Is there a tutorial for PE (Eduard) zimmerit? I am starting on a Panther A and have a few questions: 1)What do you use to bond the PE to the tank? If slow drying CA or 2 step epoxy, what brands shoud be used? 2) Where there are seams/gaps between the PE and the edge of the tank, how should they be filled? 3) What part of the tanks should be done first, should certain sections be done before others? 4)How should each piece of PE be separated form the original packing sheet? All advice will be appreciated.
Hi Leddy, i recently finished a Stug using PE Zimm. I was, i have to admit a little daunted at the thought of using the stuff but to be honest, its really no biggy.
As for your questions,
1/ I used Slow curing CA, its great stuff. Apply it thinly and it gives you a second or two to adjust.
2/ I found that where the PE came to an edge, you could burnish the edge down with, say, a Paint brush handle, held at 90 deg to the edge. If you have 2 pieces butting together at an edge, thin some Squadron green with acetone or use Mr surfacer to fill the gap. Once again if you burnish the 2 edges together, You get very little gap.
3/ As for what parts to do 1st. Id assemble the basic structure of the tank 1st and then start with wat seems easiest to get at. No point in starting wat seems a tricky bit.
4/ By removing the piece from the packing sheet? Do you mean the rest of the brass surrounding it? If so use a very sharp or new blade in your exacto and cut at a 45 Deg angle to the part you want. After cutting the piece free, hold the part in some decent pliers and file off any ‘Nubs’ that may still be on the part. Im sure theres a good Tutorial on dealing with PE somewhere on here that will make it seem a little easier. But its really no biggie.
Heres a post to my Stug build, if thats any use to you.
Guy pretty much handled it perfectly there–just one thing I can add is to make sure that you should make sure you lightly sand the back of the PE to help the CA glue grip the smooth brass.
When using CA to glue down the PE, do you put glue only in center of the piece or do you put it also on the edges? Does the plastic need any pretreatment? Should each piece be dry-fitted before fixing it with CA? When you say burnish, do you mean rubbing back and forth with light side pressure?
Well i sort of run a thin line around the piece about 1mm from the edge. This way when you press it too the part it spreads around enough to secure it to the model and not seep out all over the shop, so to speak. If it does seep out, wipe it away quickly b4 it dries.
As for pre-treatment, as the Doog [bow] says if you scratch up the rear of the PE part, that should more than surfice.
And you burnishing technique sounds just like mine.
When I use PE zimmerit on Braille Scale (1/72) tanks, I use a small bit of Elmer’s White Glue to position the PE piece. The white glue gives me more time to work with the piece before the glue sets and if I later determine that the piece is in the wrong spot, it can be popped off easily.
Once I am sure it is in the right spot, I place a small dab of fine super glue at certain areas where the PE meets the plastic and let the capillary action spread the CA.