Glue

[theholyfilament]

Have been reading some threads on adhesives. I was advised to use Plastruct and E6000. My question: Where do I use each type? I'm going with rivets, snaps and elastic mostly. I'm going to use industrial Velcro for calves and forearms, if needed. When my ABS armor arrives I just want to have a plan. Thanks!!!

[Eric]

i dont know much about plastruct, but i used E6000 for pretty much everything on my suit. a little hot glue in a spot or two, but that was mainly just for glueing in my foam inserts. also i glued my forearm pieces totally, didnt use velcro on anything aside from my calve pieces aside from some cloth related supports. but that's just me. theres many ways to build a boat. lol. best of luck. i'd say just look at some of the build threads out there and see where they used whichever type of glue/method....

[sskunky]

I use liquid solvent cement. Just clamp or magnet the two pieces together, dip a small paint brush in the cement and touch the seam line. Caplliary action means the solvent will seap along the join, then melt the two sufaces and when it dries you have a welded bond. The two surfaces become one. I've never had a problem with the parts coming apart and the weld is invisible. You can even dissolve some of the same plastic you are using to create a glue that is custom made to the colour of the plastic you are using.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

I don't know what Plastruct is, but my personal strategy was to use ABS cement (on my ABS kit, of course) on the snap plates and E6000 for the joins.

 

The snap plates are hidden, so if I make a mistake no one sees it. I also wanted an absolutely unbreakable bond, and ABS cement works by melting the two joining surfaces together.

 

On the other hand, E6000 dries clear, creates a flexible bond, and even days later can be carefully removed if one makes a mistake and, for instance, joins the wrong halves of a shin together. Any overspill can also be removed without damaging the plastic.

[Eric]

the welding and cement stuff are great, but same time, if it's someones first build, wouldnt you generally recommend against something like that? for the chance that if they mess up, they can fix it without worrying about damaging the parts....

[theholyfilament]

Needless to say I'll be seeking everyone's advice when I'm putting it all together.

[pandatrooper[TK]]

Plastruct is plastic weld. It's a more runny version of cement used for ABS and styrene plastics for model making. While it's very effective, it takes practice to use it properly. I recently helped a new trooper in my garrison build his armor and he had a really hard time using it because you need to work fast.

 

I would suggest E6000. It's proven to work. Sand both surfaces, spread the E6000 on both, let it tack up a couple minutes, then clamp overnight. Job done!