CA for bonding Balsa wood and Plastics?

Don't use balsa - too soft and porous.

Use basswood - you can get basswood scribed to represent boards from Kappler Lumber, Northeastern Scale Lumber, and Mt. Albert Scale Lumber.

CA - not the thin stuff - will work for this on most plastics with basswood.  May have to weight it down for it to cure completely and being wood it may soak into it a bit and take two tries.

Personally, for such things I would use a very thin film of Walthers Goo on the wood and CA on the plastic - contact cement mix with CA - close to instant setting so you need to get it right the 1st time.

You may want to stain the lumber first.  Adhesives have a tendency to alter the way you may want it to look.  Paint would cover both wood and the glue/adhesive applied that would soak through the wood. 

Well, you can use a CA for this sort of bond.  Because of the differences in porosity of the two materials....plastic (car) and balsa (deck), I would use a medium or thick viscosity CA....it will bond a porous material like balsa wood much better.

OTOH, I have found a glue in our (LHS) R/C airplanes department that is far and away the best for just this sort of bond.  It's called Super 'Phatic! Glue, made by Deluxe Materials...

"Phatic Link

It's a UK firm that has a HUGE range of materials of interest to this hobby.  In the USA it can be found through...

Exclusively distributed in the USA by
Horizon Hobby, Inc. 
4105 Fieldstone Road 
Champaign, IL 61822
Consumers call: 1-800-338-4639 
Buy Deluxe Materials on line at 
www.horizonhobby.com
Retailers call: 1-800-535-5551
Order on line and connecting to fastserve at: 
www.horizonhobby.com
Support Phone: 1-877-504-0233
Sales Phone: 1-800-338-4639
Fax: 1-217-355-1552

...and retailers, such as us (LHS), who source from them. 

Anyhow, a 50ml bottle costs only about $4.50.  The needle applicator that comes with it is VERY useful.....but be sure to rinse it out thoroughly at the end of your work, before it sets up!.  It has been excellent for my bonding of styrene/ABS to basswood, balsa, mdf, etc. in bulding structures.  The R/C airplane guys rave about it....and they find it very effective (as advertised) for repairing/bonding foam structures/wings/fuselages/etc.....something I haven't had need of....yet.

Love this stuff!!

BTW....take some time to go through the whole range of Deluxe Materials products.  Some nifty trains-related stuff....not all of which, though, may be currently carried by Horizon...but could be with a request/inquiry, I'm sure.

FWIW, always....

KD

PS...Dave Gauss....I'd add this to the Tools/Fasteners section of the Scenery Sourcelist

More options for adhesives is good.

mwb- I have a can of Sanding Sealer that I am going to spray on the boards before I lay them down. It says on the can that it will seal and protect hobby and craft woods of all types and stops paints from soaking into the porous grains of craft woods. So I figured I would be ok with that. As for the Super Phatic Glue, ill have to order myself some, sounds good to me!

Probably.  Never used spray sanding sealer - got a quart can that's lasted a decade or 3 that I use.

 "researching the internet for a CA or glue of some type that will bond to woods and plastics"

Ca glue probably would work but I'd likely use a contact cement like Goo or a two part epoxy to give a bit more working time.....DaveB

No, Martin, I do not know the composition.  There are no definitive contents on the label, either.  The safety warnings talk about avoiding contact with skin and eyes...and the ubiquitous warning to 'duh-mies': "Do not ingest".

I suppose all of the appropriate regulatory/health/safety/blah-blah requirements were met prior to it's entry in the US market.  Horizon Distributors are not black-marketeers, IMHO.

Now, you'll be pleased to know, however, that the simple instructions and safety warning are repeated in SIX (Yepper!!) languages of the world on that 50ml bottle label!!!  And not one of them gives credit to the State of California and things 'known' to them!

I am assuming from the snazzy name of the glue that it's principally aliphatic in nature.  But so is Elmer's and ye olde yeller carpenters glue.  And having used copious amounts of both of those in my 70 years, THIS stuff is not quite the same. 

Nonetheless, I would imagine a polite inquiry to Deluxe in the interests of increased awareness of health/safety might get a data sheet.

Try it sometime.  I especially value your opinion!

FWIW, always...

KD

Your best bet is CA adhesive and don't seal the basswood first. You want the CA to soak in. That is what will create the bond for you. Stain the wood with an alcohol base stain first and weight the wood down flat until dry. if the ca soaks all the way through the wood it will not hurt the pre-stain. Plastic solvent also works with plastic to wood very well, but a large area such as you are doing is best left up to CA.

Tom- The thing is I am using very thing Balsa wood, the Basswood that I saw at the store had terrible grain. I have used Balsa before to make flatcar beds but working with the plastic is where I wasn't sure.

I would still not seal the wood for reasons so stated. Good luck.

When using CA on wood and other real porous substrates, it is better to apply one coat, let it dry, to both surfaces. Then make the bond. On basswood, a medium viscosity CA will work fine. On plastics with a smooth surface, a thinner CA works better and should be applied with a fine needle tip applicator allowing proper placement and to reduce unwanted overflow. I purchase it at my LHS and keep thin, medium and gap filler on hand.