StevenGuthmiller

Looks like a heck of a lot less work than I had to do! Looking good! Don’t forget the torque boxes and skid plate. My guess is that you might have been the one to suggest them to me on my project! 😉 Steve

Thank you!!! Steve

Certainly. The more you bang something around, the more likely it is to come apart on you. That’s just natural. In all honesty, that would be my first suspicion of the culprit in your situation rather than an actual problem with glue. Steve

Ha! Try asking a question on one of the Facebook modeling groups! You might get a little disagreement here, but at least the information you do get won’t be a mixture of a couple dozen useful nuggets wrapped up among 150 completely idiotic fantasies! 😁 Here, we don’t all agree on everything, but we’re not morons! 😉 Steve

Sorry I hadn’t responded to our PM thread Bill. I had been trying to figure out how to link you to my ‘68 Coronet project thread from a few years back, but I’m out of the country on vacation, and not very good with this stupid phone! 😖 If it will be of help to you, if you can wait until I get back in a week, it would be a lot easier for my to post up the link from my desktop. For some reason, I haven’t even been able to access any of my own content that’s that old from my phone, thus the problem with sharing a link. In any event, looks like you’re on the right track. If I can help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask. Steve

Well, if you’re models have been jostled around considerably as of late, that’s a lot more likely to be the cause of parts coming off than anything that was done incorrectly with the gluing process or the materials themselves. I seem to recall you saying that the failures were mainly suspension failures, which makes absolute sense considering that not only has the weight of the model been putting stress on a few spindly plastic parts for decades, but add on top of that a lot of bouncing around, and yeah, there are very likely going to be some failures regardless of the materials or processes used. That’s just common sense. Steve

Apparently, I’ve been breaking virtually every epoxy rule that there is, yet I can’t seem to manage to get it to fail. I have to be doing something wrong! 😊 Here’s another practice that I’m confident has to be a big no-no. For most assemblies I’m doing, as soon as the epoxy is mixed, I apply it to one, or both of the surfaces to be joined, depending on the circumstance. Then I walk away for somewhere between 8 to 15 minutes. (The product I use is a 5 minute epoxy, but it takes much longer than that before beginning to harden) I then return and check the remaining mixture on the card to check progress, and once the glue has reached a tacky, but no longer soupy consistency, then I join the parts together. This accomplishes a couple of different tasks. A, It eliminates, or at a minimum, greatly reduces, any possibility of glue “squeeze out”, which can be a huge deal, especially when dealing with installing glass or anything that needs to be cleanly glued to a surface that will be exposed. B, It’s a huge benefit for positioning parts. There is enough viscosity left in the glue to be able to make positioning adjustments, but it’s tacky enough to hold the parts where you put them so they’re not sliding all over the place. I use the example of positioning a rear view mirror inside of a hardtop body, because who hasn’t had a mirror go wonky on you as you tried to install it, leading to glue all over the glass, or other surfaces where you don’t want it. With this method, I put a small dab of epoxy exactly where I want the mirror placed with a tooth pick, let it tack up for 10 minutes, and then using a tweezers, simply place the base of the mirror on the dab of epoxy, and lightly press in place. It can still be moved around a little here and there without making a glue mess, but it’s gonna stay where you put it when you back away from it. I’m sure some of these suggestions are utterly horrifying to some, but I have yet to see any evidence at all of any failure or weakness in any joint that I’ve used this product and these techniques on over the past decade or more. Does that mean that there will never be a failure?......absolutely not. But then again, glue joint failure is always going to be a possibility, or even a probability, with a lot of different products. That’s just the way it is. Just as a side note, I’ve seen people on numerous occasions having to repair models at a show after parts have shaken loose during travel. Pretty much every show I’ve ever attended was at the end of as much as a 300 mile or more trip on some pretty awful Minnesota roads, and most of my models have made numerous trips of the same caliber, and never once have I ever had to glue a single part back on once I arrived at the show. Now, you can possibly attribute some of that to how the model is packed, but I’m confident that a large portion of that is due to how the model was assembled, and you guys know me. Most of my builds have no shortage of intricate assemblies and tiny parts. Steve

