This may seem like a really easy and stupid topic, but some help for me as well as others would be appreciated…
I need some tips on building freight car and building kits. Number one question, what kind of glue do you use to attach the weights on hopper cars? I tried plastic cement, but that doesn’t hold…What type of paint would you use for structures and car parts? Does testor hobby paint work well? Also, how do you prevent the paint from coming off the part when you attempt to glue it? Do you have to sand the paint off that one area, etc?
I just want to build these things correctly and easily, so they look great, I just want some info on what kind of paint/glue, etc. I should be using for these plastic kits…
What glue to use to attach the weights on hopper cars? This is where I get out the plain old Walther’s Goo contact cement. Still haven’t found anything better for that purpose. For paint, any good hobby paint will work. Testor’s would be fine but there are many others. Wash all metal or plastic parts in soapy water and rinse well before you assemble, and you will have better liuck. It gets the stuff that helps the molds release off. Any spot that you are going to glue should not be painted or should have the paint scraped (sanded, filed, whatever) off for best results.
Based upon personal experience and the advice of many in this forum I’d suggest you wander into the craft area of your local department store and look at the Apple Barrel and Folk Art craft paints. I don’t recall the volume or cost of Testor’s paints but these can be had for roughly 44 cents for a two ounce bottle.
The colors blend easily and brushes clean up with good old H2O.
Most of my plastic kits (rolling stock and structures) have held together without exception using nothing but gap-filling CA+. A bit pricey but a touch goes a long way. I’ve been using plain old carpenter’s glue for wood scratch built projects.
Another item you’ll find useful is India Ink, found near the paints in that same crafts area. Mixed with some Isopropyl rubbing alcohol it can weather a project from freshly painted to decades on the rails in a matter of a few washes. [8D]
I’ve secured factory offered weights and the Lincoln copperheads sometimes needed to reach NMRA standard weight with both Gorrilla Glue and JB Weld with equal satisfaction.
Another thought for weighting, is purchasing lead with adhesive tape already on there. I use the A-Line weights. They have the weight of each piece of lead stamped in on it. It has made things so much easier since I started using these.
Plastic cement is useless for weights because plastic cement is actually a solvent that melts the plastic and fuses it together into a single piece. Obviously it has no effect on metal, so it won’t work for that use. Walthers Goo is a good all-purpose glue for gluing metal to plastic–various types of ACC “super-glue” is good for that sort of thing too, especially the gel superglues.
Weight glue-Liquid nails Sets up quick, comes in a resealable tube.
Cheap weight source-Curtain weights-Any fabric or craft store.(or lead gun shot)
That cheap craft paint works great on buildings, but I wouildn’t recomend it for rolling stock or anything that gets handled a lot. I try to use only Floquil or Testors oil based paints for locos and cars.
CA or super glue for assembly of non wood kits.
[For painting and weathering I"ve switched from Floquil to Polly Scale and Badger ModelFlex Acrylics…and havent’ looked back. Once you get used to acrylics, they’re a piece of cake to use. However, find out for yourself and experiment. I have model railroad friends that prefer one or the other, and we respect each other’s opinions about the paint products. [4:-)][tup]
Gluing weight: 1. If you have it on hand… LIquid Nails woks well but seems like overkill, if you have to go out and buy it. Cheaper options: If you’re installing flat weights, Walther’s Goo also works.
For BBgun pellets in hopper bays and passenger car floor openings, you can smother them with white Elmer’s Glue. A couple of years ago I filled the hopper bays in my Blue Box Athearn Center Flow hoppers…not a single BB pellet has come loose yet. [;)]
Buidling Kits
Such as Walther’s DPM or Cornerstone series. Remove flash and burs with cutters.
Clean surfaces to be glued with Prep Cleaner or Alchohol. Sometimes there’s oily residue present that will not allow glue to adhere.
I usually go a step further and “scuff up” the surfaces to be joined with a file or fine sandpaper.
If a glue joint is going to be visible, I apply masking tape just above and below it where possible…just in case Imake a “Boo-Boo” [:0] and accidentally smear glue onto the surface that will be visible.
The solvent used in Walthers Goo and Pliobond will attack plastic and should not be used to attach weights. Yes I know a lot of people do it, but I can show you car floors that have been ruined. Best choices are double sticky tape and silicone caulk. I have never used Gorilla glue so can’t vouch for that.
styrene plastic-- is glued together with a solvent that chemically “welds” the pieces together. a plastic to plastic interface is the best. if there is an oil based paint involved it will dissolve also and mix into the weld (less effective, but still okay). scrape off any waterbased paints.
build your subassemblies, then paint them (this will save you a lot of work).
when i glue the subassemblies together, i either scrape the paint off the glue interface, or i go for a paint to paint bond using cyanoacrylate (ca).
wood-- all the previous suggestions will work. since i seek instant gratification (society did this to me), i don’t use slow glues. cyanoacrylate in it’s thin and thick forms are the way to go. if the pieces go together first; use the thin stuff to capillate into the gap for an instant bond. if the glue goes on first; use the thicker glue.
metal-- i use the same cyanoacrylate. i add a mechanical bond for a backup (metal into a drilled hole, or a staple or nail).
testors paint is way overpriced and i still use it all the time. why ruin all that work by going cheap at the last minute?
when i scratchbuild a traincar; i first make sure it operates well before i consider adding any weight. then, when it is working fine, why add more weight? swapping out the plastic wheels for metal is about as far as i go.
adding weight to overcome a mechanical problem is a poor way to go.
And you thought this was a silly question? It’s funny, sometimes the “easiest” questions are the ones with the most interesting answers. Seems like there is always someone that will post a method or idea that I haven’t heard of before!
Ok, heres another question for this topic…I have my first Walthers Kit, and I’m ready to paint. I got a Testors airbrush and different Apple Barrel Acrylics. How do I thin these to use in my brush? Can I just use water? I haven’t been able to find any Acry. thinners, just enamel ones.
I thin mine with just water, some here use windshield washer fluid (blue water). I am still experimenting Today I used some of the Apple Barrel Acrylics straight from the bottle. It worked fine.
In my opinion, the best stuff to glue plastic together is lacquer thinner. I buy it by the gallon, as it’s also useful for thinning paints like Floquil, Scalecoat, Accupaint, and Testors. You should be able to get it in any hardware store, any size from a pint up to a gallon, and it won’t cost you an arm and a leg. As with any solvent, make sure that you have adequate ventilation when using it. While cyanoacrylate will glue styrene together, it works best when there is also a mechanical joint, like a tab in a slot, or a pin in a hole. Lacquer thinner is almost as fast, yields a stronger bond, and will not fail ten years from now. I decant a small amount from the large can into a small bottle, like an empty (and clean) Floquil bottle. Use a suitably sized bru***o apply some to both surfaces, then bring them together. Or, you can assemble the two parts, then apply the lacquer thinner, with the brush, from the back. Capillary action will draw it into the joint. You’ll have a little time to make any final adjustments, then set it aside for a couple of minutes, especially larger things, like structures. When assembling smaller stuff, like freight cars or small structures, you don’t really need to wait and can just keep going a your normal pace.
Besides being useful as a paint thinner, it also works well to clean built -up grease and oil from unpainted metal parts, like gears or bearings.