A few new guy questions

[trey allen]

First of all, I'm having a hard time with glue. Its mostly been on my chrome parts, but it's been a few other parts too. My glue just will not set up. I am using Tamiya glue, and I have been sanding the chrome off before applying glue. They just don't set up. Is glue humidity or temperature sensitive? Its cold here, and dry. I have some CA glues that I can try, just wanted to get the pro's opinions first.

Secondly, in reading here, I hear a lot of talk about resin kits. Anyone care to explain those to me? Are they kinda low production, better quality, or what? thanks!

trey

[Kaleb]

I can help with the first one. With chrome parts you have to scrape off the "chrome" in the area you want to glue.

[JamesW]

When it comes to resin, it's usually something that isn't available in plastic form. I would strongly suggest getting some plastic under your belt before attempting any resin. Resin kits can be very expensive.

[SoCalCarCulture]

I can help with the first one. With chrome parts you have to scrape off the "chrome" in the area you want to glue.

If you read his post he said he was sanding the chrome off before gluing.

[niteowl7710]

Define "They just don't set up"...Is it a question of two parts that need to be glued together and the tension is breaking the glue bond, or that things just don't see to be sticking otherwise? I've found that on occasion where parts are fiddly and there aren't good "peg and hole" mounting, that gravity is your friend. Make sure you hold the joint for the prescribed amount of time on the package(I usually do at least a slow count of 15), make sure the alignment is correct and to your liking, and then prop the part up against a paint bottle or the side of the box to orientate it so that it can't fall off without a sudden cessation of the earth's rotation and give it a few hours to totally dry before handling it again. If it's a tension problem then rubber bands, pony-tail holders (having a wife and 8 y/o daughter I have a variety of sizes to choose from), gentle use of one of those "pistol grip" clamp guns, or if you really want to go all out they make a magnetic gig set up. Regardless any of those techniques will hold the parts under tension until the glue dries.

One the resin side of the equation...if you really want all the chemical make-up details one of our resin casters we have around here can break downs the in and outs of the differences between resin and styrene plastic. But they are different, for example you must use CA or epoxy glue, regular model glue doesn't work. Resin parts, transkits, or model kits are "home made", in so much as they are talented individuals who make the molds and pour the resin to create these items. Either scratch-building the pieces, or relying on someone to supply masters, they traditionally represent parts that either are no longer available, are a more detailed version of existing kit parts, or were NEVER available in kit form. They are "limited" in supply as most resin companies are a one or two man operations. Quality can be as good, if not better than the big kit companies, but then some are chunks of unusable blobbage. If you want to know about a particular company or item, check out the Resin section or ask around, chances are around here you can get the answer you need.

[trey allen]

I've had a few instances where the glue is still tacky the next day. I hold it for a while after applying glue. I'm thinking about trying another glue to see what it does. I have always had issues getting CA glues to setup for me. I have been working on my engine for 4 days now, mostly because of glue times.

Thanks for the info on the resin kits. I have no plans of building one any time soon. I want to learn as much as I can first. If I can't get past glue problems, I sure can't handle a resin kit!

[Harry P.]

There's no way that ANY glue should still be tacky the next day. I suspect you have a bad batch.

There are many other glue alternatives... Testors tube glue (everyone's "model glue" from their childhood)... liquid styrene cement, CA (super glue), etc. If the stuff you're using isn't working, dump it and try something else.

[charlie8575]

I agree with Harry, sounds like Tamiya made a (for them) rare defective product. Liquid cement should set up fairly quickly- within an hour or two, and full strength in 6-18 hours.

I'd suggest trying Testors tube cement, which is very reliable, or their liquid cement, which is also a good product.

Worst case, try 5-minute epoxy for gluing those parts. That's all but guaranteed to work.

Charlie Larkin

[imatt88]

trey,

Welcome aboard, man

I use super glue for pretty much everything. I'm primarily an aircraft builder, so I use super glue to fill seams, attatch parts, etc.

For smaller subassemblies I use this stuff called Tenax 7R. It's one of those liquid solvent glues that "welds" the parts together by slightly melting the plastic. Applied with an old Testors paint brush. Neat stuff.

If you can, avoid epoxy glues, its really sticky and can get on everything, especially clear parts.

If you decide to go the super glue route, I would recommend keeping a small bottle of nail polish remover close by....

It works great to break super glue bonds if you accidentally glue yourself to plastic(don't ask me how I know this )

But, keep hanging around here, and you will definately learn stuff. I have

Cheers, Ian

[Kaleb]

If you read his post he said he was sanding the chrome off before gluing.

Sorry, was leaving to go out the door and just seen where the glue wasnt setting. caught by the thread police lol