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Know of any hobby stores in Canada that sell cyanoacrylate type glue?

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  • Member since
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Know of any hobby stores in Canada that sell cyanoacrylate type glue?
Posted by Engi1487 on Sunday, July 26, 2020 8:26 PM

I have two Walthers HO scale Canadian Pacific Difco air dump cars kits (these older kits) come with hook horn couplers and plastic wheel sets ) that according to the assembly instruction sheet I need cyanocrylate type glue for glueing metal to metal parts and in this case, plasic to metal parts as a part of the car body is weighted die cast metal.

I have Tamya extra thin plastic cement and BSI insta-cure gap filling medium 5-10 second glue that is labeled as cyanoacrylate glue as well. Would the later work and, know of any hobby stores in Canada that sell cyanoacrylate type glue, and what do you recommend and use? Reading the instructions as its not clear as what areas or parts I need to glue plastic to metal though. I will have to start from here to see where I go from here.

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Posted by wvg_ca on Sunday, July 26, 2020 8:33 PM

CA type glue is available pretty much anywhere, even walmart ??

just ask what varieties of crazy glue they have, lol

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Posted by Engi1487 on Sunday, July 26, 2020 9:37 PM

wvg_ca

CA type glue is available pretty much anywhere, even walmart ??

 



Now that you say that, prehaps I can find that at walmart or ither store. But with so many varieties its hard to choose one that is specific for scale modeling.

 

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Posted by doctorwayne on Sunday, July 26, 2020 10:07 PM

Canadian Tire carries several types of ca, including at least one which also works with engineering plastics - regular ca does not. 
For ordinary ca, I use Krazy Glue, which works well with most metal-to-plastic joints or other combinations of dissimilar materials.  Reasonably priced compared to some of the products meant for "hobby use".
The version which works with engineering plastic is from LePages, and consists of a tube of ca, and a marker-style applicator for the activator, which is used to prep one of the surfaces of engineering plastic to be mated.  It will also work with any ordinary ca, and the container is considerably larger than the accompanying one  of ca,  supplied with the kit.

In most cases, material specifically for hobby use is more expensive than the same stuff used for general purposes.

If you're joining styrene plastic to styrene plastic, use a solvent-type cement - there are several hobby brands, but MEK (methyl-ethyl-ketone) will do an equally good job.  It's available from paint suppliers (I get mine from a Sherwin-Williams wholesale dealer (not one of their paint-for-the-public outlets), and it's available there only in gallon cans (or larger).  The price is around $35.00, but compared to the same amount of a similar hobby-type solvent, it's a bargain many times over.

For styrene, this will give you a much better bond than ca.

Wayne

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Monday, July 27, 2020 12:09 AM

At Wal-Mart, I purchase Loc-Tite Gel Control Super Glue.

I would assume that should be available in Canada.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by Overmod on Monday, July 27, 2020 2:16 AM

Random_Idea_Poster_6263
with so many varieties its hard to choose one that is specific for scale modeling.  

The key is in knowing what they do and how they work, and choosing tne adhesive and method that accomplish a given 'task' best.

The physical adhesive in all the CA products can be thought of as the same: a material that bonds to the faces of joints but not as strongly to 'itself' so it works best in precise gaps or between smooth fitting surfaces.  It is therefore a thin liquid that won't harden to a strong effective bond well if the parts don't fit precisely.   

If you have gaps to fill, you use the base CA as 'cement' and mix in an appropriate 'aggregate', as in concrete: for a hard bond this might be silica quartz ground fine or glass microspheres; for a more resilient bond, elastomer powder.  for more control in applying small amounts of CA you can thicken it with something fine like cornstarch, or use a 'thixotropic agent' to make a gel.  All the resulting bonds from the CA itself will be thin and relatively nonelastic, so if there is stress there is little 'give'.  This will advise you when you might want a different kind of bond.

Epoxies work by crosslinking a mass of material as well as bonding to surfaces, so they are best if you have gaps or relatively unfinished surfaces to join; they do NOT work well if squeezed out to a thin glueline.  Again you can load them with structural aggregate, like metal powder to gain strength or the ability to 'machine' the hardened mterial (e.g. to drill or thread it).

Contact cements are like glorified rubber cement: you apply a thin layer diluted in solvent which becomes powerfully sticky as that solvent evaporates.  It would take a long time for the solvent to work its way out of a joint between impervious materials, so you apply it and press the joint 'wet' to spread the film, take the joint apart until reasonably tacky or even dry, then press together for rapid bond.  As a note, Walthers Goo is often too thick for many modeling jobs as it strings out of the tube, so thin it down, in some cases almost to a wash consistency, to get the neatest strong joints.  (Goo also has the nifty quality of reactivating with heat, so you can let areas dry to allow some repositioning and alignment in setup, then bond to permanence with hot air or light ironing pressure when correct.)

