I am using an elmers glue stick washable school glue and is dries soo slow everything is getting glued crooked.
SO I wonder what are the glue experts using.
Here are mine -
plastic to plastic - Tamaya liquid glue with the paint brush applicator.
Balsa - thin and gap fillling CA I buy at the hobby shop near me.
Hello!
For plastic models my favourite glue is lacquer thinner. It melts the plastic to be glued and so kina works like welding plastic parts together.
For paper models I use white glue. But not all of the white glues are the same - there are ones formulated for glueing wood and some of them have to be avoided. Some of them dry and stay white, some of them make the paper soft and wavy - we don’t want any of that. What we want is white glue formulated for bookbinders. Glue like that is more a paste than a fluid, dries transparent and doesn’t soften the paper it’s put on. With a glue like that drying time usually isn’t a problem and if you want ultra fast holding bond (which you usually don’t, to allow for corrections) - you put a thin layer of glue on both surfaces and let dry. Then you just add a little bit of glue and join the surfaces - they stick immediately.
Hope it helps, good luck with your builds and have a nice day
Paweł
good call, here is what I found on amazon under book binding glue.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0025TZ26Q/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_dp_T1_4SKEzbA3KAP7E
Thers is a book bindery in the basement of The Ohio Book Store here in Cincinnati, they make hard cover books from what ever paper you bring them. They have a hot lead type machine they use to make the gold lettering. I have had some books made in there before. I bet that guy has a very definate opinion on what is the best glue for paper! why didn’t I think of that?
btw if anyone ever visits cincinnati you would do yourself a favor by visiting that place … 4 floors of books …
My go-to is gel CA. But I keep on hand several types of glue, for different tasks. If fit is really good, I may use regular CA, because it sets faster, though the gel CA will set immediately with CA kicker.
I use epoxy occasionally. I used to use it for windows/transparent pieces, since CA fogs the clear stuff. But lately I have been using the new laser hardening stuff.
I use white glue for PE when I want a really long working time and don’t need a lot of strength. I also use it for paper models.
I just bought some Elmer’s Glue-All white glue today at lunch, I have a desk job that has alot of computer processing time. So I glue paper projects together while my Computer processes files. Anything Elmer’s feel ameturish but it really works well.
I have been building a Guillows Spirit of St. Louis at home and I keep gluing my fingers to the parts with the thin CA. And the CA gel dries to slow. Maybe I will try that Kicker stuff, Is there a Brand you use?
I want to use the Elmer’s on my balsa model because it doesn’t glue the parts to the wax paper. but it is slower. and heavy if you are building a “flyer”
I guess there is no “perfect” glue. One that won’t glue your fingers together, Dries fast and strong and light and doesnt screw up your clear plastic …
Hello Bartenational ;
Just a little advice here . For any paper project of ANY kind I only use ALEENS in the copper bottle . It comes in different sizes and has a good shelf life .
As far as anything that flys , I prefer AMBROID . Applied it with a toothpick years ago and still do . Build you model on top of a good brand of Waxed paper , laid over your plans . Best advice I ever got and my flyers all come out straight .
The kicker I use now is my hobby shop’s house brand, but I have used several brands before and the stuff always seemed to work with other glues too. I have used the gel CA on balsa flying models, and it worked so much faster than white glue that I never bothered with the kicker.
White glue does dry slowly, but I just consider that one of the features of building flying models. As far as weight, it is not really heavier than other glues. However, you can dilute white glue about 1:1 with water. The result is even lighter than the stock stuff (you use less of it but, being thinner, it wicks into the joints better). However, you can only use it on close fitting joints. However, if you want a good, light flyer, you should be working those joints for close fit anyway.
Those Guillows kits are known for being good for scale, but heavier, so they do not fly as well as others, say the Dumas kits. For a one-stop site for all balsa rubber flying kits, Google Penn Valley Hobbies. Awesome line of balsa flying models.
I abandon white glue a while ago but now i am coming back to it. it can be a good gap filler for wood . My friend gave me these two Guillows kits , A Sopwith Camel and the spirit of St Louis. I already have a Sopwith Camel so I started the Spirit. These Guillows Large scale designs seem to be designed heavy for .049 use. I don’t really want to mess with that anymore after a bloody finger incident.
I don’t have one favorite glue. I use various thicknest of liquid glue for plastic, various thickness of CA glue, white glue for windows and railings.
I don’t know what type of model you are building that you use school glue unless it’s a model made of wood. Even then I would use a carpenter’s glue.
Marcus
I am / was building this novelty library form the “Jimmy Corigan Acme Library of Novelties for summer 2001” , this is a pretty sloppy build but it gave me something to work on while I was processing image files …
