Taimya Liquid Glue.

I spent all day researching glues...at the end I had Tenax 7r and Tamiya ultra thin in the cart.  But I couldn't do it...  I am currently using Testors pink liquid and want to switch to Ambroid, Tenax, or weld on 3 but I cant fnd any videos on how they work.  I was then thinking to buy them all and use them for different application.  I dont wanna have to open a slight gap and maybe capilary will happen.  Id like to line the seam up and brush on the goo and watch it melt together.  (somewhat that is).  Thanks for listening to me vent, after all day research , with nothing to show.... 

Testors pink is slow, but nice, still my favorite.

I have used the Tamiya Glues for years.

Prefer the standard over the thin due to the way I model.

Recently they released a new version of their standard glue called "Limonene" smells better, works the same. Standard old Tamiya Cement I always call bottled Doom due to the smell.

Minor gripe is that the brush in the bottle cap don"t reach all the way down in the bottle and it thickens as it gets older.

I use both the Extra thin and regular Tamiya cements - like them both.

Extra thin is good for long uninterrupted seams which allows the cement to flow. It grabs pretty quickly and dries fast. It's also good for fine work where you don't want cement oozing out of the joint and causing blobs. Hold the parts together and touch the tip of the brush to the join.

Regular is good for fiddly assemblies which need a little extra strength or where you need some "wiggle room" to adjust the parts while the cement sets.

Thanks for all the info folks.  I might just give it a try.  It may be just the tickt for a few places where Testors MM just won't cut it.

Rich 

I'm the other side of the coin.. I'll stick with Testor's MM black and Testor's pink... Both have served well for years and years, and are priced right...  Haven't tried Tamiya, it isn't on the shelf around here, so that's a dead issue... Tenax was too "hot" for my tastes, evaporated too quickly, and was too expensive to boot...  "Expenables" like glues should be in the "under 3.00" category, IMNSHO...  Especially since I'm known for leaving things uncapped...  That fruity crap is just... Well, crap... Been able to buy "grown-up" glues for many years now anyway... 

The other stuff I use is plain ol' CA on the cards at the grocery store, five tubes for 1.99... 

You just gave me an olfactory childhood flashback.  I swear I could smell the aroma of Notox glue.  Remember the stuff in the black tube with yellow letters that smelled of lemon.  The stuff would also eat through any plastic in a few weeks.  Nasty Stuff.

I've used Testors red label tube glue, their blue label liquid (Great stuff but you have to work really fast and it's useless for large areas because it evaporates so fast.), and now Model Masters black label.  This doesn't include the three or fours different kinds of CA I use for various things.  The Taimya I am talking about is this one.

I was thinking of using it like I used to use Testors Liquid Blue Label, for areas where either I don't want any residue or places where the MM can't easily get to.

Hans von Hammer

I'm the other side of the coin.. I'll stick with Testor's MM black and Testor's pink... Both have served well for years and years, and are priced right...  Haven't tried Tamiya, it isn't on the shelf around here, so that's a dead issue... Tenax was too "hot" for my tastes, evaporated too quickly, and was too expensive to boot...  "Expenables" like glues should be in the "under 3.00" category, IMNSHO...  Especially since I'm known for leaving things uncapped...  That fruity crap is just... Well, crap... Been able to buy "grown-up" glues for many years now anyway... 

The other stuff I use is plain ol' CA on the cards at the grocery store, five tubes for 1.99... 

 

 

About ten years ago I purchased 1 Gallon of MEK. I've used about 1/3 of it in that time.

It's available in paint stores, Home Depot etc. (I think a Quart will last a lifetime)

This stuff melts and bonds most types of styrene plastic.  I decant it into a small glass bottle and use a tiny brush or a very very small squeeze bottle with a syringe type application tube.

It will evaporate in a couple of days if you leave the lid off the jar.

Nasty stuff, causes cancer in California etc.

In the small amounts we use I don't worry about it much.

Jim H

And think about the neat epitath they could put on your tombstone - MEKed himself to death I know, my bad.

