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For wood structures you can use any wood glue. They dry strong but they are yellow so more difficult to hide mistakes or paint. I use Aileen's Tacky Glue, water clean-up, available everywhere, bonds quickly (at least for handling until it cures) and is less watery than Elmer's. Plus it dries clear. 

For styrene, there are specific adhesives (available at hobby shops, craft stores, online at, for example, Micro-mark) that don't really glue the edges but rather melts them so you get a really great bond. You just run the brush along the seam and let capillary action do the rest. You can also use AC glue (cyanoacrylate)  but it's more difficult and you need to pay close attention so you don't glue your fingers together or to the part you're holding. If you do use it, get the medium density which gives you 10-15 seconds before it dries (and you can use an Accelerator spray to cure it faster). I would not suggest the thin liquid version of AC glue (like Super Glue) as it cures almost immediately, is too runny and more difficult to handle. 

As as far as tools, there are probably lots of threads here which discuss which tools to get. Too numerous to mention. One suggestion is to go to Micromark.com and scroll through the categories and/or get on their mailing list for their frequent catalog mailings. I will make one suggestion about paints for wood. Use acrylics, dozens of which are available at any craft store and are inexpensive. They are much safer than enamels and clean up with soap and water. Just prime your wood pieces (outdoors if possible) with spray can auto primer first, which will help minimize warping of walls. Regardless, you can brace the walls with strip wood and weight them down after painting. And the list goes on...

Jerrman

 

Geo2000 posted:

Hi, I am a newbie to modeling and wanted to know the best glue products to use for building both wool kit structures and plastic structures.

Also any other tools I should get beyond paints brushes and xacto.

Thanks in advance!

1st - don't build any wool kits,  

Ok, wood - you can use just about any Carpenter's glue, however, you have to be a little cautious about warping from the moisture in that glue, and it's also not very strong in joints that are comprise of end grain.  You can also use CA and a host of other glues for wood to wood. 

Plastic - depends on the type of plastic.  Styrene - see above.  I use Tenax to "weld" it together.  ABS - now you are using MEK to weld it together.  Other polymer plastics can get very difficult; PE is very difficult.

Plastic to wood - You can also use CA and a host of other glues....although I tend to use a bit of Goo on one part and CA on the other.

Metal to plastic - CA or various epoxies.

Metal to wood - CA or various epoxies or a bit of Goo on one part and CA on the other.

 

Tools.................I can type for waaaaaaaaaaaay too long on that topic and still miss some,

Tweezers, scalpels, scale rulers, pin vise and set of drill bits, various smaller pliers and nippers, hemostats, weights, right angle squares, a good reliable flat work surface, etc.

 

All good. Regarding Goo. I find that contact cements lose their grip over time. I have a model ship that I painstakingly applied individual copper tiles on the bottom. Almost all of those tiles have now detached themselves over the 40 that the model has existed. All glues have their pluses and minuses. For styrene, I also use Tenax or Plastruct's Bounden, but I apply it will a Touch-n-Flow applicator. This is a piece of small O.D. glass tubing with a piece of capillary tubing in the end. It enables you to apply small quantities very carefully. A little solvent cement goes a long way. Too much and the plastic parts you're assembling start to degrade.

I second using Aleen's. I'm using their Super Tacky Glue which provides some instant grip to hold parts better if you can't clamp. All wood glues benefit from clamping when possible. But with our miniature sizes, clamping can do more harm than good.

For dissimilar materials, I rely on CA, often using thin and medium viscosities. I also use the recommended accelerator for the brand CA you're using. While CA cures fast, often times, it's not fast enough. It also degrades with time and moisture absorption and will both get thicker, and at the same time, cure more slowly. I usually throw it out long before it's all gone. To keep CA over long periods of time, store it in a freezer. In fact, that's how the stuff is made. Did you ever wonder how you keep the machinery that makes CA from gluing itself together? It's produced at very low temperatures. It was developed by Eastman Kodak to glue lenses together (Eastman 510). So it's still the perfect cement to restore broken china and ceramic figurines. However, it is not dishwasher safe and will let go in hot, soapy, alkaline water in the dishwasher. It can only be used for cosmetic repairs, not for dishes that you intend to use.

CA has another use that I learned from the RC Plane guys. Thin CA absorbed into balsa makes it very hard and strong. You can use it on wood screw holes that you anticipate having to tighten and loosen repeatedly. It can also be used to solidify end grain.

