Plastic cement + styrene mixture?

[aurfalien]

Hello,

Curious if those who use a plastic glue + styrene mixture as a sort of micro filler could snap a photo?

I'm curious about consistency.

[Mark]

Consistency can be whatever you want it to be.  More liquid = more shrinkage as that liquid evaporates.  I still use a styrene/MEK mix every so often; no cement because most liquid cements seem to have something in them to slow the evaporation/cure time.  In any event, don't lay too much of it on at one time.  When I use it, I'll usually apply liquid cement along the seam and then put on the mixture, packing it into the seam after a few minutes.  I can't stress enough...ventilated work area, outdoors if at all possible...

[Snake45]

As Mark said, you can make it almost any consistency you want. The "standard" recipe is to cut sprue into short chunks, put it in a bottle, then pour in just enough MEK to cover them. Let sit a couple days and you have your goo.

I made and used a lot of this stuff back in the '80s in model airplane work, but hardly ever do anymore. Unless you put it on very thin in several/many coats, it can take forever to dry because the "skin" will dry off and the stuff underneath can take weeks or months to gas out completely. Now, jobs I used to do with styrene goo, I do with superglue, or superglue gel, or even just some thick flat hand-brushed primer.

[afx]

I use an old liquid cement jar and drop in scrap bits of styrene then poor in enough Plast-I-Weld to cover it.  I apply the mixture with a tooth pick or and old paint brush.  If it re-solidifies in the jar just add more Plast-I-Weld.  

 

[aurfalien]

Hello and thank you for the replies.

[peteski]

I have tried the dissolved plastic, method but I find that it takes a very long time for the solvent to evaporate (days, weeks, or even longer, depending on how much solvent was in the mixture and how thick the filled area was), and the plastic never seems to get as hard as it was before it was dissolved.

I rather use CA glue  and if needed mix it it with either styrene shavings or talcum powder. It also use accelerator (BSI brand) to harden it.  No shrinkage at all. I then work it (sand/feather it) within about 1 hour after hardening. the CA glue continues to harden, so it eventually becomes harder than the styrene, making it difficult to sand the filled area smooth.  Some use baking soda as filler - I stay away from that method. Baking soda is water soluble and if some of it was left exposed to ambient air, it can absorb moisture from humid air, dissolve and start oozing out f the filled area.Besides, baking soda violently accelerates the cure of CA, often bubbling up and even smoking as the CA hardens. BSI accelerator provides gentler hardening action.