should I use a certain brand of model cement?

dude, dont use the orange tube stuff, its nasty. get some liquid stuff that comes witha brush. it works MUCH better

I grew up with those glues as well, but time passes and technology advances. As you well know, their joints are relatively weak and they take a while to dry. The best stuff going these days, IMO, is Tenax 7R followed closely by Ambroid Pro-Weld. These are both very thin, apply them with a small brush or a "Touch-N-Flow" applicator (I use a hypodermic needle with the point cut off) and the glue will wick itself into the joint. They actually melt the plastic, but unlike the old glues these are dry in a few seconds. Seams will virtually disappear since they get melted together.

The drawback to them is that the parts have to be touching. No putting glue on a part and then putting the parts together. For those situations, and for non-styrene gluing, I use cyanoacrylate glue (CA). I prefer the Zap brand, but other hobby-type CA's are good to. Stay away from the general purpose "Super Glues" as they are not as good. CA's come in several viscosities, ranging from thin to gel. I normally use Zap-A-Gap which is on the thick side and can be used to fill minor seams.

I tend to use Tamiya's Extra thin cement and various Super glues / Epoxy as needed

hey
ive been using revell cement (with the 5cm metal tip) and have had good success with it....
the secret to good application tho is.... donbt put the tip where u want the glue to go, instead place the applicator where u want glue about 1cm from the tip, then let the glue flow on by itself, geddit? u need to bring the tip close to where u want glue to get it going, then u just move it away a cm....

I use the testors liquid, but in the black "bottle" with the metal applicator for most standard glueing, but I just started using Tenax on any and all seams and joints I want some added strength. I don't know how I got along without this stuff. Plus I have some CA for resin/PE stuff that I add from time to time. It definitely helps to have a variety of glues on hand.

I'm a big proponent of Ambroid pro weld....but, tenex is good too. I like liquid cement as the reasons stated above, whereas I'll use a spot of tube for those situations where I need a part to stick before appling liquid - you only have so many hands.

A bottle of zap (medium for most jobs) CA is a good thing - for PE, you definately want slow set so you can move them around a bit to get the correct position.

I'm definitely an Ambroids fan... newly converted as well... I was using the tube, the switched to the metal applicator tube like Model Masters... then I tried Ambroids and there's no going back!!!!

I've heard the same stories about Tenax but I haven't tried it yet... you just hold the two pieces together, with a caillary pen or a brush go down the seam and 10 seconds later Bingo!! You're welded shut... good thing is (unless you get your finger on it ) the excess bonder just evaporates away like there was nothing there! (if you get your finger on it expect a nice sanding session as it works faster than the tube stuff)

CA for PE, just like everyone else said...

I only use two.....Tenax 7R and Zap-A-Gap CA

Mike

Thanks for all of your responses... seems as though Tenax 7R and Zap A Gap CA are the most commonly used glues. Not a whole lot of modeling experience here so I shall purchase a couple of cheap kits to mangle before I begin work on the real beauties.
Just purchased the George Bush TBM Avenger and the Midway Dauntless divebomber.
Sweet... and very detailed

brother, just get what ya like... and happy modelling to ya!!! I think once you use something like Tenax or Ambroids you wont go back except int the cases mentioned already... (not enough hands to hold the pieces etc...) it tickeled me me pink the first time I used Ambroids...


good luck to ya!!!

I like the pro-weld glue for most of my modeling... but also use super glue in places.

wow these glues sound unreal!!
im gonna go check out my lhs's 2moz
so any excess just dries up hey? awesome.....
ive just discovered the capilliary action powers of tamiya extra thin cement and cant wait to get my hands on some of this stuff....
so is tenax and ambroid pretty much the same?

hey i dont think im gonna b able to find tenax or ambroid here in sydney...
can anyoine reccomend something similar?
thanks!

QUOTE: so is tenax and ambroid pretty much the same?

Ambroid has several different kinds of glue. The ProWeld (I think that's what it's called) is very similar to Tenax. I have both kinds and really can't tell much difference between them. Tenax might dry slightly faster though.

QUOTE: hey i dont think im gonna b able to find tenax or ambroid here in sydney... can anyoine reccomend something similar? thanks!

I've heard several meople mention Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, and I wonder if it's about the same. I suspect that it is but haven't used it myself.

i havent used tenex nor ambroids nor tamiya super thin cement, but i dont think they are the same or similar products, though they do indeed behave in a similar manner

QUOTE: Originally posted by tominator hey i dont think im gonna b able to find tenax or ambroid here in sydney... can anyoine reccomend something similar? thanks!

