I am having a very hard time trying to find a cement that works well on kits.Can anybody recommend a good glue to use for this.Thanks
John
What kind of material are the kits made of? There are different glues for different materials. MEK based cements work well for styrenes. CA works well for porous materials like wood. Epoxy is for metal.
It’s plastic.It’s for a tank car.
I am brand new to this hobby and the man at the hobby shop sold me this glue and said it was the best.It is Tenax-7R.I can’t get it to hold anything together.
John
Guys,
Quick tips that may help. Three major factors that determine if model adhesives will work properly:
[1] Surface porosity.
When working with styrene or other plastics make sure that the surface edges to be glued are scuffed lightly with a scotch pad or fine sand paper (400 to 600). Many modelers don’t do this, but fine, tiny scratches will help the adhesive “bite” into the plastic even better. [:)][:D]
[2] Cleanliness!
Don’t forget, you can clean the surface to be joined until it shines, but IT’S USELESS if you then touch the surface with sweaty or dirty fingers! We often carry silicone on our skin and as we all know, no glue or paint will stick to silicone.
Also: Never use moisturizing lotion on your hands when working on models. [B)]
[3] Cure time and weather.
Many of us (yes, me too) are often impatient when our model or kit has been finished and we want to pick it up and the glue is still drying! The instructions on the adhesive may say “allow 3 to 4 hours before handling”. However, if you don’t have A/C and live in either a: muggy, hot, humid, wet or freezing climate; this factor has to be taken into account! [8D][:p]
Ambroid Liquid Cement comes in an orange & white tube. Has been around for years. You apply a light coat to the surfaces and allow to partially dry. Apply a 2nd coat and hold the parts together firmly with clamps, rubberbands, string, etc. Dries clear.
Cures quickly, but to be on the safe side when glueing large pieces, let sit overnight. [:D][;)]
When glueing surface lines that will be seen on the outside, I always like to put masking tape along the edges “just in case” I squeeze out too much and get sloppy which has happend to me many times. [:0][:p]
Hope this helps!
I’m not familiar with that product, is it thin like water? Check the label, does it contain Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK)? Is there an applicator brush in the cap? If that’s what it is and you aren’t used to working it, it can be very frustrating.
That type of cement works by melting the plastic, and welding it together. You want to get a good tight dry fit. Then with the pieces in position, take the applicator and drop some cement on the inside corner of the joint and let it wick along the entire lenght. It shouldn’t take long for the pieces to be fused together, as MEK is very volitile, and evaporates quickly. I hope that helps.
For styrene based kits (Most prepainted kits, as well as Intermountain) I use Tamiya Model Cement.
For resin kits (Grey or white), I use a house-brand Cyanoacrylate adhesive, in thick & thin varieties, mostly the thick. I also use CA for most metal/plastic bonds, as the thick works as well as epoxy for most applications and is significantly easier to use.
For adding steel weights, I tend to use Walthers Goo. Mostly on Branchline cars, as most other cars either have a weight which is positively attached (Sandwiched between frane & deck) or end up with sticky lead weights inside. I still don’t have a good solution for flatcar & gondola kits which lack weight.
Tenax 7R is MEK – you must first securely clamp the parts together, and then apply the glue. Tenax gets sucked into the joint through capillary action and actually melts and welds the parts together. I better choice for styrene kit assembly, such as Athearn or MDC kits, is either Testors number 3502 watery plastic cement that comes in a one ounce bottle with applicator brush, or Testors number 3512 Cement for Plastic Models, which is thicker and comes in a 7/8 ounce tube. Both are sometimes available at Wal-mart in the toys area. If you can’t find them there, then your local hobby shop might have them.
My LHS had both Tenax and Ambroid liquid cement on hand. He recommended the Ambroid because of the slower evaporation rate of about 30 to 40 seconds. This means you have only that amount of time to apply the glue and place the components together. If you take longer than that, the glue has to be reapplied. The shorter evaporation rate maybe why the Tenax did not work for you. It dried up before you had a chance to join the pieces together.
If your kit has plastic handrails, stirrups, or grabirons., drill out the holes to make sure there is no paint in them. When glueing large pices together, such as a roof to a body, or in areas that are otherwise hidden, I switch to a tube of testors’ plastic cement. This cement is too thick to use on outside surfaces since it leaves a residual film. It takes at least a few minutes to harden and thus leaves time to apply it all around the body and not dry up before having a chance to place and align the roof.
Take another look at Cacole’s and big_boy_ 4005’s answers. You HAVE to put Tenax along the joint AFTER you clamp or hold the parts together. It definitely won’t work if you try to put it on the 2 sides before you join them. However, the nice part is that if you can hold the 2 sides of the joint together for 10 seconds or so after wicking in the Tenax, the joint will be secure and you can continue building (unless there is a lot of tension trying to pull the joint apart).
John