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What’s your favorite glue or adhesive?


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99.3% I use el cheapo Instant Krazy Glue CA in the small 2 gram tube. I buy them a dozen at a time on FleaBay. In my experience (in a hot humid climate and garage shop) that CA glue seems to lose it's stickability over time once the container is exposed to the elements. Smaller tubes work best for me. I use E6000 (AKA canopy glue, very stringy) for some final assembly where CA glue isn't appropriate (installing "glass" and headlight lenses, etc... I use some white glue (Elmers style) occasionally. I have a bottle of Styrene Tack-It II, but I rarely use it.... -RRR

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4 hours ago, Dave G. said:

A little slow is good for me, so I can get in my 6 attempts to get something to where I perceive it as straight lol. Slowish allows for wiggle room factor. It's not just my 74 years, it's always been if something grabs instantly a seam line will be off or whatever else. Double astigmatisms don't help.

Ditto on that Dave ?

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Posted (edited)

I use quite an assortment of adhesives due to the fact that I use a lot of different materials on my models and depending on what I am building at any given time.

No particular favourite but I do find EMA Plastruct Plastic Weld good as it can be used on a variety of plastics.

Edited by Bugatti Fan
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I keep on hand: white glue, Super glue (gel and regular) in small tubes, Testors liquid and tube, Turbo Tak, Canopy glue, JB weld, two part epoxy (slow cure). I have some others I haven't tried yet. I've tried Plasti-Weld without much success, so it became sprue glue that I sometimes use to join parts that need a little bit of filling between mating surface.

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What is my favorite adhesive?  Well, whichever glue is the best suited for the joined material. I don't play favorites. I have about half a dozen of different adhesives.  Epoxies, Cyanoacrylates, Contact Cement, Hypo-Cement (for watch crystals), and solvent-type glues (MEK, Methylene Chloride) for styrene, ABS, and acrylic.  However I often favor the CA glue and accelerator.  I however don't use the typical hobby tube-type cements (like Testors orange-tube).  I have left those behind with my childhood. :D

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Don't dismiss tube cement as a childhood thing !

 Although I use it both infrequently and sparingly, there is always the odd time when it can the best thing available to use, so I keep a tube handy along with the plethora of other various adhesives I use.

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5 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Don't dismiss tube cement as a childhood thing !

 Although I use it both infrequently and sparingly, there is always the odd time when it can the best thing available to use, so I keep a tube handy along with the plethora of other various adhesives I use.

I still have one,  but it is dried up/hardened, and I never bought a fresh tube as I really don't find any applications for it.  But we all use different techniques, so if someone finds it useful - the more power to them.

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17 hours ago, peteski said:

I still have one,  but it is dried up/hardened, and I never bought a fresh tube as I really don't find any applications for it.  But we all use different techniques, so if someone finds it useful - the more power to them.

It's been nearly fifty years, since I had any tube glue, excepting epoxies or GS Hypo cement. I haven't found any situation in which model tube cement would be the best option.

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Posted (edited)

Briefly, on another note: I found out that Testors black bottle glue is available. Anyone know if it's the same glue that used to be Model Master black bottle ( my favorite for that slighted melted welded bond) ? If it is, then black bottle continues for me as my main build glue, though I have others for various purposes.

Orange tube, is not the glue I recall as a kid in the late 1950's and early 60's. But then again , I may have had Pactra back then. Oh well, time moves on, I marvel that I can recall anything from back then, but some thing are clearer than stuff I did yesterday.

Edited by Dave G.
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6 hours ago, Dave G. said:

Briefly, on another note: I found out that Testors black bottle glue is available. Anyone know if it's the same glue that used to be Model Master black bottle ( my favorite for that slighted melted welded bond) ? If it is, then black bottle continues for me as my main build glue, though I have others for various purposes.

Very interesting, Dave. For times when I need a proper model cement I use Tamiya extra-thin or Model Master black bottle, as appropriate for the job, and have been hoarding my last bottle of the MM. I wouldn't be surprised if the MM and the Testors is the same stuff. If I see one, I'll check it out. 

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5 hours ago, Bainford said:

Very interesting, Dave. For times when I need a proper model cement I use Tamiya extra-thin or Model Master black bottle, as appropriate for the job, and have been hoarding my last bottle of the MM. I wouldn't be surprised if the MM and the Testors is the same stuff. If I see one, I'll check it out. 

Ya, I actually saw it at Amazon, Trevor. As I mentioned, if it's the same as MM, then my favorite glue for general plastic model assembly, lives on !!

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15 minutes ago, Dave G. said:

Ya, I actually saw it at Amazon, Trevor. As I mentioned, if it's the same as MM, then my favorite glue for general plastic model assembly, lives on !!

I just had a look at the black bottle I've been using for several years, and it is actually branded Testors. I always assumed it was MM. 

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On 7/6/2024 at 1:42 AM, Straightliner59 said:

Pactra No-Tox! Smelled like lemons, worked like--you get the idea!

Any of the no tox stuff is kind of like that, got no wompum ! But back in the 1960's when I first ran into Pactra, I doubt there was non tox. Or I didn't know about it.

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On 7/5/2024 at 6:37 PM, Bainford said:

I just had a look at the black bottle I've been using for several years, and it is actually branded Testors. I always assumed it was MM. 

This is what I use for strong welded type bonds and, yes, it is ModelMaster.  I have had this for quite a while.  Bought an extra when I heard it was being replaced by the Testors version.    When it is gone, I guess I will try the Testors.

IMG_2186.jpeg

IMG_2185.jpeg

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Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, R. Thorne said:

This is what I use for strong welded type bonds and, yes, it is ModelMaster.  I have had this for quite a while.  Bought an extra when I heard it was being replaced by the Testors version.    When it is gone, I guess I will try the Testors.

IMG_2186.jpeg  IMG_2185.jpeg

Ron, Model Master was a line of modeling products made by Testors.  So when Rustoleum took Testors over, they also acquired the Model Master brand.  So your Model Master branded bottle is likely the same stuff as the glue in Testors branded bottle, since it is produced by Rustoleum (not by  the "old" Testors company).

I have that glue in my arsenal. Mine is probably over 20 years old, and it is still probably 80% full (that shows how little I use that glue).  It has a hypodermic applicator tube, and it came with a piece of stainless wire to ream the tube if it clogged.  But even then Testors was under the RPM company's umbrella (along with Rustoleum).

TestorsCement01.JPG.3abd4ed3f3238904f630a79a0d3da624.JPG

TestorsCement02.JPG.a1ab2dec72710d56ad3e74270a7c7bad.JPG

 

Edited by peteski
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18 hours ago, Dave G. said:

Any of the no tox stuff is kind of like that, got no wompum ! But back in the 1960's when I first ran into Pactra, I doubt there was non tox. Or I didn't know about it.

NoTox came around in about '73-'75. It was horrible! 

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Never seen that black Model Master container liquid cement over here in the UK.

I guess that Revell Contacta Cement being one of the many adhesives that I use must be very similar as the application of it is also through a small bore metal tube.

Wonder if it is the same stuff but with different labels?

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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

NoTox came around in about '73-'75. It was horrible! 

To my knowledge, it still is ! Suffice it to say that I don't buy it in any product, if the good stuff is available..

Edited by Dave G.
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