I guess I need to completely reconsider my techniques for using epoxy. I don’t “key” anything. I use it on paint, chrome, kit glass, different metals......heck, I’ve even used it on tires! When I mix it, I do it on a piece of cardboard. Now I’m just going to be sitting in front of my display cabinets just watching, and waiting for parts to begin falling off! 😁 I’m closer to an illiterate when it comes to epoxy than I am to an expert, but I get this feeling that just as is the case with various paints, the particular one you’re using will determine more than anything else your ratio of success. Just as procedures and techniques for applying varying paints can differ, I have to believe that the same must be said for epoxies. As a matter of fact, even speaking as a relative laymen, I can almost guarantee it. Steve

Thanks fellas! Steve

Dinner last night at a prominent and very well liked Italian restaurant in Cancun by the name of “La Dolce Vita”. Been a staple as long as I can remember. I’m generally not the type to seek out an Italian restaurant in Mexico, but this is one of the exceptions that I’ll make while here. Started with a complimentary appetizer of toasted baguette with quail’s liver pâté. Spaghetti Puttanesca for the wife, and Linguine with Clams for me. Ended with a complimentary digestif, and chocolate dipped candied orange peel. Steve

C’mon Peter. I think we all know each other pretty well. You’re just mad because you didn’t get to compete in that contest earlier on! 😉 Steve

Once they’re in someone else’s hands, they’re their problem! 😊 Steve

I got all night. 😉 Steve

Oh, boo hoo! That’s never happened before! 🙄 Steve

Ha! You’re not getting off that easy! 😁 I’m here for 2 weeks! Buckle up buttercup! 😊 Steve

Hey, I’m sitting on a beach in Mexico right now. I’m just passing the time and having some fun! To be honest, this entire discussion is just something to keep me occupied so I don’t drink too much tequila! 😁 No! I’m not kissing Bill!! A handshake would suffice, (once he stops being pissed off at me) 😄 Thanks for the rousing discussion guys, but the tequila is more fun! 😉 Steve

I don’t know. That sounds relatively definitive. Steve

Correct. What’s permanent? There’s no such thing. Steve

Actually yes, I do get a little defensive when blanket statements are made about something that you yourself have admitted that you don’t use on models. This is a modeling forum, and useful, first hand information in conjunction with the hobby is what I hope to find when I log on. I get it, you’re an “expert” on epoxy adhesives, but I have offered actual modeling experiences and at least some proof of my claims. I never stated once in any of my posts that what someone else might choose to try or use is “garbage”, so to say that I’m trying to subconsciously tell everyone that what they’re using is wrong, and I’m the only one that can possibly be right, is comical to say the least. Ya might wanna look in the mirror. Steve

It’s going to be pretty difficult to determine what the reason for failure was on models assembled 5 and 20 years ago, regardless of what was used to glue them together. Apparently, whatever it was, was garbage, if that helps at all. 😉 Steve

By the way, here are the videos I created some time ago to help illustrate the bond of the JB Weld product that I’ve been using for a decade with perfectly acceptable results. If anyone needs a stronger bond for a model car.....well, I don’t know what you plan on doing with that model, but apparently you have much rougher plans than just displaying it. 😉 Steve

Ah, well maybe that’s why I’m using garbage to assemble models. I really don’t care about my stuff! 😊 Steve

Mostly because I asked you more than once if you had used the product “specifically” and you never gave me a distinct answer. Steve

Yeah, it’s clear, and no, I don’t take it as a personal affront. Just wanted to be clear on the assessment that something that you’ve never used is garbage. Now I think I’ve got it. 😉 Steve

I wasn’t trying to make it a contest about who has more experience with epoxies. I’m not going to pretend that I know anything that you don’t. I just wanted to know if you’ve ever used JB Weld “Clear Weld” or “Plastic Weld” specifically for model car stuff or not. It’s easier to determine the weight that one should give to a person’s argument if you know what their experience is. Steve