If you want styrene solvent cement in bulk for cheap, I'd suggest MEK (methyl ethyl keytone), which is a component of many of the solvent cements. It's available at most hardware stores/home centers.
Rob Spangler
Syrene? Like on a fire truck? You want to glue the Syrene to the top of a fire truck or something?
I prefer the Faller "Expert" glue with the needle tip for styrene these days. MEK works fine too.
I prefer lacquer thinner, as it's a good solvent cement for styrene and also useful for thinning lacquer-based paints and contact cement. I buy it by the gallon, then decant it into smaller cans for use as thinner/cement/ cleaner. This is further repackaged into a small Testors cement bottle for small gluing jobs, an old Floquil bottle for brush cleaning, and a larger screw-top jar for large gluing projects, such as this factory complex:
Lacquer thinner is also useful for stripping paint from brass or Zamac models, although you have to be careful to first remove all plastic parts. I also use it as a prep for styrene when using contact cement to affix paper or cardstock overlays - simply paint it onto the styrene, then apply the contact cement - without it, too much of the solvent in the contact cement is drawn out of it and into the styrene, resulting in a weak bond. I haven't been able to find MEK locally in gallon cans, but am quite satisfied with the performance and usefulness of lacquer thinner.
Wayne
Odie Syrene? Like on a fire truck? You want to glue the Syrene to the top of a fire truck or something?
LOL!
Marlon
See pictures of the Clinton-Golden Valley RR
Well, it does contain petroleum distillates.
Really, though, in my opinion this isn't the place to save money. I bought a bottle of Testors cement for $6 about 5 years ago, and it's still only about 2/3 gone. Maybe it's up to $10 now, but it'll last you a good long time.
Connecticut Valley Railroad A Branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford
"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right." -- Henry Ford
And, these solvents are nasty things, especially in large quantities. Unless you build a lot more than most of us, a bottle will last a long time.
Mike
Well, when I'm building styrene structures, as I have been for the last couple of weeks, that Testors bottle (filled with lacquer thinner) often needs re-filling every day. If the areas to be covered are large, I use a 2" brush and a wide-mouth jar. To scratchbuild larger structures in styrene, I buy it in 4'x8' sheets, and have used-up several. In addition to that, I do a fair amount of airbrush painting, both for myself and others, so a gallon of lacquer thinner doesn't last all that long.
Whether, you use MEK, lacquer thinner, or Testors or other commercial brand of solvent cement, they're all dangerous chemicals and require careful handling. This includes proper ventilation (mechanical, if necessary) and/or breathing apparatus. Both MEK and lacquer thinner should be available in pint and/or half-pint cans, too, and at a cost much more economical than the same stuff marketed as a hobby product. Don't kid yourself that the hobby product is any less dangerous or that it's any better because it costs more.
BobL609:
Please don't feel the need to apologize for omitting the 't' in styrene. I got a great laugh out of the 'tongue in cheek' responses so ultimately you did no wrong. Your spelling of the word brought to mind the image of 'syrenes' causing some Greek model railroaders to crash on their sculptamold rocks!
Of more importance are the wise warnings about handling quantities of the various solvents. They tend to not forgive mistakes.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I use MEK which I got in a quart can in the paint section of Home Depot. A quart of MEK (enough for a lifetime of model building) costs about the same as a bottle of styrene weld at the LHS.
Beware of spills. We spilled a small can of MEK in the shop years ago. It ate up the linoleum floor tile and we had to chisel up the ruined tiles and replace them, PITA. MEK is active enough to eat paint, varnish, plastic, and who knows what else.
Lacquer thinner works too. I haven't tried acetone, but I expect that will work too.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
hon30critter BobL609: Please don't feel the need to apologize for omitting the 't' in styrene. I got a great laugh out of the 'tongue in cheek' responses so ultimately you did no wrong. Your spelling of the word brought to mind the image of 'syrenes' causing some Greek model railroaders to crash on their sculptamold rocks! Of more importance are the wise warnings about handling quantities of the various solvents. They tend to not forgive mistakes. Dave
I agree wholeheartedly. The humorous quality of some of our typos (and the reactions they cause) is one of the things that make this fun.
On a more serious note -- as I stated in an earlier post: better to use these things sparingly. Admittedly, I've never laminated two pieces of styrene together, but for my joints, a very fine bead of solvent has always sufficed to hold things together.