Large Scale Central

What glue for Piko building?

Problem Solving
#13

I have had E6000 & Goop fail after a number of years outdoors.
The only building I’ve had not just “fall apart” was a resin kit assembled with Super Glue.

I think the old “solvent” glues from years ago that “welded” the plastic were far superior.
But thanks to the “glue sniffers”, these are now so weak in formulation that they no longer work.
A case in point is the “Testers” glue. Used to work great. Not so much anymore.

I have several glues I’m going to try on the next round of building reassembly.
Weld-On 16 and Professional Welder by Homax.
We’ll see how these work out.
Ralph

#14

If you have plastic that can be welded with solvent glue, just get a can of MEK from the hardware store, it’s still available after all these years, and was the basis of these solvent glues.

The question is more if the plastic is close to styrene, what the “old” models were made of.

I thought the Pola kits were sort of an unusual plastic, thus solvent welding was not as effective.

Greg

#15

Ralph, I gave up on the Testor’s glue a long time ago. I prefer Tennex.

#16

I have good luck with;

Ambroid’s Pro Weld

Sez it’s good for; Styrene, Butyrate, ABS and Acrylic (Lucite and Plexiglas)

Key ingredient; methylene chloride.

John

#17

I’ve used Ambroid Pro Weld too.
Somehow it always mysteriously evaporates between uses.
No matter how tight I have the lid screwed on, I always find an empty bottle when I go to use it again.

MEK is, as Greg says, the basis for the solvent glues.
Unfortunately, I can’t find it around here.
Ralph

#18

Ralph, acetone can also be used. Its not quite as potent as MEK, but it will weld plastic.

#19

Ralph, I found MEK in the can in Home Depot and Lowes in the paint department, right next to the acetone, lacquer thinner, etc.

Greg

#20

If you can buy MEK in Cali, you must be able to get it in NC :slight_smile:

I was lazy and used what I had laying around last spring when I did a quick and dirty restoration to put a few used buildings out: 3M Super Weatherstrip and Gasket Adhesive. Ask me in the spring if it held over the winter!

#21

Just remember to have lots of ventilation!

I tried using acetone for a model ship when I was a youngster. Probably lost a few brain cells. Got acetone on everything, it was so runny, even with a small brush. It was a mess, not my best build.

Be careful with both MEK and acetone. Especially around fire. Acetone can be explosive, and MEK floats on water, so water will spread the fire. Bad juju.

#22

Daktah John said:

If you can buy MEK in Cali, you must be able to get it in NC :slight_smile:

I was lazy and used what I had laying around last spring when I did a quick and dirty restoration to put a few used buildings out: 3M Super Weatherstrip and Gasket Adhesive. Ask me in the spring if it held over the winter!

You would think so, Jon. Maybe I have to ask for it.
Isn’t the 3M the stuff Rooster uses?
If it’s the old yellow elephant snot stuff, I bet it will hold up well :wink:
Ralph

#23

You can always get it from McMaster Card. Quick delivery as well.

#24

Steve Featherkile said:

Just remember to have lots of ventilation!

I tried using acetone for a model ship when I was a youngster. Probably lost a few brain cells. Got acetone on everything, it was so runny, even with a small brush. It was a mess, not my best build.

Be careful with both MEK and acetone. Especially around fire. Acetone can be explosive, and MEK floats on water, so water will spread the fire. Bad juju.

But I’ll bet you felt good. When I was a teenager, sniffing glue was the thing to do. Never tried it in that capacity. I was a model builder and was always working with it anyway.

#25

Ralph Berg said:

Daktah John said:

If you can buy MEK in Cali, you must be able to get it in NC :slight_smile:

I was lazy and used what I had laying around last spring when I did a quick and dirty restoration to put a few used buildings out: 3M Super Weatherstrip and Gasket Adhesive. Ask me in the spring if it held over the winter!

You would think so, Jon. Maybe I have to ask for it.
Isn’t the 3M the stuff Rooster uses?
If it’s the old yellow elephant snot stuff, I bet it will hold up well :wink:
Ralph

Rooster uses the 3M™ Plastic Emblem and Trim Adhesive, 03601 which I have used as well for attaching detail parts with good results. And yes; the 3M Super Weatherstrip and Gasket Adhesive is yellow and runny like Elephant Snot. Has good initial tack, but can be messy. The excess rubs off fairly easily once it starts to set up.

#26

Wow, I haven’t checked in since Friday and you guys rock. Lot’s of good info.

THANKS!

#27

I use MEK on almost everything. As others have already posted- it welds (melts) the parts together. I haven’t had a MEK joint fail, yet. However, it is quite runny, so its not great on small detail parts.

-Kevin.

#28

Thanks. I will keep that in mind. I have already purchased the e6000 and so far, so good. Seems to be fairly strong. Time will tell once it’s outside.

Thanks again!

#29

So Matt, how did the e-6000 work out? You’ve had two winters, now.

I built several buildings last winter, set them out in April and pulled them into the basement in Octoger, well before it got nasty. This Spring, I noticed that many of the glue joints had failed over the winter. I used Testors plastic solvent glue.

#30

I’m using Surebonder 9001 high-strength adhesive. It has skull and crossbones, and fire signage so it must be good.(http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-smile.gif)

It’s transparent, and waterproof, and works well with LGB plastic both West Germany, and China.

Found it at Hobby Lobby. I used to use E6000, but found it doesn’t work as well as 9001.

#31

Steve Featherkile said:

So Matt, how did the e-6000 work out? You’ve had two winters, now.

I built several buildings last winter, set them out in April and pulled them into the basement in Octoger, well before it got nasty. This Spring, I noticed that many of the glue joints had failed over the winter. I used Testors plastic solvent glue.

I haven’t got them out yet. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)The area I plan on putting them in is finally ready. So, soon. (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)

BUT, I do have my colorado models grain elevator out. It has taken a really hard beating. We had a few strong storms come through. The wind actually picked it up and placed it on it’s side. It’s sturdy. So, I would figure the piko buildings will be good to go.

#32

Two tips for buildings.

I have about 70 pola and piko kits out (they come in in the winter) in the UK. I make them with standard polystyrene cement, but found that there was a steady need to make repairs every winter. I now reinforce the inside of the main structure and roof with silicone sealant. This has dramatically reduced the numbers of repairs needed each year and if the buildings are done in batches is not expensive, one tube will do about 8-10 buildings.

I too have had a problem with some of the taller buildings blowing over in high winds, and this can cause considerable damage. I cured this by cutting up 4 or 6 inch wide insulation building blocks to just smaller than the inside dimensions of the building and stacking them two high. the base of the building fits over the blocks like a sleeve and prevents them from toppling over. Since then no more casualties from the wind.