which glue

[orsonroy]

For plastic to plastic bonds, I prefer using liquid plastic cement. It literally melts the plastic together into a single piece, making for a VERY strong bond (better than superglue in fact, which has no shear strength). Testors makes a variety of this glue, and Walmart sometimes carries it. Don't get the plastic "tube glue"; it's almost worthless. Apply the glue sparingly with a fine, natural fiber paintbrush. This glue will eat through paint, which is good and bad. Good, because you don't have to clean out holes or joints to get the welding properties of the glue, but bad because you can ruin a paint job with careless glue use! It's best to align the parts you want to glue and wick the glue onto them with the paintbrush.

Use superglue (ACC, CA, whatever...)for bonding nonporous, dissimilar material, like metal handrails to a plastic body. Don't bother with any other type of superglue but the really cheap, four tubes for a dollar type. The ACC's sold to the hobby as "special glues" are just plain old superglues with fillers. These fillers may change the drying time of the glue, or give them "gap filling" properties, but they also shorten the lifetime of the bond, as well as weaken it. The thin, cheap stuff will last the longest and will give you the strongest bonds. Apply ACC with a toothpick, only use a little, and try not to get any on your fingers! Acetone will remove the glue if you do.

Hope this helps!

[simon1966]

Hi Dan,

Technically, the correct glue will depend on the plastic used to make the model. However, for most of the common kits around, I use a CA glue like superglue. My personal preference is one of the gel types that I can then apply very precicely, using a toothpick or even a pin. Others will have other preferences.

[Anonymous]

I bought two kits today one was a box car with just a couple pieces. The other is an air slide hopper which has quite a few pieces .I am wondering which glue to use. Im guessing modeling has moved past the old rubber cement.It will have to be glue that is available from walmart.Since the train show will be over today. Thanks Dan