Glue Gun Glue Bomb.

[oldcarfan]

I bought a glue bomb and it surprised me. I was expecting old tube glue or maybe super glue. This one is held together with 1/4" globs of glue gun glue. It doesn't seem to have warped or melted the plastic, but that stuff is tenacious, it doesn't release easily. I'm wondering if it's worth the risk to try heating the glue to loosen it.

[Deuces]

Pictures????....

[Ace-Garageguy]

For what ti's worth, I tried hot-glue for model mockups a few years back. I'd often used it in the real-car work with excellent, easily removable adhesion on metal and fiberglass.

I used a HOT one, not the wimpy little ones they make for low-temp glue, as I should have.

Long story short...the hotter of the hot-glues melts into the surface of styrene much as solvent-based glues do.

It's the absolute devil to get off, and usually requires careful surface scraping with an X-acto chisel-tip blade, or something similar.

IF...big if...you can immerse the model in HOT water, it WILL soften the stuff enough to ease disassembly.

But remember...the CRITICAL temperature (T_g, or "glass transition temperature") for most kit "styrene" is right around boiling, 212F, 100C. It you get your model that hot, warping is a real possibility.

[Snake45]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

But remember...the CRITICAL temperature (T_g, or "glass transition temperature") for most kit "styrene" is right around boiling, 212F, 100C. It you get your model that hot, warping is a real possibility.

In my experience (and please don't ask me how I know), it's quite a bit UNDER boiling. I'd be VERY careful going over 180* or 190*. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Snake45 said:

In my experience (and please don't ask me how I know), it's quite a bit UNDER boiling. I'd be VERY careful going over 180* or 190*. 

Good point. 212F is pretty much guaranteed to be a problem. WELL under that is advisable.  

[Deathgoblin]

I tried building the 1/8 Golden Tee with a glue gun way back when.  It never would hold together and just fell apart.  You might try putting it in the freezer to see if it causes the glue to release.  Good luck!

[oldcarfan]

I'd already started breaking it apart before I took (blurry) pictures, but there are still some splotches. A new Xacto blade seems to cut through it fairly well. It must have been a low-temp glue, so far I haven't found any warped parts.

[Flat32]

When hot glue is used for paint-less dent repair the pull pucks are easily removed with isopropyl alcohol. It doesn't dissolve the glue, but seems to release the bond.

[Ace-Garageguy]

That just moved to the top of my list of things to experiment with.   

[Deuces]

Yeah, I might give it a whirl.....?

[oldcarfan]

I have a scratch-built Orca and SS Minnow that I started years ago and drag out occasionally. I may have to look into using a glue gun on those.

[Can-Con]

On 11/9/2018 at 7:10 PM, oldcarfan said:

I'd already started breaking it apart before I took (blurry) pictures, but there are still some splotches. A new Xacto blade seems to cut through it fairly well. It must have been a low-temp glue, so far I haven't found any warped parts.

What is that Gary, Monogram Porsche?

[STYRENE-SURFER]

If that is regular styrene I would try soaking it with denatured alcohol. It has worked for me before when cleaning up after messy craft projects 

[Daddyfink]

How about freezing it?

[peteski]

I agree with Kurt.  Just pour some isopropyl alcohol (I use 91 or 99%) around the hot glue perimeter  it should come off in sheets.  It seems that the alcohol instantly breaks the glue's bond.

[oldcarfan]

All I had was some regular first aid kit Isopropyl, but it did seem to help. Got it apart, thanks to all!

[oldcarfan]

On 11/13/2018 at 6:05 PM, Can-Con said:

What is that Gary, Monogram Porsche?

Yes, it's the Monogram Porsche flatnose Cabriolet. I got two of them off a Facebook page. It's turning out to be not as hard to remove the glue since y'all suggested using Iso Alcohol.