FSM had an article on mixing your own liquid cements (tenex, ambroid, tamiya, testors ad nauseum use the same chemicals I think) a couple of months back.

nah i dont think they could use the same chems coz i have tamiya cement, temiya ex thin and revell contacta and i feel that those 3 behave pretty much the same (ofcourse that tamiya ex thin is thinner!!!!), but they dont act nothing like what i heard that tenax does..... any excess with these 3 does not evaporate and they take longer than the short time that ive heard tenax takes to cure....

From what I've heard a few people say there's some good hobby shops down under, you should at least be able to find it mail order somewhere in Australia... if not at your LHS... the one near me has it in a very unnoticable place.. I didn't spot it till I knocked a kit off the shelf when I was bending down I noticed it on like the 3rd shelf down.. ask, you might be surprised!

hehehe
i went 2 one lhs and asked and i all got was a strange look....
went to the 2nd one and the guy there showed me this other stuff and he was tellin me that all glues r pretty much the same, just different thicknesses.... so maybe tenax is thinned differently than other glues? he showed me 2 glues, both of which he said acted closely to tenax. i got one which is called plastruct plastic weld. on the back it says bonds in minutes and solvent evaporates quickly.... ill see how it works out...

hey when u guys say that tenax evaporates does it leave any residue on the surface? with a glossy sheen?

QUOTE: Originally posted by tominator hey when u guys say that tenax evaporates does it leave any residue on the surface? with a glossy sheen?

Yes it does leave a glossy spot. You can just buff it out with a Scotchbrite pad or fine sandpaper though.

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by tominator he showed me 2 glues, both of which he said acted closely to tenax. i got one which is called plastruct plastic weld. on the back it says bonds in minutes and solvent evaporates quickly.... ill see how it works out...

I think I have seen that Plastruct stuff and *believe* it is close to if not the same as Ambroids and Tenax... is it a water like liquid? no real viscosity to it?

P.S. keep it away from where your fingers are touching the plastic... word from the wise haha

I find modeling cement too slow drying. This is irritating when you need to hold the parts together precisely. I simply use super glue for all my modeling needs. Are there any benefit I'm losing out by not using modeling cement?

yeah its like water, and the bottle is 2/3 full! i dunno if its meant to be like that or if somes leaked or something... and i dont have anything to test it on atm...

sounds like the same stuff.. and yeah my ambroids bottle wasn't full to top either... sounds like you got something similar to what we're talking about... let us know how it works!!!

QUOTE: Originally posted by hou_ge2000 I find modeling cement too slow drying. This is irritating when you need to hold the parts together precisely. I simply use super glue for all my modeling needs. Are there any benefit I'm losing out by not using modeling cement?

I don't know about benefits... but the Ambroids and Tenax we have been talking about bond in about 10 seconds... no overspill or runs etc... whatever excess there is evaporates leaving only a glossy spot on the plastic..

A word of caution.

Ambroid and (I think) Tenax contain methylene chloride (dichloromethane). This material is now classified by both the National Toxicology Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a known animal carcinogen. Because of its physical properties, MC evaporates at a rate considerably greater than that of other similar liquid cements. That may be good as far as cure time, but it's bad in terms of inhalation hazard potential. The faster it evaporates, the higher the airborne concentrations and the faster it gets into your lungs.

Just my opinion, but I find that Testor's liquid cement (contains MEK), and Tamiya's extra thin liquid cement (contains acetone and butyl acetate) perform equally well as those that contain MC, but without the associated hazards. Tamiya regular cement adds cyclohexene and a styrene resin as additional ingredients.

Individuals with poorly or inadequately ventilated modeling areas should consider using those cements that are less hazardous.

For those who have respirators, MC is a fairly non-polar solvent that does NOT adsorb well onto the activated charcoal of an organic vapor cartridge, and may cause "break through", and prematurely end the effective service life of the cartridge. (Typically in industrial applications, the only acceptable respiratory protection for MC-based materials is an air-supplied respirator.)

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now......

Hope this helps someone.
Gip Winecoff

Ah, you have to go sometime Gip.
I drink Tenax and I am just fine.

Mike

QUOTE: Originally posted by MikeV Ah, you have to go sometime Gip. I drink Tenax and I am just fine. Mike

Well the Ambroids must be a gateway then... I am feeling the urge to try the Tenax for kicks lol!