Bought my first glue bomb. Need advice please.

[Mike C.]

Thanks Casey. I think I'll try the simple green/water soak first.

[Skip]

I’d third the simple green + dishwashing detergent soak overnIght, gets in all the nooks and crannies to allow mechanical means of popping the assemblies apart.

Three methods I use, one has already been mentioned, the photo etch blades work. Really well.  Second method is a dental cement spatula that I thinned down to about half its original thickness so it slides under things to allow a gentle pry.  Third is a dental explorer, the needle like pick that the dental hygienist uses to drive you nuts as they are cleaning your teeth.  An explorer can be used to pick at and pry on the ancient glue puddles, gently working them loose.

I tried tossing a gluebomb into my ultrasonic cleaner hoping it would break the glue joints loose did nothing, but I did get a really clean gluebomb!  

The ultrasonic cleaner will take off chrome in under ten minutes in most cases, it also weakens the lacquer undercoating so it can be wire brushed off (that’s using the Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner mix).  

Ultrasonic cleaner also works great to clean up the mold release from resin cast parts and bodies, as long as the heat is kept around 50 - 70degrees F.  I normally run resin parts in the ut cleaner for 5 - 10 minutes, I haven’t had any paint issues with any resin since I started using this method.

I’ve also found that using a strong mix of the HF Ultrasonic cleaning mix will loosen and take off most enamel, lacquer, and acrylic paints in about an hour or so.  Haven’t used purple power yet, as the HF cleaner is similar,  the ultrasonic cleaner helps remove the paint and chrome by cavitation.  Acrylic paint is no match for the ut cleaner, it just shreds it off completely in a little under 5 minutes! 

To demonstrate the effect of cavitation, put  a sealed foil packet in the ut cleaner and the cavitation will erode right through the foil, it looks like it’s been dipped in acid [experiment right out of first year materials Engineering!]. Thankfully the cavitation has zero effect on styrene, so it’s perfect for dechroming.  The vat on my ut cleaner holds about half a gallon and is large enough to hold a car body or two.

[Mike C.]

Well I gave it the soak in the simple green. I forgot that that would take the chrome off but no big deal. I have all the replacement chrome I need from the Revell kits. I did the overnight freezer trick . the lack of paint made it a little tricky but a little patience paid off and I didn't have to resort to the fancy blades. Just a few simple tools in my stash. Just need to do a little more cleaning up the body and interior are apart but I put them back for the mock up shots.

 

[Mike C.]

This thing was molded in a color that looks like resin.

[Casey]

37 minutes ago, Mike C. said:

This thing was molded in a color that looks like resin.

That off-white color was fairly common for Monogram kits in the early '80s-- GMC Jimmy, Dodge Ramcharger, '69 Camaro Z/28, Bad Actor '60 Chevy Panel, etc.

Do the pickup tail light lenses and front and rear bumpers fit the Jimmy body the same?

[bisc63]

Very happy that worked out for you. No real problems?

[Mike C.]

13 hours ago, Casey said:

That off-white color was fairly common for Monogram kits in the early '80s-- GMC Jimmy, Dodge Ramcharger, '69 Camaro Z/28, Bad Actor '60 Chevy Panel, etc.

Do the pickup tail light lenses and front and rear bumpers fit the Jimmy body the same?

the taillights look about right but they are clear. I may need to replace them with some red ones.

[Mike C.]

12 hours ago, bisc63 said:

Very happy that worked out for you. No real problems?

Thank you Rusty.