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Sprue - Glue , Miracle or ------ ? ?

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  • Member since
    June 2014
  • From: New Braunfels , Texas
Sprue - Glue , Miracle or ------ ? ?
Posted by Tanker - Builder on Monday, July 10, 2017 8:26 AM

 Hi Folks ;

 Just got finished being long winded about Spru-Glu to Bakster . While doing this I remembered all the stuff I've used this material for . Did you know , if you have a bottle of it that  is made of clear , that careful application of it to smooth glass can render some unusual shapes when dry ?

 You can also take the colored Spru-Glu and make thin bulkheads and other shapes ? Sure , there is a trick to it . The Spru Glu for clear MUST be the consistancy of honey AND never use but the clearest styrene possible .

 For the colored stuff it doesn't matter . Unless you have a major project in say , red . Then make a small batch of it in the color of the car or truck that is the project .That way you are using the same plastic , the same color for making repairs or whatever .

 In armor it enables you to create weld lines etc. in the same color of the vehicle or you can use the general mix instead . Now those unusual shapes .

 If you take the Clear Spru - Glu and carefully pour some over the bottom and one side of a Test Tube  you can create a very optically clear and Thin Bubble . For a race car maybe . If you have some aluminum rod the right sizes you can polish the end into a slight engraved dome an create your own headlight lenses .

 I forgot to mention one very serious point here . When making Clear Spru - Glu there is something very important to mention . Never use the dregs of a bottle of glue to make the clear . Find a bottle ( clean ) that you can pour half of the NEW glue into . Take the remaining half of the NEW bottle And then put your clear clippings in it . You must keep seperate bottles this way for smoked and tinted clear green or red too . .

 Yes , You can create canopies too ! and Bombs , rockets . You can create molds from the mold making stuff and pour Spru - Glue ( thickened ) into it and have a styrene part when it has gassed out . Sure this takes longer . But it is an option .

 There is one trick to making a part in a mold though . Use a very thin coat to completly line the mold then fill it to the top . Do not pour fast ! Like slip in ceramics , if you do this you will get bubbles .

 Now for the airplane guys .Want a new nose cone ? Then make your mold of the halves out of Sculpey , Set aside to dry .Take each half , and line with thinned Spru - Glue  the color of the plane . After about an hour take and line it again with the thicker ( Honey ) material . Take both halves and let gas out for a couple of days .Carefully pick the edges till it pops from the mold .Sand the edges and glue together just like any other plastic part . Like any mold , leave some for cleaning up the edges .

   Back to the clear . If you want , say a full dome , do this . take a Christmas ball , ( Glass ) you don't need anymore , but make sure that it is not scratched . Pour the thinned Spru - Glu over it allowing it to cover just a teensy more than half of the ball . Let gas out for about three days , and break the ball away revealing a beautiful dome that can be trimmed to fit .

 Well , think about it , and give me your take on what you've done with it . It's called thinking outside the box . Here's a for instance . I had an old Monogram F-100 Super sabre that had gotten the tail broken off .  I made a mold of a tail from another plane , that was Foiled . I then poured the Spru - Glu in these shallow molds leaving space to clean up the edges  , and leaving a tab at the bottom . I then cleaned up the solidified parts a week later , glued them together and then mounted it , in it,s place on the plane

 Hey , Guess what after a week , then foiling , you could never tell this plane got it's tail feathers broken off ! Shipmodelers , take heed , All this applies to you too !  T.B.

 

  • Member since
    July 2014
  • From: Franklin Wi
Posted by Bakster on Monday, July 10, 2017 7:42 PM

Hey T.B..

I just stumbled across this post. It is a very informative. There are lots of possibilities with the stuff. I thought about trying it in a mold too, and you just confirmed that it can be done. That is a good idea to coat the mold first with a thin layer. Is that to eliminate bubbles? Or pockets?

Good job with this.

Steve

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Monday, July 10, 2017 8:14 PM

You just gave me a whole heck of a lot of new ideas! I have sculpy, plaster of Paris, and traditional pottery clay. I have saved a lot of clear sprue for other reasons and now i have even more, thanks to your post.

Thank you for posting this!

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    June 2014
  • From: New Braunfels , Texas
Posted by Tanker - Builder on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 9:30 AM

Hi Bakster;

     The idea with the first thin coat is to eliminate surface bubbles and pockets . Then you can fill the mold or Let it set a little , turning while you do and , then take the thicker stuff create a thicker hollowed part . Otherwise just fill the mold and make a solid part .

T.B.

  • Member since
    June 2014
  • From: New Braunfels , Texas
Posted by Tanker - Builder on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 9:36 AM

Mike ;

   I got the idea foraging through my old memory cells . I learned a lot from the first wifey when she did her Ceramic dragons . She never liked them solid . So she would coat the mold with slip . Put it together while wet and then let it set up for an hour or two moving the mold as it sat .

   Then she would pour in a second layer and let it set up , continually rotating the mold .Then she would fire the thing and we'd have another hollow dragon to paint and finish . You've seen some like hers , in Pier One and other home chotski stores . T.B.

  • Member since
    August 2014
  • From: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Posted by goldhammer on Tuesday, July 11, 2017 2:38 PM

Thanks TB, never thought of it than more than a filler for seams.  And never ever thought of doing a clear version of it.  Going to have to play with it and see what it does.

 

The more I prowl this forum, the more I learn.

  • Member since
    January 2015
  • From: Tumwater, WA.
Posted by M. Brindos on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 12:10 AM

goldhammer

Thanks TB, never thought of it than more than a filler for seams.  And never ever thought of doing a clear version of it.  Going to have to play with it and see what it does.

 

The more I prowl this forum, the more I learn.

 

You and me both. Lol

I've got some interesting ideas now. :)

- Mike Brindos "Lost Boy"

  • Member since
    June 2014
  • From: New Braunfels , Texas
Posted by Tanker - Builder on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 3:56 PM

Mike ! this is for you and GoldHammer .

 I got to thinking after I posted this . I went into the shop and got a P-51 Canopy I've used as a mold before . I waxed it with Turtle Wax and then wiped it with Mineral oil .I poured the clear Sprue - Glue over it .( it was and is supported by a glob of clay on a kebob stick .)

 Guess what ? It's setting up with no problems so far . I'll let you know . Darn ! I wish I could import pictures ! T.B.

  • Member since
    July 2014
  • From: Franklin Wi
Posted by Bakster on Wednesday, July 12, 2017 6:19 PM

Tanker - Builder

 I wish I could import pictures ! T.B.

 

l

 

Find a way, I want to see this. No pressure. Smile

  • Member since
    June 2014
  • From: New Braunfels , Texas
Posted by Tanker - Builder on Friday, July 14, 2017 12:41 PM

Well ;

 It popped off . I have this very thin canopy . It is slightly thinner than the one that comes in the Monogram kit from days of old . Optical clarity is good , Not show-worthy , but , good . I used an older half bottle I had and I think I had some old heat affected sprue in there from a car . The stuff does yellow unless you are careful .

 I keep my clear Sprue - Glue in a small box that was made originally as a inkwell bottle holder . It's dark and cool that way .

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