[brushman]

What do you guys use to glue metal models? I've just been using super glue, but is there a better way?

Someone at my my hobby store said to try using green stuff. What do you guys think?

Ben

 

[Pickle]

Superglue, and greenstuff the gaps.

 

[theyak]

Hi brushman, I used greenstuff as an adhesive once. It worked for a little bit but just wouldn't hold like superglue.

With metal models, I pin everything.

 

[rp252]

I've always found superglue is the best way to go - its provides a strong bond, sets quickly and usually lasts. Its not the very best adhesive, but is a good all round performer IMO. An alternative is an epoxy resin of some kind - they dry incredibly hard, and provide an excellent bond, but tend to take a while to cure. Therefore, unless you have a reliable way of securing the pieces together it is not a viable option.

You could use GS, but I find it doesn't stick metals together reliably. Many people like it, but I'm not one of them. I'll use superglue (+ pin) for most metal parts, but the really difficult ones (eg the Tachmarine servo harness) I use epoxy.

A couple of ways to make a superglue bond stronger:

- Use sandpaper to rough up the edges of the surfaces you want to stick together. This gives the glue more surface area to adhere to and so a stronger bond.
- Pin the pieces together as well as glue them, gives much strength to the join
- Ensure the surface to be glued are clean and free from any grease etc that gets in the way of adhesives.
- Use a vice etc to hold the surfaces together for a while - gives the bond more time to cure and so improves its strength in the ling run.​

Hope it helped buddy,
Rich.

 

[brushman]

What's pinning the models together?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[The Watcher]

Pinning is easy.

1: Drill a hole in both pieces. (ca 4-5 mm deep, if possible)
2: Glue a piece of metal paperclip into one of the holes using superglue.
3: Trim the paperclip to fit in the opposite hole and glue the pieces together.

Voila! A strong bond that holds much better than just using superglue.
The trick is to make sure the holes are aligned, or the parts migth not fit... Obviously.

 

[SGluciousa]

And to make the holes match you can put a bright color paint dot on one piece of metal then put them together. This makes a perfect mark on where to pin. that way the holes always match!!;Y

 

[brushman]

Thanks everyone, I'll have to try that pinning technique!

Ben

 

[Wraith]

And to make the holes match you can put a bright color paint dot on one piece of metal then put them together. This makes a perfect mark on where to pin. that way the holes always match!!;Y

Which is all fine and well, until you pull the parts apart to discover that you wound up moving them around a bit!! Paint dots are great... Paint smears, not quite so useful. Be really careful not to move stuff when you're using this method!

 

[H3ytony]

Instead of pinning, I use superglue accelerator. A spray of the stuff, and the parts stick together instantly. I've heard it makes the bond weaker in the long run compared to if you had let the glue sit, but I haven't had any problems with it.:happy:

 

[CBrate]

Superglue works best if there are no gaps in the join. Two main methods of achieving this:
File the two surfaces until they fit perfectly.
Have a little green stuff in the join to fill any gaps.

There are thicker gel formulations that overcome this problem.

I prefer to pin my models.