I bought some accurate armour resin upgrades and the instructions advise using two part epoxy adhesive. has anyone used this stuff and has some advice about when to/not to use it. I tried it here and there on the last model i did and it seemed really good but i dont see anyone talking about using it.
I use epoxy primarily for gluing in transparencies where I need strength. It does not craze the transparent plastic as do CA or solvent cements. If I am putting on non-critical transparencies like aircraft canopies I generally use white-glue-like stuff like Micro-glaze. However, for things like windows that could get pushed inside I want a very strong glue-that is where I use epoxy. I have found, if you clean it well, resins can be glued okay with CA (I generally use gel so I do not need a super-perfect fit).
I haven’t done a lot of resin kits, but have used resin parts on my kits. Unlike others here, my luck with CA glues hasn’t been that great. The stuff either sets up too quickly, or not fast enough, and almost always gets too old to use sitting in the bottle. The epoxy has a lot longer shelf life, and usually sets in the prescribed time. I usually use it for, as Don indicated, clear parts I do NOT want coming off, and for small parts that I want to stay put (antennas, handles, and other small pointy fiddly-bits that I’d like to not have to re-attach to the kit.
It’s great stuff, I love it. You do have a fair amount of waste, but the bottles are so big, in relation to what you use, they last a long time.
Gene Beaird,
Pearland, Texas
In order to get a longer setting time with CA glues, I use the gel form which sets slower than the regular CA. If it is taking too long for a part that will not stay in place, I keep CA accelerator handy- a touch of that will harden the bond instantly when I need to.
I love that epoxy for repairs on porous items, but I haven’t found it to work very well with styrene plastic, even when roughing up the surface. It doesn’t seem to have a bond as good as even CA and certainly is less convenient to use. Try it yourself. Glue some sections of sprue together with CA and some with epoxy, then test the bond as a comparison.
Damn good idea! I will definately have a go at that.
I agree with everything Dave said. However, the epoxy bond does seem to be far better than white glue, and epoxy does not seem to fog transparent plastic, so that is why I use it for windows and such.
i use it to simulate glass on my instrument dial faces. You just have to work quickly before it hardens.
You can use Future to attach clear canopies.
I’ve heard it spoken of very highly over on HobbyTalk from guys who have used it to make the windows in the 1/350 Polar Lights starships. Dries clear and much faster drying than Envirotex, FWIW.