Correct glue for IHC steamer shell?

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Good morning All.

I started my 2-6-0 overhaul and noticed a repair that did not hold. Does this shell need something different?

I might have used CA glue. It would bum me out if I go to the trouble to paint it and the repair didn’t hold.

Thanks

Lee

2

It would be easier to offer suggestions if we knew what needed to be repaired, Lee.

Wayne

3

The two corner uprights for the cab windows. I had it fixed before but when I pulled the cab off the boiler the repair flaked off.
I may have to figure a way to overlap the new pieces. The picture is a little fuzzy because I grabbed my wife’s camera, which has some limitations. I suppose these shells are not made out of styrene and require a different glue…

Thanks

lee

4

Lee, the cab does appear to be styrene. I just tested the original cab from my #37 by scraping away the paint on the underside of the roof overhang. I applied a little lacquer thinner and the surface crazed within a couple of seconds. Since your cab was broken, there’s no need to remove any paint from the joints and any solvent-type cement should work just fine. If you want to reinforce the joints, use strips of styrene applied across the breaks on the interior walls. For that, you’ll need to first remove the paint - it’s probably easiest to scrape it off with your X-Acto, but you could also use a file or sandpaper. If you use solvent cement for both the repair of the breaks and the reinforcements, it’ll be stronger than ca.

Wayne

5

Wayne

Thanks for getting back to me.

I have it almost all stripped because I going to paint it black. I do think I should reinforce the corner.
Plastic model glue it is.

Happy New Year. [swg]

Lee

6

If the earlier repair was done w/ CA, you may need to carefully scrape off any residue before attempting a bond with styrene cement. If at all possible try to back up the joint w/ small strip of styrene as a reinforcement.