Skip to main content

Replies sorted oldest to newest

BSI Insta-Cure Medium CA, but I picked up some Mercury CAs (thick and thin and the accelerator) at Trainfest from the Glue Looper booth and am liking them better (bottle design is better). I found out that the Mercury accelerator strips paint, though.

For styrene I use Tamiya Extra Thin liquid cement or homemade sprue goo (cut with the Tamiya).

My wife likes the Loc-Tite Ultra Gel. We saw an internet rumor that it's just. Russian tube of CA on a fancy dispenser so we cut ours open after it was empty and debunked the myth as it was a Loc-Tite tube. But I bet there's counterfeit stuff just like anything else these days.

@BillYo414 posted:

Loctite Ultra Gel, hot glue, or Duco Cement. Duco Cement seems to do well for sticking PLA together (for 3D prints).

I was thinking the other day about trying Testors model glue from my childhood. I can still remember how it smelled haha Does anybody use it these days for their model railroading stuff?

You can still get it in the tube, though I seriously doubt it's the same formula that prompted all the jokes about sniffing glue. I like Testor's liquid cement in the clear bottle for styrene.

Last edited by BruceG
@Richie C. posted:

DAP rapid-set CA glue and a spray accelerator, if needed, work for me.

An apparently little known fact about CA adhesive, you can use water as an accelerator.  Some time back I was reading a detailed technical analysis of CA adhesive and it actually cures in the absence of air.  If you wet one surface, apply CA adhesive to the other one, you get an instant bond when you put the two together.

For the record, I use Loctite #416 and Loctite #380 Black Max.

Last edited by gunrunnerjohn

Interesting - most times, I don't want an instant bond because I need time to get the pieces pressed together and correctly lined up, so I use a rapid set CA, but not an instant set.

Then, depending on the material, I don't want to have to hold the pieces together for a long time and risk them slipping out of position or my fingers and hands are getting tired, so I spray with accelerant to get an instant bond at that point. Maybe a small spray bottle of water (distilled perhaps ?) would work just as well and it's free.

I believe most commercial accelerants use acetone, so you have to be careful that it won't stain any surrounding paint or material. I usually mask off the material if there's any doubt.   

An apparently little known fact about CA adhesive, you can use water as an accelerator.  Some time back I was reading a detailed technical analysis of CA adhesive and it actually cures in the absence of air.  If you wet one surface, apply CA adhesive to the other one, you get an instant bond when you put the two together.

Yes, and just the moisture in your exhaled breath will serve.  This is also why storing CA in the frige or freezer frequently fails since the seal on the bottle permits moisture to condense in the bottle compromising the CA.  A desiccator with color active indicator desiccant is a far better storage option.

I've never had much luck with CA glues, and I've tried a lot of them. Most of the time the two parts just don't stick together. Per a comment made by GRJ quite a while back, I ordered the Loctite #416. Sometimes it seems to work, but frequently not. I'm going to try his hint to use a little water on one side, although like Richie mentioned above, I usually need a little time to get things straight. Maybe I'll also give that Ultragel a try.

If they'd make Walthers Goo in crystal clear, I'd certainly be a customer. A lot of the time I end up using Loctite Stik'N Seal crystal clear adhesive (from Ace Hardware), which seems similar to the old plastic model glue but has fairly wide applications. I use a toothpick for an applicator.

Add Reply

Post
×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×