Has anyone else that uses Tennax found that almost all of a sudden the stuff just stops working.? Im only half way through the bottle and now it not even as fast as Testors liquid cement.
I was just wondering if anyone else has exsperienced this. Is this common with Tennax.
Thanks Trevor M.
I have never seen that problem. How old is your bottle? How much is left?
Actually, I am getting away from this stuff. Between cats knocking over such a lite bottle and me forgetting to cap it stopping evaoporation, I did not like it anymore. I have moved to the Tamiya liquid cement that has the applicator inside. I really like it!!! The applicator allows nice application.
I bought the bottle only about a month ago and Ive never left the lid off. It was working great on all the styrene I was was useing and then it just decided not to stick the stuff togetor any more unless i put tons on it over and over.
I have used it for years and it has always performed right down to the last drop. If I run out I’m in big trouble. Have a bottle of Testors Liquid and a bottle of Micro Weld but really prefer the Tenax product.
I been using Tennax for a long time now and have never run it that kind of problem.
Thad
My last two bottles of Tenax did the same thing. Roughly half-way through, it just didn’t seem to perform as when first opened. I also noticed that the remainder of the bottle contents became cloudy. I’m pretty sure contamination is not a factor because I use a brush applicator solely for Tenaxing (new word I invented!).
I also use various viscosity CA from my local hobbytown store and Testor’s liquid cement. Has anyone contacted Tenax and asked them if there are issues? If anyone is interested, I’ll be happy to give them a call.
I use Tenax for all major construction & have never experienced the problem described. Evaporation will occur if you leave the bottle open, but it shouldn’t lose it’s potency.
Regards, Rick
YES BuffaloBuilder Your right! It has turned cloudy half way through the bottle and I to only use one brush for Tennaxing. Glad to see Im not loosing my mind.
I am getting near the end of my current bottle and have not noticed any issues. Maybe they had a bad batch. I need to get a new one but my local shop doesn’t carry it anymore. May have to go back to MicroWeld or try the Tamiya. Got a couple other shops to check first though.
Sorry to hi-jack the thread, but I have a quick question. In your guy’s opinion, is using the plastic cement better than CA? I got turned on to CA because it dries so fast, that way you don’t have to sit there holding those tiny pieces in place while the glue sets up. I have never tried the cement, just CA and Testors tube glue. Is the cement sandable? I know CA is supposed to be, but MAN! it is really hard to sand unless you use a pretty abbrasive paper, and that tears up everything. So what do you guys think, should I switch? I guess that wasn’t so quick, sorry.
I haven’t used Tenax before, but I’ve had a similar problem with Testor’s Liquid Cement: the problem was that I was applying it with a brush, and unwittingly transfering dissolved styrene to the bottle. When I got down to half a bottle or so, the cement was cloudy and didn’t work as well. I guess what was in the bottle was no longer pure enough to work properly. Could this be your problem with Tenax?
Mark
The trick in sanding CA glue is to let it dry on it’s own without using any accelerator, (which sets it fast but hard as a rock). By drying on it’s own it will sand easily.
I’ve used TENNAX 7-R for years and the only problems I’ve ever had is when I accidently tip the bottle over,[:(!]
markworthi You have a lagitament point. I will have to research this a litle more and get back to you.
Thanks for the input. Trevor M
the only trouble i have had with it is
i was using it for a twisted body of a revell skycrane
i tenaxxed it on one end let it dry for a day then did the other end and the first end came apart under the stress now it won’t at all this was a brand new bottle
Each time you apply Tenax, or any MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone) based welding agent to plastic, your brush will pick up small amounts of liquified styrene that you deposit back into the bottle when you dip your brush in. Eventually, the MEK loses its ability to melt plastic because of the high styrene content already in the bottle. This explains the clouding, and of course, the lack of potency of the liquid by the time you get to the half-way point in the bottle.
There’s really only a few options to prevent this from happening…and that’s to start using a Touch-N-Flow applicator, or a glass eyedropper to “feed” your brush with a drop of liquid. I’ve started using Ambroid Proweld recently (my LHS was out of Tenax), and I personally find it a little hotter to use, meaning less liquid melts more plastic. Touch-n-Flow applicators are available at most better hobby shops, or online through a variety of retailers. I ordered mine from Micro-Mark in NJ.
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83276
Hope that helps!
Jeff
I lost a bottle of Tenax and a bottle of Micro-Sol except it was my mitts that did the knocking. So, to prevent that, I’ve since take a plastic butter dish (like Parkay, etc) or spread cheese or something like that, put the lid on it, turned it upside down, and cut (3) x’s in the bottom. I then put my Tenax and my (2) decal solution bottles in there and their dedicated brushes. Look Ma, no more spills!
This was an from an idea I saw years ago in one of the modeling/model train mags.
Thanks Jeff It sounds like youve hit the nail on the head. Now I wont have to go back to useing Testors Orange Tube.hew, that was close,lol I guesse Im off the LHS to pick up some more Tennax and an Applicator
Thanks again everyone Trevor Murphy
I had this trouble too, and I came to the same conclusion - using the brush transfers liquified styrene.
I solved this by going to a different applicator. I use an adjustable pen - the kind they used in the old pen and ink days of drafting to draw different widths of lines. I got mine from an old compass set.
The two sides of the pen can be adjusted to hold more or less cement and give different widths. The tips are very sharp, so you can put down either a wide or thin like exactly where you want it. It’s like magic - just touch the tips of the pen to a seam and capillary action pulls the cement out of the pen and into the seam with no slop. I have subsequently machined a fancy handle for it, but I used it as is for years.
This solved the contamination problem, but didn’t do a darn thing for the spilling problem.
Thats a Great Idea ‘Flatlander’ Thanks very much for the tip. You should give that tip to Jeff Hern and he will probley pay you for it.