I recently acquired a bunch of Tomar Relay Boxes ( HO Scale), that are made of metal, I think they are made of lead. After removing all the flash on the pieces, and there's a lot of it, what type of adhesive should I use, my first thought was to solder them, but if they are made of lead that would not be possible. So, what should I use?
Probably CA.
woodman I recently acquired a bunch of Tomar Relay Boxes ( HO Scale), that are made of metal, I think they are made of lead. After removing all the flash on the pieces, and there's a lot of it, what type of adhesive should I use, my first thought was to solder them, but if they are made of lead that would not be possible. So, what should I use?
Hi
I would hope in this day and age that they are lead free pewter a silver colored metal
But they might be white metal similar in appearance but a little softer they would have to be very old kits to be lead only which would have a blue grey sort of color.
The usual precautions should be taken if you think it has a lead content
They can be low melt soldered if they are white metal or pewter
This requires a high level of soldering skills so as not to melt the base metal but still get it hot enough for the solder to take.
An alternative to soldering is a good quality super glue and I mean a good quality super glue.
Not the rubbish you get at the local supermarket or convenience shop.
Not familiar with the US brands but some one on the forum will be able to help with that.
If the Kit has large pieces (judgment call for that one) pinning may be needed to make sure they stay together.
I would also suggest the finished structure is spray primed with an Auto primer before the finish colour is painted on.
regards John
It looks to be a very simple kit: If the relay box is one-piece with a separate roof, I'd use contact cement, but if you also need to assemble the walls, ca or epoxy is a good choice, and should then be used to attach the roof, too.
Wayne
Use a CA product, called, ZAP-A-GAP,Medium CA+ It is perfect for what you are doing and it will fill in any gaps that may be present...
Cheers,
Frank