Silicones and acrylic 'adhesive caulks' cure to forms of synthetic elastomer without 'drying' and have a variety of uses when you want a rubbery elastic seal with long aging characteristics.  I tend to put tube adhesives lik Goop or E6000 in this category because, while they 'harden' by different methods, they produce a similar resilient bond

There are different kinds of liquid cement and I left them until now becase they work in different ways.  Acrylics and some similar materials are joined only by solvent welding, because when done properly the method provides a seamless bond 'as strong s the material' with no additional materials to age or fail, and which can be simply introduced into a tight joint to wick in by capillary action. 

Older plastic-model cements for styrene or associated plastics (e.g. ABS) used to work this way, but many of the 'right' solvents have dangerous side effects even in tiny quantities -- in particular, similar cardiotoxic effects in susceptible people to refrigerant HC134a.  Do not mess with these thinking long-term exposure is the significant health risk -- not to say the long term risk isn't serious too.

More modern cements include a plastic that dissolves in the solvent, then gets sticky as it dries out.  Thicker versions of this are 'tacky' enough to hold parts or joints in place in some cases until the glue fully dries,  which can be helpful when building some parts of plastic kits.  (If you were wondering why the old adage to 'scrape off the plating to get the glue to work' is less critical using, say, Testor's from the tube, now you know.).  Key to remember is that you can make your own version of this with shavings or scrap sprue in liquid cement or solvent, and even make what is basically solvent-weld putty to build up shapes or fill gaps with strong plastic.  (As I recall, this is a Mel specialty and he has extensive wisdom on how to do it right...)

I won't go into PMMA white glues or carpenter's glues (Elmer's is in this category) because there's more discussion of how the various types work than you'll want in an introduction.  I used Weldbond, a Canadian product, for many years as 'the only white glue I needed' and you can do the same; others here will share their favorites and when to use them.

Note that the NMRA has a page specifically on glues and how to use them, and you should download and print this information out as an initial reference.  

Someone less boring than I am needs to give him the straight dope on where and how to clamp and secure his joints, and how to clean up when the glue gets where it shouldn't.  He should know that there are situations, just as with soldering, where several different glues and techniques are used in a single subassembly, and sometimes in a nonintuitive order with cumulative required 'drying' or setting time to allow small repositioning for best fit before the whole thing cures up.

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Posted by Engi1487 on Monday, July 27, 2020 5:42 PM

Overmod

 

 
Random_Idea_Poster_6263
with so many varieties its hard to choose one that is specific for scale modeling.  

 

The key is in knowing what they do and how they work, and choosing tne adhesive and method that accomplish a given 'task' best.

 

Note that the NMRA has a page specifically on glues and how to use them, and you should download and print this information out as an initial reference.  

Someone less boring than I am needs to give him the straight dope on where and how to clamp and secure his joints, and how to clean up when the glue gets where it shouldn't.  He should know that there are situations, just as with soldering, where several different glues and techniques are used in a single subassembly, and sometimes in a nonintuitive order with cumulative required 'drying' or setting time to allow small repositioning for best fit before the whole thing cures up.

 



Your doing a very good job of explaining to me of your know how the best you can overmod. I will look at the MRAs page on specific glues, and read ip on where to clamp and secure my model kits pieces when assembling. I will just start trying and make my own mistakes and if need be make a post showing my progress.

I would have to say your giving me the straightest dope there is. Its the best there is if you. get what I'm saying.
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Posted by Medina1128 on Thursday, July 30, 2020 9:54 AM

Random_Idea_Poster_6263

 

 
wvg_ca

CA type glue is available pretty much anywhere, even walmart ??

 

 



Now that you say that, prehaps I can find that at walmart or ither store. But with so many varieties its hard to choose one that is specific for scale modeling.

 

 

 

If you have a Walmart, look in the paint department.

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, July 30, 2020 9:39 PM

Medina1128
If you have a Walmart, look in the paint department.

There will be a little Planogram section with various adhesives, in the paint department.  It is not always in the same aisle in the department in different stores, but it will be there.  Home Depot, Lowe's, and presumably other big-box 'home improvement' stores have the same arrangement.  Usually near the adhesive caulk shelves, too.

In a Walmart there may also be some in the crafts section, or in stationery/office supplies, if you only want the 'commodity' kind and there is nothing left in the paint-department glue section.  But I don't remember finding the 'multiple small tubes for a dollar'.  That sometimes shows up in supermarkets and local 'chain' hardware stores like Ace, and in places like Harbor Freight that are set up with supply chains to low-cost manufacturers.

I do not know the specific Canada-only equivalents that stock this kind of thing, but there are people here who will know.

Note that fairly often a store manager will stock something 'special' for you if there is a chance others will want it too.

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Posted by SeeYou190 on Thursday, July 30, 2020 11:09 PM

Medina1128
If you have a Walmart, look in the paint department.

In all three Wal-Marts near my house the super glues are in the paint department.

-Kevin

Living the dream.

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Posted by gpharo on Friday, July 31, 2020 11:32 PM

I have a lot of success with Mercury glue- medium viscosity. It fits most of my glueing needs, including metal to plastic. 

I purchase it from Hobby Wholesale here in Edmonton. They ship.

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