Best glue to put windows in building.

Well, I use Tester's Clear Parts Cement, but it's not a super quick setting glue.  It's claim to fame is it dries transparent, and people actually make windows with it.

Are we talking the window glass panes into the frame? Or the window frame into the structure?

I was told by one of the OGR contributors to use invisible tape for the Ameri-Towne Savings and Loan. I said no way, I got a way back. Why try to glue and make a mess when the tape does the job like that.

BobbyD posted:

Are we talking the window glass panes into the frame? Or the window frame into the structure?

Would be nice to know which the OP was asking about as well as the actual materials involved. 

2 different problems and the materials involved determine the choices of adhesive.

Dave, I agree with you.  It might have been me that told you that.  I've tried all kinds of different glues with the acetate window material we put into the Ameritowne kits and I find that the rate of expansion and contraction (from heat or cold) of the clear window material is significantly different than the rate for the same thing in the thick ABS plastic of the walls they are mounted in.  The result is that when they are glued in, they "wrinkle" or when the interior temperature changes, they might clear up and look ok.

The only thing I found that worked well was to use Scotch Magic tape on the edges of the acetate window material pieces where they overlapped the opening in the building wall.  For whatever the technical reason, that seems to work every time. 

Ah, yeah it was you Jim that said that. That was two years ago, was trying to remember who all I was talking with that last day of York.

PSA from Micromark. Put it on the window frame. Take a break and work on something else or get a cup of coffee and come back to it. Allow it to set up. It will get tacky and when you attach the window it sticks. No glue smears. Not cheap but works very well. 

I never use glue: 3M Matte Finish, Magic Tape. See screenshot below from my YT Channel.

Gary

And a bit of masking tape over the transparent tape will simulate a window shade.  John

Aleene's Original Tacky Glue;  sticky, permanent, clear and dries quickly.   Walmart, HD, etc.  Most tapes will dry out and quit sticking in a few years.

Charlie

David-

We use 3M 467MP adhesive transfer tape on our windows. It is applied to the Polybak before laser cutting so we don’t have to spend scads of time knifing inside corners. 467MP really does the trick, but as a high-performance product it has to be burnished down after it is applied. We use a 220 grit shop made sanding block. The process serves two purposes: to burnish the adhesive side down and to roughen up the release paper so windows can be put on a paint board or stick. Without taking the shine off of the release paper, it will release from the double sided tape that we use to hold them in place for painting. We use 2” wide rolls. We like the adhesive transfer tape process because it is  a “dry” process. For wet process I would go with Tacky Glue, very lightly applied.

I’m with GRJ on this. I also use testers and it works great. I think it’s pretty fast.

I use Canopy glue, available online, eBay and Foscalemodels.com (Doug Foscale is one of the hobby’s best modelers and designer of kits, mostly HO but, some O scale). I found out about it on a blog in which a lot of superb HO modelers were using Canopy glue. It’s almost immediately tacky and dries quickly. Most importantly, it dries totally clear and doesn’t leave any residue on plastic.