Suggestion for adhesive for silicone tubing

You might want to try the Bondic type UV setting resin. Not sure it will work but worth a shot. I would also sand the tubing if possible to allow the stuff to adhere better.

Pretty much the only 'industry' adhesive used for silicone is a product called Sil-Poxy...not all that hard to find, but pretty pricey at something like $20-30 for a 3 oz tube.

Stuff like UV resin might work...it probably depends on how much stress your attachments/joints are under.

The kit is an Italeri, 1/12 scale. Silicone tubing, about 1mm o.d. was used as the ignition wiring. Why Italeri decided to use silicone tubing for the ignition wiring is beyond me. Maybe I should just by some rubber tubing.

For that application, contact cement might work well enough.

Soem 1mm black insulation wire would probably be a good replacement.

I'll make another suggestion.

I do this on my bike models, most recently the Norton 750 Commando.

Because they are cast in a mold, those nipples always have draft, i.e. they are slightly cone shaped. The elasticity of the tubes will eventually cause them to squeeze themselves off.

Non-solvent glues, (adhesives) can't be relied on to hold things together if there is a force tending to separate them.

Cut the little nipple off and scrape whatever base is left. Find a piece of soft brass wire that is a snug fit in the tubing. Drill a hole centered on where the tubing attaches, the same diameter as the wire. First glue the end of the wire securely into the engine head with CA. Then when it sets clip off leaving a good 1/8" or so. Dab some CA on the wire and stick the tubing down flush.

Still not much adhesion, but you've removed the forces trying to pull the pieces apart.

Hope that helps.

Bill

If it already has plastic nipples that the tubing pushes onto, I would think that a little drop of thin CA at the opening of the tubing would work.  Just put a drop of it in the end of the tubing and push it onto the nipple with the engine inverted, then put the engine upright.  Gravity and capillary action should do the rest.  It won't be an indestructible bond, but it should be enough to keep your tubing from just popping off on its own.  You don't have much surface area to work with on the mating surfaces, so CA is probably your best bet.  Just keep a couple of tightly twisted chunks of paper towel close by to use as wicks, just in case a little bit of the CA escapes from the bottom of the tubing.  A quick touch with the paper towel wick will draw off excess CA without damaging paint work.  You probably already know this, but a metal tray or something heat resistant should be nearby too, just in case your CA wick catches fire.  Sometimes they do that, depending on how hot your CA is.

This looks like the Afla 2300 kit. I built it last May and used a tiny bit of CA on each connection for the tubing. A year plus later everything is still in place.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for all of the great suggestions. I appreciate your advice. 

Jeffpez,

Yes, this is the Alfa 2300 kit. I'll give the CA a try since it worked for you.

JohnnyK

The kit is an Italeri, 1/12 scale. Silicone tubing, about 1mm o.d. was used as the ignition wiring. Why Italeri decided to use silicone tubing for the ignition wiring is beyond me. Maybe I should just by some rubber tubing.

 

Hope to see some pics of that car.  Your work on the Tamiya p34 was stellar.

I built the Italeri Fiat Mefistofele, so I've been eyeing both Alphas.

Dave

You could try wrapping the connection with fine copper wire (say #28 or 30), then paint black to look like boots.  Wrap as tight as you can.

Thanks to everyone for you suggestions. Here is what I did. I purchased some 1/12 scale spark plug wire and used the silicone tubing as boots. I used CA to glue the silicone boots to the plugs and distributor.

Looks terrific. I sure wish I'd thought of that back when I needed it