Black CA questions

[Woody V]

What's the big deal with black CA and what makes it popular with model builders?

What makes it different from regular CA?

What brand is most popular with model builders?

[Juggernut]

Thanks for asking this question as I was thinking the exact same thing just yesterday.  Google yielding some results but not inexpensive ones.

[tucohoward]

The difference is that it has a little flex to it which is nice. My LHS sells it as a repair for RC car tires. Also you can see it much easier. 

 

Jay

[Uncarina]

When you are filling in panel lines for example it will show you how much to sand back.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Out2gtcha]

Nice! Ive been wondering about this stuff, but have yet to see it at the LHS.

[LSP_Kevin]

I can only speak to the product I use, which is AK Interactive's 'Black Widow' CA. It contains a small amount of rubber, and you'll sometimes see such CA formulations listed as 'rubberised'. This makes the cured product less hard and far less brittle, but also (in my experience) makes it a little stringy in application. I've only ever used it to fill gaps and panel lines, where its softer curing hardness and superior visibility make it a clear improvement over standard CA. I haven't been able to bring myself to trust it for joining parts, however, so its bond strength remains untested by me.

 

Kev

[Thunnus]

I added Bob Smith Industries (BSI) IC-2000 Black Rubberized to my collection of CA glues a couple of years ago.  For me, the black color and reduced hardness of the black CA make it my preferred material for filling panel lines.  It's easier to sand but hard enough that you can feather it nicely to the plastic without any visible edges under paint. The black color marks the repair visually.  The stuff works fine for bonding parts together too, in my experience, except the color becomes a possible negative.  Does not replace my normal thin CA for applications where capillary action is needed for a discrete joints aka folded PE parts.

[thierry laurent]

To me the advantages are:

- Softer to sand 

- Slower setting time 

- You see easily where the glue is going 

 

The main drawback: this needs priming as black is not an easy color to cover.

  

Personally, I'm using it to fill panel lines and when I need slow setting time CA glue.

 

 

[Juggernut]

Bob Smith is sold through Amazon and/or local hobby retailers so there is a good source for this stuff.  I’m gonna try some on my next modeling “adventure”.

[jeroen_R90S]

On 11/30/2022 at 8:39 PM, LSP_Kevin said:

I can only speak to the product I use, which is AK Interactive's 'Black Widow' CA. It contains a small amount of rubber, and you'll sometimes see such CA formulations listed as 'rubberised'. This makes the cured product less hard and far less brittle, but also (in my experience) makes it a little stringy in application. I've only ever used it to fill gaps and panel lines, where its softer curing hardness and superior visibility make it a clear improvement over standard CA. I haven't been able to bring myself to trust it for joining parts, however, so its bond strength remains untested by me.

 

Kev

Pretty much my experience with the same, product, too.

 

I have used it for bonding, and it glues well enough and allows extra time for positioning. It's probably subjective but I have the feeling the bond is bit more flexible so parts don''t fly off at the first bump, however, that's just a feeling and no scientific methods were harmed in drawing this conclusion.

 

My main use is filling seams, as well. Previously I used normal CA+talcum powder + a bit of pigment, this is pretty much the same just easier to use as it's ready to go.

 

Jeroen

[D.B. Andrus]

I used it years ago and stopped for some reason or another. Now I'm giving it another go at seam filling and am pleased with it. John's(Thunnus) result is the main reason for trying again.

 

Cheers,

Damian

[Gazzas]

I love it.  I use it for filling almost everything.  If I have a big gap to fill, I squirt in the black CA then drop some baking soda on it.  In seconds, it's ready for sanding.  No waiting and d*cking around.  But you have to sand it soon...   cuz if you let it harden overnight it gets a lot harder than the surrounding plastic.

 

If you put a very thin layer of it between two pieces of metal, it can set faster than you want.

 

When don't I use it:  When I need capillary action, and when I have to fill between too much raised detail or structure.  For instance, I wouldn't use it in the wing root area.  And it's a bit thick and heavy for adding small parts for the surface.