What CA do you guys use?

Several of the local shops carry Bob Smith Industries CA glued in various vescosities and custom shop levels. Good stuff. You may want to think about purchasing some CA accelerator. It drasticly speeds up the drying time. 

BUT... if you use CA as a gap filler that you will be sanding, don’t let it set up too long as the curing time is reduced as well. And then it is far more resistant to sanding.

I prefer using only Zap products ... If you want something that's fast ... you need to use the Pink (Zap - CA)  ... the green is for filling and it takes longer to set.  The yellow is Slo-Zap and it's pretty thick, but I like it best for filling.  All CA's have a shelf life ... I make point of replacing each bottle once a year.  Zap also has a date code so if you're getting it from a hobby shop ... make sure the stuff hasn't been sitting around.  I prefer to order from House of Balsa because they are a distributer for ZAP.  https://www.houseofbalsa.com/

Paul

Frankly, I think other than the gravy versus water, they are pretty much similar. If I could formulate the perfect one, it would be slightly gooey like zap-a-gap, capilary like the little tubes from Ace, and quick setting but not instant.

paul's right .! but they will last longer , if you store them in the fridge .

40kminis

Sorry for all the posts. Trying to get back in the game after a long hiatus and the stuff I used to use is either no longer available or works differently now.

For example, been using Zap-a-gap Medium CA+ and it seems to take FOREVER to dry. Has the formula for CA changed over the last 10 years? I remember using the same stuff in high school and it worked really well. Bonded fairly quicky and the bond was strong. Seems like you need an acelerator for the stuff to set nowadays which sets the glue quickly but makes the bond brittle. 

Is there something better than Zap-a-Gap that is gap filling and sets in a descent amount of time?

Anyone use Mercury Adhesive CA? 

 

 

Again, you’re going to hear a lot of preferences from other hobbyists. Choose what works for you.

For gap filling, I use PPP.

Hi;

 I use Bob Smith C.A. Products . One for their dependability and two their shelf life . I have been usung one refill bottle of the medium C.A. for about six months now .I keep then in a moderately cool dry , Dark place .

 The light more than anything else , seems to do things to it . The folks at my Museum had to be re-trained on C.A. They were using Gorilla Glue C.A. It messes up on the tip real bad and then gets sloppy . Not all modelers are neat freaks concerning tips and applicators like I am .

I use Locktite brand.  Easy to find at hardware stores, good price, good glue.  I use both their thin and their gel.  I use the gel most of the time for its good adhesion with imperfect fits, but use the thin if fit of joint is perfect and I don't need the extra working time.

I use the gel even on good fits, sometimes, just for its longer working time. I keep accelerator on hand to speed it up once parts are properly positioned.

Two tubes of 'regular' super glue from the dollar store for $1. Its all I use, I will sometimes add a little accelerator but find that it evaporates out of the container so I usually lose far more to evap then from usage.

Chris

Chris ;

 I don't know , of course , which accelerator you are using . I use the Bob Smith brand and My bottle has not evaporated in over a year . I keep that in the Garage . No cooling or heating in there .

A friend who attends fishing conventions turned me on to this line of CA products. I like them very much. He uses it for repairing fishing poles, lures, etc...

http://www.drmikesglue.com/

Bucksco

A friend who attends fishing conventions turned me on to this line of CA products. I like them very much. He uses it for repairing fishing poles, lures, etc...

http://www.drmikesglue.com/

Yeah, he comes to some model and figure shows, too.  His glues are pretty good.

I use HobbyTown's brand, medium flow thickness.  I think, though, that it's the same glue as some other brands, and it's just labeled for HobbyTown to sell.

I only use CA glue to glue unlike materials, like attaching resin or metal to styrene, and for gluing resin or metal pieces together.  And even in the case of a resin or metal kit, I prefer to use a 2-part epoxy over CA glue.  The resulting bonds are stronger, I think, and withstand shear forces better (like when you might knock the model over), than CA glue.  CA bonds tend to get brittle over time.

For styrene to styrene, I use styrene glue.  I prefer the weld bond, over the bond formed by cured CA or epoxy.

Tanker - Builder

Chris ;

 I don't know , of course , which accelerator you are using . I use the Bob Smith brand and My bottle has not evaporated in over a year . I keep that in the Garage . No cooling or heating in there .

 

I use the stuff from hobbylobby. Unsure what brand it is but wow! It goes away like smoke.

I just checked my bottle from HobbyTown, and it's made by Bob Smith.  I also get my 2-part epoxy from HobbyTown, and it's also a Bob Smith product.

I wouldn't be surprised of the glue HobbyLobby sells is also from Bob Smith.

I've started using VMS Flexy 5K supergule, This stuff really does what the video shows. They make the regular one, a slow one and one for resin. So far I like it.

Kentucky Colonel

I've started using VMS Flexy 5K supergule, This stuff really does what the video shows. They make the regular one, a slow one and one for resin. So far I like it.

 

 

I, too, highly recommend this product as well. It's far, far, better and stronger than other CA glues out there. I love it and wouldn't use anything else.

40kminis

Thanks for the rec, this stuff looks interesting. Anyone used the liquid styrene for plastics? Looking for replacement to Tenax.

 

I've got both the regular and slow but have not had a chance to try them out yet. The slow is mostly used with magic tracks.

Bob Smith IC gel, for it's slower cure time and gap-filling abilities.

I'm not a big CA fan otherwise, I tend to bond everything in the immediate vincinity except what I am trying to.

Just cuz I am a klutz doesn't mean CA is bad, I get that.......

Kentucky Colonel

I've started using VMS Flexy 5K supergule, This stuff really does what the video shows. They make the regular one, a slow one and one for resin. So far I like it.

 

 

you should aust , modelmaker66 , $23 , with postage . 

40kminis

...Anyone used the liquid styrene for plastics? Looking for replacement to Tenax.

I use Plastruct's Weldene and Bondene, and Testor's liquid styrene cement in the little black bottle with the long spout.  They work pretty well for my purposes.

Well worth the $10 for VMS Flexy 5 CA. I've used other CA glues but none comes close to a stronger bond than VMS brand.

I used to use Locktite then I tried the Hobby Lobby brand like it a lot better.   ACESES5