Since I am mainly a resin ship guy, CA is the way I go, and I prefer the gel types since I am old, and slow, and need that extra working time!

Use nothing but MEK, everyone in our group has for years.  Look at the ingredients of Tamiya, Testors and Tenax and you'll find they're all MEK based.  According to my friend Panzerjager the only difference between them is the amount of styrene added to the formula to control thickness and time to set.  Nothing is thinner than plain MEK.

Hans, you surprise me.  As cheap as you are I'd have thought you would be a big proponent of buying glue in bulk.  I bought a quart of MEK 3 years ago for $3.00 and have used about an inch out of the can.  Oops, forgot to add that if you want to make your MEK thicker and prolong the set time you can add styrene yourself.  Some people make up several thicknesses to their own liking,  all you have to do is experiment.

                                                                                                     Pat.

Okay.  Not to sound like an idiot, but what is MEK?  And how much wiggle time do you have before it evaporates.  I know the old Testors Blue Label liquid jars had about 15 seconds it seemed, and that stuff was thinner than water.

Rich

shoot&scoot

Use nothing but MEK, everyone in our group has for years.  Look at the ingredients of Tamiya, Testors and Tenax and you'll find they're all MEK based.  According to my friend Panzerjager the only difference between them is the amount of styrene added to the formula to control thickness and time to set.  Nothing is thinner than plain MEK.

Hans, you surprise me.  As cheap as you are I'd have thought you would be a big proponent of buying glue in bulk.  I bought a quart of MEK 3 years ago for $3.00 and have used about an inch out of the can.  Oops, forgot to add that if you want to make your MEK thicker and prolong the set time you can add styrene yourself.  Some people make up several thicknesses to their own liking,  all you have to do is experiment.

                                                                                                     Pat.

 

MEK is short for Methyl Ethyl Ketone.  It is extremely volatile and hence evaporates quickly.  The good news is that if you make it a habit to keep the lid on the glue bottle it's not a problem.  Plus with the far lower cost of buying in bulk, loss to evaporation becomes almost a none issue.  Last I checked, you could buy a gallon at Menards for 10 bucks.

                                                                                            Pat. 

Um.. Just how volatile?  I have 4 cats, three of which count as some of the dumbest and most destructive through stupidity on the planet.

shoot&scoot

MEK is short for Methyl Ethyl Ketone.  It is extremely volatile and hence evaporates quickly.  The good news is that if you make it a habit to keep the lid on the glue bottle it's not a problem.  Plus with the far lower cost of buying in bulk, loss to evaporation becomes almost a none issue.  Last I checked, you could buy a gallon at Menards for 10 bucks.

                                                                                            Pat. 

Don't think it's any more volatile than Tamiya thin cement.  We have a cat that makes stupid look smart.  Hasn't gotten any dumber that I can tell and I use MEK for all my models.

                                                                               Pat. 

This says its paint thinner....

http://www.lowes.com/pd_156579-78-GME71_0__?newSearch=true&catalogId=10051&productId=3161261&UserSearch=keytone&Ntt=keytone&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151

Its used for glue?

MEK is used as the base for alot of products, glue for styrene is just one of them.

                                                                                Pat.

Cats curl up their noses and run off when they smell the stuff, burns the nose. Go find a can and give it a whiff, you'll see what I mean.
The stuff is nasty, really bad for ya. It soaks through the skin like a sponge and causes cancer in california. Makes a heck of a styrene welder though. Like mentioned, evaporates fast so keep a lid on it. Keeping it sealed will also help prevent you from breathing the nasty vapors.
Personally I use Tamiya extra thin. Nice convenient brush inside, isn't as offensive as some others. a couple of cents used per kit. But I also insist on using manufacturers own thinner for my paint too. Don't see much sense in paying $20, $50, $150 for a kit, hundreds or thousands of $ for supplies and paints, then insist on getting economical when it comes to glueing them together or thinning paint. Heaven forbid I spend .03 on glue for a kit instead of .002.

