I am presented with the need to take apart a already made model building of HO scale. The wall of the building have glue stains and I would likt to mold some parts from this structure and I would also like to repaint it. What is the best way to take aprt this glued structure without chipping or breaking any parts?
Any tips or advice would be appreciated.
You can try freezing it. That’s worked for me in the past. The cold makes the glue brittle.
I had to take a couple of seams apart after gluing together, as the walls were too long for the base that came with the kit. I took a sharp hobby knife and carefully slid it down the seam at the same angle as the pieces had been beveled originally. This was fairly fresh glued and I had not over-glued the seams, so it worked well. Older glue may be a different matter. A good hobby saw might worke as well. Just take your time.
Good luck,
Try soaking it in very warm water, just not hot enough to warp anything. Sometimes, depending on what glue you used it will cause the glue to soften up and then you will be able to pull the pieces apart. Same goes for the freezer method Jeffrey suggested, sometime you get lucky and it will work.
Well depending on what type of glue you used to assemble the model this may or may not work but it’s the ONLY thing that has ever worked for me.There is this stuff you should be able to p/u in your LHS called Z-7 debonder, it will dissolve cyanoacrylates pretty well. I would paint the inside corner of the building at the glue joint and wait a few minutes and apply gentile steady even pressure to separate the walls.You may need a second or third application. I would have included the directions right off the back of the bottle but it’s so danged small it give me a headache to read it…lol So read the link