Glue oozing, how to get rid while preserving detail?

vaw1975

Yes, that's great advice. I have done it, but when I used filler for the fuselage seam that came out a little uneven, I worked the filler with nail polish remover, sanded the filler, and then removed the tape only to see a nice ridge of filler that still had to be smoothed out. In the process, lots of panel and rivet details disappeared.

Just apply tape again just past the ridge.   

To preserve panel lines you can make the existing lines deeper before you sand. It's easier to go over lines that are there than ones that are not. Tamiya makes a really nice scriber that is one of my favorite tools.

Yes, that's great advice. I have done it, but when I used filler for the fuselage seam that came out a little uneven, I worked the filler with nail polish remover, sanded the filler, and then removed the tape only to see a nice ridge of filler that still had to be smoothed out. In the process, lots of panel and rivet details disappeared.

Another quick tip - on joins that are easy to access (like a seam between fuselage halves), after the "glue ooze" dries, you can protect the surrounding details with masking tape. It'll get chewed up a little as you are scraping & sanding, but it's better than ruining surface details right?

Fixing panel lines? It can be done with your exacto blade (using the backside) if you're careful, or pick up a scribing tool, they pull up a little strip of plastic rather than cut, much cleaner & less likely to jump off track.

Hawkeye, Tenax contains dichloromethane, also known as DCM or methylene chloride, a known human carcinogen. It is far more potent as a carcinogen than any other chemical in use in modeling. I prefer to use other cement, foregoing the benefits of Tenax 7R. Wearing gloves will not protect against breathing the fumes,  lung cancer etc. Just my choice. Yes, there are many carcinogens in our environment but most of them we have no control over. With our choice of modeling materials, we do have a choice. I know too many people (including my father) who got cancer and see too much suffering going on for years to run unnecessary risks.

Have you tried putting masking tape around the areas that need sanding.  Apply the tape as near to the seam as possible and scrape the area with a knife to remove the glue.  Then wet sand the area to smooth it out.  Then remove the tape and repair any damage that was done from sanding. 

READ: Perfect Seams

If you are concerned with exposure to the chemicals used in modeling you have two choices...stop modeling or use them with proper methods. Wear protective gloves.

What in your environment isn't carcinogenic or hazardous to your health these days in some level form or fashion?

Although Tamiya's limonene cement is a very friendly product, it seems to get some very mixed reviews ranging from OK to useless.

Testors (blue) non toxic cement & Mr Cement Limonene are similar products, I also believe that there are other limonene based adhesive out there which are marketed as non toxic cements, not specifically at the modelling game.

Thanks, that's some great advice. I will give it a try. Also, the Tamiya with the orange cap is something I'd love to try but nobody has it! I looked at SprueBros, Megahobby, Hobbytown USA, and Squadron. Same with Mr Surfacer 500. Any ideas where to look for that?

It sound simplistic,but you have to use less glue,remove some excess before you join the two pieces .

My impression is that the perfect seam has a tiny amount of glue ooze, which can be easily removed with a sharp blade, leaving a flush smooth joint that requires little if any sanding.

On joints like this where I don't use a touch n flow, I usually use a cocktail stick or similar to smooth / level the glue out before putting the parts together - that way you can make sure that the glue is evenly spread all over the contact surfaces & it also brings to your attention to any areas where you may have been a bit heavy handed.

I also try to get the adhesive applied slightly heavier towards the inside of the contact surfaces, so that most of what ooze there is ends up inside the fuselage, wing or whatever so that it cannot be seen.

Tamiya Glue with its brush applicator is great. I used to have the same issue until I was put onto this stuff. Theres two types as far as I know, green lid very runny and fast drying with small brush.or orange lid similar to the metal needle type applicators glues in consistance and drying times with larger brush.

Andrew

I use the same glue. I like a little ooze when I join halves. when the ooze dries I just take an xacto knife, trim it, maybe polish it a little and now you have a perfect seam.

The hardcore guys can tell you about replacing rivets and seams. My models are just for my shelf, so I don't sweat it.