Chrome plated plastic parts and glue?

First off, welcome back to the hobby!

...and yes, you are correct. For liquid glues to do what they do best, a styrene to styrene bond is essential, so scraping away chrome/paint/primer from areas to be glued will insure a strong hold.

Thanks, it's good to be back, and yes I do want to get a really good bond so I will continue with what I have beeen doing on the chrome stuff too.

ruddratt

First off, welcome back to the hobby!

...and yes, you are correct. For liquid glues to do what they do best, a styrene to styrene bond is essential, so scraping away chrome/paint/primer from areas to be glued will insure a strong hold.

Even for CA glues it is a good idea to scrape away the plating at the point you will be gluing, especially if the part is very big.  While CA can bond to the plating, the bond of the plating to the styrene underneath isn't the greatest, and the plating will peel off, allowing the part to fall away from what it is glued to.

BTW, an alternative to scraping is to use a small drill in a pinvise and drill several tiny holes in the area of the glue joint.  The glue can get a grip into these holes.  They do not need to be very deep- little more than dimples, as long as they go through the plating into the plastic.

Hi:

   You are doing all the right stuff. Don was correct and ,I will add this. When gluing chrome especially , mount the part with white glue and carefully scribe a line at the joint

     Pop off the part and scrape away any chrome that will be covered by body parts . the glue will stick better and yes , put a teensy dimple or two to enhance the stickability (is that even a word ?).

     Now , one more thing. Wash those parts faithfully , BEFORE painting , it will help the paint stick  better. The manufacturers use something like  "PAM ", I was told . this allows more parts out of a mold in a shorter time , upping production .This needs to be washed off !         happy modeling !       Tanker-builder

Great advice guys, thanks a lot!

Ha ha tankbuilder I think you invented a new word. Now I gotta try and find ways to include stickability into some sentances when I'm talking to my buddies. LOL  

tankerbuilder

Hi:

   You are doing all the right stuff. Don was correct and ,I will add this. When gluing chrome especially , mount the part with white glue and carefully scribe a line at the joint

     Pop off the part and scrape away any chrome that will be covered by body parts . the glue will stick better and yes , put a teensy dimple or two to enhance the stickability (is that even a word ?).

     Now , one more thing. Wash those parts faithfully , BEFORE painting , it will help the paint stick  better. The manufacturers use something like  "PAM ", I was told . this allows more parts out of a mold in a shorter time , upping production .This needs to be washed off !         happy modeling !       Tanker-builder

 

I think you meant adhesiveness but you created an new slang word for us modelers. 

I've been working on that translation for the last ten years...you beat me to it!

Bill

If you have problems with the chrome finish after gluing and you need to repair it, I recommend this chrome brush paint for this task. It is much easier than separating the part again to paint it separately, or easier than masking the whole vehicle to repaint it with the airbrush with the risk of staining the finished areas.