First time realizations

[Zero77]

It's all a question of experience and experimentation.

 

First, you can buy a small tube of CA debonder (you can find some everywhere, in the same place than CA glues). So, if you end up in a mess, you will be able to clean it all, and restart it again. Do not forget either that CA glue can be cleaned with acetone. Just be careful with styrene, as it will melt if in contact with acetone. But most resin bear the contact with acetone, and PE parts can be dipped in acetone to clean them.

 

I only use 2 types of CA glue : some CA gel (the special rubber reinforced version, from superglue) and some ultrathin CA. I apply CA always with the same tool, a simple sharp needle. When the needle is full of dry CA, i file it clean.

And be careful to not use too much CA, it is useless. The bond wont be better, but the curing time will be longer, and you may make a mess all around. If you have to glue very small part (for example, small PE parts glued on the edge), just keep in mind that this will just be fragile by nature, glue it and just be careful and avoid to handle it as much as possible.

[David Hansen]

Ron a lot of  good comments have been posted here, and i don't have too much to add to it but...

 

Another way of creating an applicator is to use a piece of brass wire, chucked in a pin vise, and maybe bent at an angle. Crude but effective.

 

Also, you might want to experiment with mixing the thin CA with the medium viscosity stuff on a piece of aluminum foil. Has excellent flow and gap-filling characteristics. As long as you don't let it sit for too long, or apply too much in the first place, dried CA has very good sanding characteristics.

 

Finally, you might want to get some Micro-Liquitape, and place small micro dots on the parts you wish to glue. This comes in handy for keeping pieces in place while you fumble around looking for that tool you always need but cannot reach. It also comes in handy for pre-positioning photo etched parts, which invariably need be glued in place with CA.

 

Submitted for your consideration…..

 

david

[Hubert Boillot]

And don't forget that for PE/PE bonds, especially thin edges ones, soldering will produce stronger bonds than any CA glue ...

 

CA polymerisation is triggered by ambient air humidity, so keeping the opened bottles in the fridge, which dries the air inside it, or a sealed box with dessicant pellets, will prolong their useful life.

 

All in all I am in the CA-haters' camp. I tried to avoid it as.much as possible, but this is not enough a reason to avoid resin kits or AM...

 

hubert

[Guest]

How does high temps and humidity afect CA ?.....Harv

[Hubert Boillot]

How does high temps and humidity afect CA ?.....Harv

Humidity triggers the setting. Heat does not affect it as far as I know.

 

Hubert

[Out2gtcha]

High temps + Humidity = CA goes bad faster. From my experience, this is especially true with thin CA.

 

I personally am in the CA lover's club. I just about strictly use the name brand CA from Zap.

Using Zap CA, I have had NONE of the afore mentioned issues people seem to have with CA.

 

I love it and have again literally used it on everry single build of mine since I was a kid. Have not had ANY serious issues with it in 30 some odd years.

[dennismcc]

I use CA exclusively, I apply it with a wooden toothpick, I put a blob of CA on a stainless steel plate and pick up a small amount with a toothpick, and apply it to the part, works for me, I have just switched to odourless CA as I kept getting what I thought were very strange colds, mainly sneezing, runny nose and sore throat. And it seems to have worked.

As to resin, it is a case of being very careful, however some resin parts are more fragile than others, given a choice I would stick to plastic.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[pennausamike]

I use 5 minute epoxy for my resin builds.

I, likewise, have never mastered CA.

 

Mike

[Darren Howie]

Two best glues ever made..Tamiya super thin and Zap..

Havnt had a need to use any other glue in 17 years or so since super thin was released and I found zap CA.

[Out2gtcha]

Two best glues ever made..Tamiya super thin and Zap..

Havnt had a need to use any other glue in 17 years or so since super thin was released and I found zap CA.

 

 

I can line up with that!  I have both, and agree, they are indeed on my top list of glues. Epoxies do have their place IMHO for things like wight bearing joints, and large resin chunks, but the ZAP family of CAs makes using CA a joy.

 

It just plain works, and holds.

[Zero77]

The only bad experience i have had with CA is when i need to glue very large parts, like fuselage halves. It bonds too fast and i often end with a bad alignment and a slight step between the parts. I've thought about 2 components epoxy, but i've always has so-so results with this kind of glue (remains a bit soft, and the bond not always so tight... Maybe the cause is a bad mix?).

Next time, i'll try to only put small bits of gel CA just to make a first aligment, and when everything is OK, i'll put some extra thin CA all around the seam.

[DeanKB]

The only time I use CA with an accelerant is rigging - then it's a godsend.