Keep some acetone handy. It dissolves CA and can break the bond between fingers. If you buy Debonder you're just buying acetone. Old fashioned nail polish remover also works if it's basically acetone. Debonder comes in a spray bottle. I just keep refilling my original bottle with acetone as it runs out. I tend not to glue my fingers together, but I do occasionally get CA on my fingers. A couple of rubs with a rag with some acetone removes the glue.

Trainman2001 posted:
To keep CA over long periods of time, store it in a freezer.

Only if it's still sealed in the bottle.  Once it's open putting it into the freezer is one of the worse things you can do - every time you take it out after that while it's cold it's condensing water into it and water is a catalyst that will trigger its polymerization into a solid.  That's why it gets progressively thicker over time.

Once open. Store it in a desiccator preferably using calcium sulfate with cobalt indicator in it.  You can keep it in there after opening for years, only taking it out as needed.

Last edited by mwb
mwb posted:
Trainman2001 posted:
To keep CA over long periods of time, store it in a freezer.

Only if it's still sealed in the bottle.  Once it's open putting it into the freezer is one of the worse things you can do - every time you take it out after that while it's cold it's condensing water into it and water is a catalyst that will trigger its polymerization into a solid.  That's why it gets progressively thicker over time.

Once open. Store it in a desiccator preferably using calcium sulfate with cobalt indicator in it.  You can keep it in there after opening for years, only taking it out as needed.

woo, sounds like I should have paid more attention in chemistry class

rex desilets posted:

"calcium sulfate with cobalt indicator"

Is there a commercial source for this elixir?

My go-to for wood-to-wood is yellow carpenters glue followed by a dab of ACC. Not as universal as mwb's Goo + ACC, but less messy to apply than Goo.

Yes, it's commercial name is Drierite - pop it into a search on eBay.....

A steady, gentle and patient hand to use Goo most successfully one has to develop, Leafhopper.

Geo2000 posted:

Hi, I am a newbie to modeling and wanted to know the best glue products to use for building both wool kit structures and plastic structures.

Also any other tools I should get beyond paints brushes and xacto.

Thanks in advance!

As far as tools go.Don't buy cheap.Get a good set of large and small Wiha and/or Felo precision screw drivers and nut drivers.These are made in Germany and will last you a long,long time. Get a set of Xuron precision cutters and pliers. A good set of small files and tweezers are a must too. Micro Mark is a good source.

Trainman2001 posted:

All good. Regarding Goo. I find that contact cements lose their grip over time. I have a model ship that I painstakingly applied individual copper tiles on the bottom. Almost all of those tiles have now detached themselves over the 40 that the model has existed. All glues have their pluses and minuses. For styrene, I also use Tenax or Plastruct's Bounden, but I apply it will a Touch-n-Flow applicator. This is a piece of small O.D. glass tubing with a piece of capillary tubing in the end. It enables you to apply small quantities very carefully. A little solvent cement goes a long way. Too much and the plastic parts you're assembling start to degrade.

 

 

I had not heard of the touch and go but use a similar technique. Fine tip tweezers used like a drawing pen. Dip into the liquid, Tenax, Plastruct, etc, close the tweezers then open them where you want to apply it. It alows micro drops to be applied precisely at the spot like HO grab holes.

Pete

What about glue needed to apply photo paper to plastic or metal   , I have tried  Elmer's white glue, Elmer's rubber cement,  Glue  sticks of three or 4 brand names and weldbond   ....  have to have something that will not come through and change the color of the  photo paper  ....  but as you can see  the result in that the paper comes away from both the  plastic and  the metal   .. If I was real artistic i could simply  paint the  vans , but I am NOT  so the simple solution was to   use photo shop and get what i needed to glue to the side of the vans    ............... BUT the method I am using is not working    ..... any  uncomplicated ( cheap) solutions  !!!!!!!!IMG_6291IMG_6292IMG_6293IMG_6294IMG_6295

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Robert Macfie posted:

What about glue needed to apply photo paper to plastic or metal   , I have tried  Elmer's white glue, Elmer's rubber cement,  Glue  sticks of three or 4 brand names and weldbond   ....  have to have something that will not come through and change the color of the  photo paper  ....  but as you can see  the result in that the paper comes away from both the  plastic and  the metal   .. If I was real artistic i could simply  paint the  vans , but I am NOT  so the simple solution was to   use photo shop and get what i needed to glue to the side of the vans    ............... BUT the method I am using is not working    ..... any  uncomplicated ( cheap) solutions  !!!!!!!!IMG_6291IMG_6292IMG_6293IMG_6294IMG_6295

Robert I like to use Scotch #77 spray adhesive when applying paper/card stock to plastic or any surface and it doesn't bleed through.  I've even used to repair curled wallpaper seams.3m77

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