I have been using Tenax-7R plastice welding glue, I am looking for something else to use that is just as effective since this glue seems to be getting harder to find and its fumes are quite strong.
The fumes will be strong in any plastic welding type glue.
Other types I have used include Testors liquid, Ambroid Pro Weld, and Micro Marks Same Stuff. (As well as the Tenax)
Since it was all getting hard to find, I switched to MEK. I bought a quart and it will probably last me a lifetime. It also has strong fumes. I saved some of my small glue bottles and poured the MEK in them. (After cleaning them first)
What you refer to as a "plastic welding-type glue is, by definition, a solvent that actually softens the two edges and then evaporates, fusing the two parts together. There is no way to do this without a solvent smell. Gandydancer provided several alternative brands. Personally, I like the Testors stuff that comes in the black squarish box withthe needle applicator.
I use the A-West Glue Applicator which has a .008 Dia tube that allows the MEK to flow into the joint with minimal liquid which keeps the fumes to a minimum!
It keeps the MEK ready to use and the tip size is so small that it doesn’t evaporate!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I went to MEK also and just refilled my Tamiaya bottle with the built in brush/cap. I also got one of the A-West applicators but haven’t tried it yet. The MEK was from Lowes and runs about $9.00 for a quart. Should last a long time.
-Bob
A friend of mine steered me to Ambroid’s Safe Weld non toxic plastic welder, item #160. The label says it is “certified non toxic” and conforms to ASTM D 4238, whatever that is (I know I could look it up via Google but I elect not to do so). It has a fairly pleasant orange smell to it. And works well.
MEK works ok with Styrene. If you have to glue ABS (Atlas & Kato bodies) then you want a more allaround glue such as Tenax or even better Ambroid’s ProWeld (will work with Styrene, Dutyrate, ABS and acrylics (it’s fast like Tenax but more versatile and you get about twice as much). Micro Mark’s Same Stuff is the same as the ProWeld. The other glues like Testors, Plastruct cements, Faller, etc., are thicker and slower which is desirable if you need more time to adjust the parts. I usually have one each on hand, one ProWeld snd one Testors.
Okay. Took the bull by the horns, and called the former owner of Hebco (manufacturer of Tenax) in Florida.
Here’s the story.
He sold the business (twice). First one, divorced, wife took all the funds…so the original owner got it back. Sold it again, new guy ran it for 3 years (doing this from memory on a fast phone call), then turned it over to his son.
The original owner hasn’t heard anything for some time now, think he said a year and a half (and I won’t get into the rest in print), and lo, and behold, a short time ago he got a call from Walthers, who suddenly got 6,000 bottles of the stuff.
The new owner is supposedly in Wisconsin somewhere.
So, Tenax isn’t gone, just moribund. New owner finally started shipping.
That explains why we have a sudden influx of supply.
Dave