Poly cement recommendations

[Guest]

Hello Scott,
I have been scratch building for over twenty years and model making for more years than I care to remember my only choice for for a glue as it used to be called long ago is EMA plastic weld, I used to use liquid poly for years but the odor is very strong EMA has hardly and smell but should still be used in well ventilated room, its very quick and super strong and joins almost any form of plastic it is not the cheapest on the market but having built many large scratch builds and sold quite a number of them no one has ever said that they have dropped apart is very good indeed. one tip I pour some into a small liquid poly bottle and use it then return it to the main bottle each time I am finishing a stage and keep the top on as it evaporates away if the temp is quite warm give it a try.

regards Barrie ( the old guy )

[Gern]

I made up some liquid styrene by dissolving some styrene bits in liquid glue. I put it in an empty Tamiya Extra thin bottle thinking I might be able to use the brush. I used EMA as my solvent and it dissolved the brush in the bottle as well as the styrene! I'm thinking you need to be careful how much you use on small parts in case it dissolves them.

[Guest]

Hello Gern.
YES its powerful stuff I use an old paint brush to apply it to my models and over the course of a big model build the brush is looking a lot worse for wear and sometimes I have to scrape of brush hairs that have come of during application. Over all though over the many years I have been building model EMA has been the best you just ahve to be a bit careful with it. good luck with your modeling,

regards Barrie ( the old guy )

[Guest]

I don’t normally use model cement at all, but instead buy a tin of this in a DIY store every couple of years:



and top up a Gunze-Sangyo liquid cement bottle with it when the brush in that can’t reach the contents anymore.

Though it’s marketed as a stain remover, it’s actually a solvent that will dissolve polystyrene in the same way liquid cement does, except a 250 ml tin of this costs about the same as a single bottle of liquid cement from any model kit manufacturer.

Other than that, I’ve got a tube of model glue that I sometimes (read: rarely) use to tack large parts together before applying the liquid solvent.

[JR]

Thats interesting Jakko don't suppose we can get it in the UK I just use TET
John

[Dave Ward]

I use TET for the minor bits, and Revell Contacta for the major bits - I did have a flirtation with Roket Plastic Glue, by Deluxe, but found it too aggressive
Dave

[Guest]

Thats interesting Jakko don't suppose we can get it in the UK

Not sure, Bison is a Dutch brand of glues and related products, but it’s also sold in other countries. Looking at the tin, the only thing it says about what’s in it, is that it contains more than 30% aliphatic hydrocarbons but that’s not going to help all that much in finding an equivalent product, I suppose.

I did find the material safety data sheet for it (in Dutch), and that mentions some of the constituents to be 10–25% methyl ethyl ketone, better known in modelling circles as MEK, and another 10–25% ethyl acetate, which is also a solvent.

However, the original purpose for which this stuff was sold, was as a thinner for Bisonkit contact adhesive; only for the last decade or so has it been called a “stain remover (also thinner)” on the packaging. So if you can find a thinner for contact adhesive in a DIY store, it might just be an idea to try gluing some spare bits of sprue together with it.

[Jim R]

Hi Scott.
Like Baz I use EMA Plastic Weld almost exclusively. It is very thin and quite aggressive. If I need something to dry more slowly I use Revell Contacta.
Jim