I am in the process of building the Walthers Cornerstone Back Shop.
Like all Walthers Cornerstone structures, this is a nice building which is fairly easy to build. I use Testors Model Master glue in the black plastic bottle with the needle nose applicator.
But, like all Walthers Cornerstone structures, the windows are difficult to install. They don’t adhere well to the plastic window frames which are separately installed into the main walls of the structure. I am not sure if it is the clear window plastic intself or the fact that the contact surfaces between the window and the frame are poor.
I always put weights on top of the glued surfaces to press them into place. But, I always find loose windows once the glue has dried. Not all windows, but several of them. I have thought about using hot glue, but I have never tried it.
Do others have this problem?
What do you do to secure the surfaces between the windows and the window frames?
I suspect the limited contact caused by the rough surface on the back of the window framing. I tend to use canopy cement these days, as it is somewhat gap-filling and dries so it’s flexible. I still use a liquid cement like you do, depending …
Your post has me thinking. Since the “glass” seems smooth enough, what about sanding the back of the window framing? That would provide better contact and more tooth for the cement to do its thing?
I think a big part of the problem is that the “glass” is not perfectly flat. When the glue is first applied, and you press down on the glass with your finger, you can see it make contact with the window frame. But as soon as you let up on the finger pressure, the glass lifts up away from the frame, at least in some places.
Most of the Liquid glues are MEK and the Clear plastic (Acrylic) does NOT melt like sytrene does with MEK.
I have had to resort to the Tennx 7r as that is Methlene Cloride which is a lot more agressive glue and is used for the more exotic plastics (ABS, Acrylic, Butyrateand other Plastruct plastic types).
But another method is to put spots of Super Glue along the edges once the Testors glue is dry and again weight the plastic down.
I have been using the Loctite Pro Super Glue from Walmart - long lasting (doesn’t dry up in the bottle) and doesn’t seem to cloud when it sets!
Thanks, Bob, I hadn’t thought about the composition of the clear “glass”.
Maybe that is the problem, trying to bind styrene and acrylic together with the type of glue that I am using. I use Testors Model Master glue in the black plastic bottle with the needle nose applicator.
The window eventually sticks to the window frame in every case, but in some instances it takes small spring clamps to hold the two together until the glue dries.
I usually use the MEK (which the Testors is) and weight them or clamps but find years later that if the building gets bumped an occassional window will just pop out.
I use G-S Hypo Cement…(canopy glue) for the frame and the window glazing, whether it be the thick clear styrene glazing or the clear acetate. Crystal clear, sets in 10 minutes and will fill gaps. If You make a mistake, can be cleaned with salty water before cured.
This Walthers Transload building office uses the clear acetate glazing, frame and window and door that I cut open, was done with the Hypo cement, very strong when cured. Also use it for the window glazing in the irregular windows in the trucks.
If you are painting your windows, or if the kit you are building has the windows molded into the walls, make sure you don’t get paint on the backs of the windows. Glue doesn’t adhere well to painted surfaces, or it will pull the paint off when the joint fails. Blue tape is your friend for keeping glue joint surfaces clean.
I have used the Hypo cement on painted surfaces and have Not encountered a problem yet…with it staying glued. Interior of the trucks are painted and I have done many of them with it.
Just my experience, using the product.
Take Care! [:D]
Frank
BTW: I do make sure the paint is Cured First…at least 3 days.
I haven’t built that particular kit, but most Walthers Cornerstone kits I have built came with thick, molded plastic window glazing. I never use it, instead cutting my own from .015" thick clear styrene sheet. It looks much better and is easier to apply securely.
Frank, I am not familiar with Hypo glue. Is it a thicker glue? My sense is that you need a thicker glue to initially hold both surfaces together until they begin to dry.
The interesting thing about the windows on the Back Shop is the decorative etching on the glass. It is not clear acrylic like the usual Walthers windows.
Yes it is thick…come’s out of a tube with a Hypo needle…about the thickness of the old Tester’s tube cement, but way better than that stuff. Read the spec’s on it in the link I posted. And it is Not CA.
problem could be the paint on the window frame back which causes the glue to be weak.
I never had a problem. I’m using Testors Canopy/Glass glue which is just pretty much a version of elmers white glue. When it dries, it dries clear in thin layers.
I’ve not had a problem with using either lacquer thinner or MEK for installing Walthers’ window ‘glass’.
As mentioned, make sure that there is no paint on the gluing surface of the window frame. I install the glass to the window first, then cement the assembly in place.
Place the window frame, outside-surface-down, on your workbench, add and align the ‘glass’, then, while pressing down firmly on the glass with the finger(s) of your free hand, touch a brush loaded with an appropriate amount of cement to the edges where the two pieces contact. Do this on all four edges, maintaining pressure until the joint has hardened - usually only a few seconds.
If you wish to paint the doors and windows of a kit, it’s easiest to do so while they’re still on the sprue. In most cases, they’re cast in a grid-like pattern, allowing you to mask the gluing surfaces using continuous strips of masking tape, as shown below. To make strips narrow enough to fit, place a suitable length of tape, sticky-side-down, on a sheet of glass and use a straightedge and sharp blade to make the cut. Here are masked-off doors and windows with a coat of grey primer:
Since you are already used to using Testors model master glue, they also sell a product designed specifically for adhearing clear parts. It comes in the same size/shape bottle as the regular glue except it is white and dries clear.
Yes this here. Rich, I use the Model Master Clear Parts Cement, in the white bottle. It has a slow curing time though. Like 30-60 min. I add only a little amount around the edges where the windows will be placed. Then I add a soup can on there to way it down. Once its dry its solid as rock. Works great.
I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the glue that I am using. The problem is that the surfaces of the glass and the frame do not fit flat against one another. So, the two pieces need to weighted down or clamped.
What I need is a glue that has the ability to form a glob rather than spread so that the four corners of the glass adhere to the frame.