Hans, you surprise me.  As cheap as you are I'd have thought you would be a big proponent of buying glue in bulk.  I bought a quart of MEK 3 years ago for $3.00 and have used about an inch out of the can. 

Oh, I got a quart of it, I just haven't used all the other stuff up yet...   Still have two bottles of Testor's Pink and three bottles of Testor's MM Black to use up first... 

Didn't see anybody mention the revell contacta glue. I have used it for years now and prefer it over the tamyia extra thin due to the fact that it is slightly thicker (helps with filling the smaller seams) and more agressive. Also has a needle applicator instead of a brush so you can be really precise.

I have heard people say that it turned their styrene into liquid but i personally never experienced this. It will make the styrene very soft very quickly though so i have learned to be really quick in wiping off excess glue and watch out with clamps.

It welds together like nothing else though.

Richard

I use both the Extra thin and regular Tamiya cements, I like them both.

I estimate that around 98% of my builds are done with Tamiya Extra Thin. I have Testors, Ambroid, Tenax etc, but I tend to stick to the Tamiya Extra Thin. It runs so nice on fuselage halves. I even use it for clear canopies, once I have the canopy where it goes, I secure it in place with a small piece of tamiya masking tape. Carefully with the tip of the applicator the glue runs like magic all around the area. That's a lot faster drying time and a clean looking joint.

Good pointers.

I use MEK as well. This stuff has about as close to zero surface tension of any liquid I've ever seen.

Main ingredient in Tamiya's Thin, it is good for seams/joints that are snug because in my own tests It creeps between very close surfaces. It is so fluid and attracted to capillary situations it will creep out of a seam and between an elastic or tape applied (too soon after the MEK) to pieces to hold while drying.

If you intend to hold pieces with a fastener after you apply the MEK, it's best to wait until the glue has had a chance to melt the plastic. It will even get under clamps and clips, and can faithfully reproduce your finger prints in styrene in about 0.01 seconds, even if only the very edge of your finger is touching the very edge of a seam.

For instance, let's say you are putting together a seam of a wing and there are lots of panel lines, raise or engraved, if too much MEK is let loose it is just as happy to run along those on its journey down the seam. I use  0 brush to apply it for most situations. It is best used for pre-fitted parts to take advantage of the capillary situation. If you need to apply to one face at a time, I prefer it mixed with a little styrene as a number of posters here have mentioned.

If by chance I need to glue anything more than a total surface area of a half square inch or more at one time, i.e for spar building or re-lining, then I use lacquer thinners and a 1/4 inch chisel brush. 

I always use glue with a ventilation system, not so much because of the California effect, but more because of immediate toxicity, this stuff'll fry your brain and have you thinking you're Brian Wilson long before your pet Dockweiler-rats develop Santa Monica Carcinoma.

I use

goodidea

About ten years ago I purchased 1 Gallon of MEK. I've used about 1/3 of it in that time.

It's available in paint stores, Home Depot etc. (I think a Quart will last a lifetime)

This stuff melts and bonds most types of styrene plastic.  I decant it into a small glass bottle and use a tiny brush or a very very small squeeze bottle with a syringe type application tube.

It will evaporate in a couple of days if you leave the lid off the jar.

Nasty stuff, causes cancer in California etc.

In the small amounts we use I don't worry about it much.

Jim H

this stuff'll fry your brain and have you thinking you're Brian Wilson...

The sh*t's great with percoset too...

I snagged some of the Tamiya orange label liquid glue on eBay after your info and recommendations.  2 days to get here with free shipping.  Total cost $3.00.  It came in handy tonight...

Did you get the scented one? It also has a orange label but only comes in the square bottle?

Either way glad it worked, good alround glue.

Nope, this is the stinky stuff in the hexagonal bottle. :)

Mad-Modeler

Did you get the scented one? It also has a orange label but only comes in the square bottle?

Either way glad it worked, good alround glue.

Hans von Hammer

 

this stuff'll fry your brain and have you thinking you're Brian Wilson...

 

The sh*t's great with percoset too...

PrecoMEK...mmm...goooood..goooood..