I picked up - for very cheap, I might add - a second-hand locomotive that had a body from one manufacuturer on the base of another. A note inside the box indicated that, because the body did not quite fit, a small amount of Walthers Goo was used on the sides where the body covered the frame, between the trucks.
Assuming that I may want to one day put the body on the correct frame, how difficult will this be to remove? If I gently run an exacto-knife blade between the body and frame, should I be able to loosen the body?
Thanks in advance.
Goo is kinda like a fairly strong rubber cement. It's not as strong as ACC/Superglue type glue, and doesn't melt plastic parts together like Testor's plastic model glue, so it's usually pretty easy to separate two parts that are "Goo'ed" together.
wjstixGoo is kinda like a fairly strong rubber cement. It's not as strong as ACC/Superglue type glue, and doesn't melt plastic parts together like Testor's plastic model glue, so it's usually pretty easy to separate two parts that are "Goo'ed" together.
Thanks for the info! I'm happy with it as-is, but it is good to know that I have the option of swapping bodies and frames.
I think the standard advice to remove is to: roll it back and forth like rubber cement for fresh Goo, use "Goo Gone" (yeah, yeah, I know) to remove "relatively" fresh Walthers Goo, and use Acetone for drived Goo (which can damage paintwork).I have had weights that I "Goo'ed" into freigth cars in the 1990s come loose two decades later, however I may not have prepped the mating surfaces well enough (i.e. cleaned and roughed up the mating surfaces a degree).
The standard Walthers/Hobsco instructions for using Goo are to put Goo on both surfaces to be mated and wait a few mintues, then join and if possible clamp them. I suspect relatively few uses and users of Goo follow that advice to the letter. When you do it is a very strong bond indeed. If you just put Goo in place and push two pieces together, it is a decently strong bond but can be parted and sometimes fails on its own because the Goo seems to become brittle with age.
Dave Nelson
Also watch when gooing two surfaces together and one in plastic and the other metal, wait a while before closing up as the fumes will melt plastic, don't ask me how I know. Anybody have a spare frame for a Robbins Rails/A-Line/Concor 60' Greenville boxcar?
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
So do you guys think the exacto knife gently applied between the body and frame will loosen the body? The note specifies where the goo was applied, two drops on each side of the car.
Shock ControlSo do you guys think the exacto knife gently applied between the body and frame will loosen the body?
That's what I would do. Be careful using acetone and plastic. It might melt the plastic.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
Has anyone used Goo to assemble any of the Walthers DPM or Cornerstone kits, successfully?
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
I've used Walther's Goo successfully for years, mainly for joints where stress may be applied. Goo is messy to work with, difficult to remove from unwanted surfaces (i.e. hands), and takes a day to fully cure. But, it really does the job.
That said, I would never use it to put together a model structure, obviously because of the above. However, I have used it successfully in securing retaining walls and bridge abutments and cast rocks.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
I have never used Walthers Goo, but looking at its properties, it is somewhat akin to rubber cement or contact cement. Applying heat will soften rubber cement or contact cement. So, if you have a heat gun handy, or even a hair dryer, you might give that a try. If you can soften the Goo, then you can probably remove it with a sharp blade.
Rich
Alton Junction
Years ago a hobby shop owner recommended Zap-a-dap-goo instead of Walthers Goo and I used it mainly to attach the side panels to Walthers autoracks.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Goo, like Ambroid, seems very old school to me.
I was told long ago that Goo had a "memory" when it dried. It you repositioned the parts, they would always slowly go back to ther original position.
This comment always struck me as strange. What kind of glue allows you to reposition parts after drying that they were comparing the Goo to? Oh well, just an amusing memory on a Thursday!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
SeeYou190 ... Goo had a "memory" when it dried. It you repositioned the parts, they would always slowly go back to ther original position. What kind of glue allows you to reposition parts after drying that they were comparing the Goo to?
Subsequent 'sliding' a part isn't moving it sideways in a pool of liquid, as with many forms of slow-"setting" adhesives; it's stretching two membranes of partially-cured, very strong rubber laterally. Perhaps some of this is still viscous flow, but I really wouldn't be much surprised to see residual shear stress relieve itself "magically" when I'm no longer actively pushing on it.
Whether this is true of the "new" non-sniff low-VOC or whatever formulation, I can't say, but if it continues to be a thio formula I wouldn't be surprised to see some 'memory effect' if applied as above and then shifted without full removal and replacement...
I haven't / wouldn't use Goo to assemble a plastic kit, but I have used it successfully in building a wood kit. Goo is also good for gluing two different types of materials together, like wood and plastic.
I like to use it to glue figures into seats in passenger cars, engine cabs, cabooses etc. even if it's a plastic figure and plastic seat. Due to it's stickyness the figures stay put, but it doesn't melt into either surface so later the figure can be removed.
There is a very interesting thread regarding these kinds of cement on the PassengerCarList group on groups.io. I believe it's a sticky in their Files section. I don't want to post a link in case Kalmbach still considers them 'competition'.
When the first run of Walthers auto racks came out.....I used Goo to put the side panels in the body of the car. Give it a couple of weeks and most of the panels developed significant bulges and the cars where ruined at that point. Back then, I sent Walthers the cars back and they replaced them with new kites. Those kits are still on the shelf and I believe the cellophane is still sealed. Lost track of how many years have gone by. That was my experience and I would not use Goo assembling any plastic kits.
Glad that I never used that stuff. It sounds awful.
Goo is great for wooden or cardstock kits, handy for metal but not always the best thing, and kinda meh for plastic. It's messy but fills gaps and where flexibility is called for it can be very helpful, at least until it gets stiff, but that might not be for decades. Use the right tool for the job.
Gentlemen,
Thank you for your replies and information. I plan on assembling a Walthers Cornerstone Commissary / Freight Transfer building kit. I'll paint the walls first.
I'm aware that adhesvises for scale model kits have changed quite a bit since the 1970's-80's, so my intention it to use one that is reliable and of good quality.
AntonioFP45 Gentlemen, Thank you for your replies and information. I plan on assembling a Walthers Cornerstone Commissary / Freight Transfer building kit. I'll paint the walls first. I'm aware that adhesvises for scale model kits have changed quite a bit since the 1970's-80's, so my intention it to use one that is reliable and of good quality.