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Attaching resin parts without super glue?


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The "clear" liquid cements are solvents that don't work on resin. Your only permanent cementing options are superglue or epoxy.

If it's an "add-on" or "bolt on" part of some kind, you might use a good white glue such as Tacky Glue. If it ever comes off you can just glue it back on again. But that's definitely not for anything structural or permanent.

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2 hours ago, High octane said:

I've been using Devcon 5-Minute Epoxy for years now for just about everything that I have to glue together and very happy with it. It dries clear and has a strong bond. I know that it''s a bit pricey and a bit wasteful too, but it works for me.

I'm highly allergic to super-glue and can't use it at all. Like Nick (High Octane), I use 5-minute epoxy for any non-styrene parts. In fact I also use it for styrene when I want a non-solvent joint or where I want to avoid marring the surface (like for windows or on painted surfaces). When it comes to final assembly I mainly use epopxy, in fact. But I have a question for you epoxy users. The one thing I miss about superglue is the fast,  near--instant bond using a tiny amount of adhesive. What techniques have you epoxy users developed to substitute for this?

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5-Minute Epoxy will set up in 5 minutes or so, however it takes 24 hours to cure fully, so if you have any sensitive parts glued on or you're lookin' for strength like the body to the chassis, I would allow drying time. Also, if one doesn't mix the two parts evenly the glue may not work properly. And the two part epoxy has different colored caps on the tubes,  black & white. Pick on color like white and put that on your mixing pad first, and ALWAYS do this  and then use the tube with the black cap. Reason is if you put one part on your mixing pad, and the doorbell or the phone rings, or whatever interruption, you know which tube you used first and then you can finish mixing the second part.

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7 hours ago, pharoah said:

Is it possible to attach  resin parts with something like Tamiya clear (in bottle)  I don't really like using super glue , even though it has it's place. Any options?  Thanks!

I don't know about resin but I use it as glue all the time. I suspect it would work though.

I started using the Tamiya clear acrylic paint to glue stuff together close to 2 decades ago. You can't use it on everything but it's what I usually use to glue pickup boxes together. I have an AMT '50 Chevy pickup I glued the box together this way when the kit first came out and it's still as strong a bond as it was back then. 

Only thing is it takes a long time, like at least 24 hours before it's strong enough to handle. I usually let it set for at least 3 or 4 days just to be sure.

 

PS, I'll try glueing a couple resin peices together later and let you know how it turns out. Probably take a couple days though.

Edited by Can-Con
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9 hours ago, Bernard Kron said:

I'm highly allergic to super-glue and can't use it at all. Like Nick (High Octane), I use 5-minute epoxy for any non-styrene parts. In fact I also use it for styrene when I want a non-solvent joint or where I want to avoid marring the surface (like for windows or on painted surfaces). When it comes to final assembly I mainly use epopxy, in fact. But I have a question for you epoxy users. The one thing I miss about superglue is the fast,  near--instant bond using a tiny amount of adhesive. What techniques have you epoxy users developed to substitute for this?

There are no instant-epoxies (that is why I love using CA glues). But your well-stocked hardware store should carry 2-minute epoxy.  That is the fastest-setting epoxy I have ever encountered.

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I use the same approach to mounting all small items in any case, I use staples from a normal office type stapler. I'll drill the mounting points on the objects being joined and insert a staple cut to length and glue using regular Model Master Cement. This works great for exterior mirrors and door handles as well as carbs to manifolds. The staple gives a lot of stability to the small parts and they don't get knocked off with handling of the model.  

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Years back I had bought some front resin front headlight/bezel's for a 78 Monte Carlo from a resin supplier. I was at the time out of super glue and had no epoxy on hand. Impatient I wanted to get them glued on. I had on hand some Loctite GO2 Glue I picked up from walmart. It's a clear glue sort of a thick honey consistency, dries a sort of rubber like texture on some test pieces I used it on. But very solid not a cheap flexible type rubber. I used it on the two resin headlights, and it held in place perfectly! Recently I wanted to remove the headlights and use them on another project, and with a little hobby knife help, they popped off with a little pressure. The glue left behind scraped right off easily. I also used it in a pinch to glue down some seats and they solid to this day. The seats were styrene on styrene. Resin headlights were attached on direct painted enamel surface I should mention. I'm actually pretty impressed by the glue and found lots of other uses for it with model building. It doesn't have a strong odor or anything either and dries crystal clear. Something different to try out. 

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