Gluebombs

[om617]

Hi.

How do you guys handle parts that is really stuck? Is there any bath/chemicals to resolve glue and at the same time do not damage the plastic? Really struggling with this old Cadillac,so far it got me 5 stiches in my finger and i`m still just as troubled as when i started The only parts that are left are the headlights,not the lense but the housing and i`m out of ideas to get them off. Any tips and tricks would be greatly appriciated.

[chevyfever2009]

Can you get to the glue from the backside and scrape it awah little by little with a knife

[om617]

I cant get between the fender and housing with anything,even thin scalpels.

[vypurr59]

Try putting it in a ziplock bag and put in the freezer overnight. This may cause the glue to become brittle and crack off easier.

[Ace-Garageguy]

I rework a LOT of gluebombs, and sometimes you just have to give up and admit there's no way to salvage a part, or no way to disassemble something without destroying it.

Some guys have posted they've had good luck freezing models to make the glue more brittle, and even sprinkling water on a model, putting it in a plastic bag, and freezing all of it. I've never tried this technique...

There is NOTHING that will dissolve styrene glue without dissolving the surrounding plastic and causing even more damage.

There IS a de-bonder made for CA glues, but I doubt that is your problem.

[om617]

Thanks! I`ll give it a try with the freezer and see if things could work out.

But sprinkle water on it or cover the entire body before freezing? Or no water at all?

[1930fordpickup]

Tom I have used the water and freezer route . I just run the body under the tap and put bag in the freezer. I have put them in dry . Mixed results with both.

Like Bill says sometimes you have to pick what you want to save and grind away.

[64SS350]

I have heard about the debonder, it sometimes works, and you may have to try it several times to get through.

[my80malibu]

If you are going to redo the chrome I would just put in the purple pond for a few days

[Tom Geiger]

If it's just the headlight housings, I'd leave them on and BMF them as part of your build.

[Guest]

Try soaking it in a degreaser for a few days. That will work sometimes. If it doesn't, try scribing around the part with a new Xacto blade or photo etch blade.

[Mike Kucaba]

I just let the part(s) soak in super clean for a LONG time. If it's chrome...well you were going to re chrome that part anyway ,right?

Another thing that has worked for me is odorless mineral spirits and you don't soak the parts, but you just dribble a little bit at a time and just try and keep the area damp with spirits. This takes a lot of patience.....

[Tom Geiger]

A bit of history. The Germans used the freezer trick to demolish bunkers left over from WW II. You couldn't blow them up or hit them from outside, since those are the very things they were designed to fend. They found that if they made them watertight and filled them with water, the expansion as the ice formed in winter would force the walls apart. So it should be good enough for plastic model cars!

[om617]

Thanks all for good advice. It`s now in the freezer and will see later on if i get it off. One said i could use BMF on the parts and that is a great idea if i dont get them off. I have no idea what purple pond,super clear,degreaser etc is,maby if you have a pic of the product it will make it more easy? Also,since i live in Norway these products might be named somthing else if they are avaliable here.

[Mike Kucaba]

Tommy, sorry about that. Super Clean is just a brand name strong degreaser sold in U.S. It sometimes shows up as Purple Power also. It's my goto paint stripper ,unless I know the coating is acrylic, then I use ammonia. Dawn Power dissolver is another branded name here in the U.S. Check to see if Procter & gamble products are sold in Norway. Or use the freezer trick, which for the record, has never worked for me.

[zenrat]

Try brake fluid. When soaking parts in it to remove paint glue joints made with styrene cement often let go.

However it can take a long time (especially if the joints are as tight as you imply) and long immersion in brake fluid will leach plasticisers out of styrene and cause it to become more brittle (not a desirable result in old plastic that will probably have suffered from some embrittlement already).

Good luck.

[om617]

Tommy, sorry about that. Super Clean is just a brand name strong degreaser sold in U.S. It sometimes shows up as Purple Power also. It's my goto paint stripper ,unless I know the coating is acrylic, then I use ammonia. Dawn Power dissolver is another branded name here in the U.S. Check to see if Procter & gamble products are sold in Norway. Or use the freezer trick, which for the record, has never worked for me.

No problem. Will need to do some research on these items and see what i could find. The freezer trick did not work for me either

[om617]

Try brake fluid. When soaking parts in it to remove paint glue joints made with styrene cement often let go.

However it can take a long time (especially if the joints are as tight as you imply) and long immersion in brake fluid will leach plasticisers out of styrene and cause it to become more brittle (not a desirable result in old plastic that will probably have suffered from some embrittlement already).

Good luck.

Thanks. Is there a limit by experience how many days i should let it soak? And if try,any special type of brake fluid you recomend to use?

[zenrat]

I've forgotten about stuff, gone on holiday and left it in there for 4 weeks without any problems except the body becoming more brittle.

And by more brittle I mean it just cracks a bit easier, not that it will shatter if you touch it.

I'd say just leave the body submerged and every few days pull it out and see if the glue has loosened.

Wear gloves.

As for which brake fluid - I buy the cheapest 4 litre container I can find. It doesn't seem to matter if it is Dot 3 or 4 or whatever.

Try the place your local budget mechanics get theirs.

Edited August 29, 2013 by zenrat