For Petes Sake the Glue won't hold

You may want to try a product called Bondic.  It works with the same technology as the bonding process that dentists use.

https://www.thegrommet.com/bon...c-welder-starter-kit

You Betcha! Bondic is a fantastic product. I've used it on hard-to-find parts on my prewar trains, mainly Bakelite. You might find it a little expensive if you use a lot.

Some people believe that styrene cement loses potency with age. Others do not.   I have no idea who is right, but it's one possible explanation.

I had the same problem with a couple of newer plastic-ville structures. I think it's the plastic compound, it has been changed. It may be exclusive of china. I don't know. But with fresh glue it did not work. Same glue on reg plastic model, works good. I ended up using super glue and Goo by locktite. But my vintage plastic-ville glued good with same glue. It did not seam to melt the newer plastic. And even cutting and scraping the plastic it had different characteristics than the older stuff.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet. I've been using regular hot glue on plasticville buildings for years and have had no problems. Maybe you should use hot glue instead. It binds and hardens fast and does not melt the plastic. It also cools very fast to. It keeps things together for a very long long time maybe even forever. Great for glueing the inside corners of Plasticville Buildings and other things for keeping items down on my layout. Try a hot glue gun on your plasticville buildings. It works great.

RRaddict2:

Wherever possible I try to use a solvent based glue that melts the plastic. I never have used so am not sure about the Testors glue. I almost exclusively use Plastruct Plastic Weld (dissimilar plastics) or Bondene (same plastic). If I have to resort to 'super glue' I use a few drops of the gel (any brand) to tack walls together then I use ZAP a GAP PlastiZap down the inside joint.

As Avanti said I am not sure whether plastic glue loses potency over age. However I have noticed that Plastruct Plastic Weld gets thicker with extended use from the bottle. I think air interacts with the solvent and has an effect on it. I try to keep the bottle topped off so no air gets inside and when the solvent gets too thick I toss it. I can tell when Plastic Weld is starting to thicken - it turns color from clear to a rusty appearance. 

Sometimes when I am not sure about a particular plastic I will take some paper thin shavings with an exacto blade and pour some of the Bondene or Plastic Weld over them to see if they melt.

Joe

Gentlemen,

    You can also try the Loctite Super Glue Liquid, just a small drop does it.

PCRR/Dave

I was looking for something along the lines of Plastruct Plastic Weld and Bondene but it seems everything needed an accelerator or curer.  I used to use microweld a stand a lone glue but now it requires an accelerator to cure. Are these glues to be used a lone?

Tube or liquid?  Tube can lose its potency as the active ingredient solvent will evaporate over time regardless of how tight sealed you may think you made it.

If it's really styrene, then Tenax will work fine albeit have a very high evaporation rate, but it does not go bad over time as it's 99% methylene chloride....

I would go with the Plastruct suggestion. It's the same material that's used to bond acrylic and bonds both styrene and ABS instantly.

I have been repairing some parts I bought that had cracks and broken pieces and I have been using CA thick with a needle applicator tip and it is working great. In some cases I am having to go over old glue which is usually a more difficult task but it has really worked well. The trick in my case is to make sure the surfaces are lined up real well and you have to hold still for about 45 seconds.

Good stuff....welds styrene, ABS, plex or acrylic.......but does stink a bit!!! 

I use "Quick Grip"obtained from A.C.Moore. It's a tube glue, all purpose contact cement that dries reasonably fast. It's a little thicker than the old model airplane glue like Ambroid used on wooden model airplanes years ago. It's water proof and clear. We used it to glue hundreds of O gauge people to the sidewalks on the very large O ga. layout at Merchant's Square Mall in Allentown, Pa. two blocks from the Queen City Airport near SR 309. That was over two years ago and the town folk are still standing. We also used it on many other items on the layout. It's best if you hold the glued item in place for about 15 seconds plus. 

A few years back I needed to bond some steel pieces together. Used a product called E6000...and I still can't pull them apart. For plastics, Goop is near the same formulation - but modified to include plastics.  Both products are made by eclectic products (eclecticproducts.com) - AND ----it's actually made right here in the USA!!!

I went with Tenax and it worked great chemically welding the plastic together. The rumor is though that they quit making it but I got a bottle.

Old rumor, but these things have a way of taking on a life of their own.  It's just methylene chloride and that's available for ~$150/ 4 liters and not going away anytime soon as a very heavily used solvent. 

Little bit of a markup on that bottle at the hobby shop,