as more plastic was softened than needed. I also surprise surprise had some warping.

Laurie

 

[yak face]

What kit is it youre doing andy? If you say its only started happening recently maybe its not the glue but the plastic involved. I have always used Tetrosyl cellulose thinners as a thin glue. It costs about £12 from Motormania for a 5 litre tin , I put some in an old Marmite jar and work from that using a nylon bristle paintbrush to apply, it works fine for me. I also sometimes use Revell comtacta with the needle on larger parts where there is a danger of the thin stuff evaporating before ive got the parts together ie. wing top and bottoms , tony

 

[Guest]

I always use Revell Contacta and have no problems with it.

 

[Guest]

I had some trouble getting the right landing gear on a FW-190 kit a while back. I did the steps a little out of order (I do that sometimes) but what I should have done was attach the struts to the wings and let them cure (like overnight) before attaching the wings to the body, and thus adding suddenly the combined weight on a strut that is not quite up to the job.

I hit upon a novel idea to my self-induced problem. I stuck it in the freezer part of my fridge. There was enough room for the plane to lay upside down on an upper rack and I just left it in the ice cold for about 2 hours. Seemed to work. The freezing action seemed to pull the strut back close enough to it's original position that it only leans a little to the right now and I can live with that. (seeing is how i had no idea of what the camo-scheme was to look like, and it shows )

 

[stona]

I hit upon a novel idea to my self-induced problem. I stuck it in the freezer part of my fridge. There was enough room for the plane to lay upside down on an upper rack and I just left it in the ice cold for about 2 hours. Seemed to work. The freezing action seemed to pull the strut back close enough to it's original position that it only leans a little to the right now and I can live with that. (seeing is how i had no idea of what the camo-scheme was to look like, and it shows )

It's certainly a novel solution!!!! If it works it works and that's all that matters.

You should have asked about the camo! Plenty of free advice available right here

Cheers

Steve

 

[Guest]

What kit is it youre doing andy? If you say its only started happening recently maybe its not the glue but the plastic involved. I have always used Tetrosyl cellulose thinners as a thin glue. It costs about £12 from Motormania for a 5 litre tin , I put some in an old Marmite jar and work from that using a nylon bristle paintbrush to apply, it works fine for me. I also sometimes use Revell comtacta with the needle on larger parts where there is a danger of the thin stuff evaporating before ive got the parts together ie. wing top and bottoms , tony

Tony

I was building a 1/72 Hasegawa Lancaster when this started, I have managed to build it and get it painted but not without the pit falls that are being discussed on this thread such as parts even though clamped and left falling apart. As I have stated in previous posts I thin, now, that this maybe down to the cold conditions in the garage and nothing else as it seems that the rest of the chaps posting on here are not encountering the same problems

 

[Guest]

I use revell contacta needle glue for all my hobby life and it has always worked great for me for three reasons

It is not overly expensive

It is accurate with the needle

The bottle lasts for over a years worth of modelling

Bad reasons

the needle clogs up sometimes