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Best glue for styrene and slaters embossed sheet?


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Hi

 

I'm going to try and scratchbuild a bus depot and thought I'd use styrene sheet covered in slaters embossed brick sheet. I was wondering which glue would be best to use on this project. I have poly cement and a bottle of limolene (which I have never used).

 

I'm concerned that if I use the wrong glue the plastics may warp over time.

 

Many thanks

 

Tim

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Avoiding any solvent/warping problem by using double-sided sticky tape works for me :)

Be wary of double sided tape, it can lose its adhesive properties over time. I have had it fail after about ten years, less if exposed to heat.

 

If using solvent, you shouldn't need to completely coat the styrene, just round the edges and a few 'strips' in between.

Edited by Killybegs
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There's always a danger of warping (whatever material) if the glue lamination is made up of an even number of layers (made worse if they are dissimilar materials); that is why 'ply'wood is always an odd number of layers and veneers are always applied to both sides of 'the solid' - even on IKEA shelves.

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Be wary of double sided tape, it can lose its adhesive properties over time. I have had it fail after about ten years, less if exposed to heat.

 

Sorry but I'm really struggling to see how properly-applied good quality double-sided tape can "fail" when it's holding flat embossed plastic card to flat plastic card.  Where does the force come from that induces the two to part company?

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Sorry but I'm really struggling to see how properly-applied good quality double-sided tape can "fail" when it's holding flat embossed plastic card to flat plastic card.  Where does the force come from that induces the two to part company?

 

If the the adhesive fails due to deterioration, it does not require force, so choose your double sided tape carefully!

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Laminating styrene, or attaching embossed styrene to some other surface such as foamboard can be tricky. Double sided tape is the safest option but may not endure in the long term, especially if subjected to temperature extremes as in a loft or garage.

 

Any time you laminate using a solvent like MEK there is a danger of sealing solvent in an airtight area which then cannot evaporate and will continue to soften the styrene. It may be a good idea to perforate the structural styrene so as to allow the solvent to evaporate.

 

Contact adhesive is useful for attaching styrene to some other material like wood or cardboard but again it does slightly dissolve and soften the styrene so you have to be careful not to trap any. I learned this lesson years ago when I liberally glued some sticks of plummer's solder in a styrene brake van kit and several weeks later I could press my fingernail into the outside plank detail. So use contact adhesive very sparingly.

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Sorry but I'm really struggling to see how properly-applied good quality double-sided tape can "fail" when it's holding flat embossed plastic card to flat plastic card.  Where does the force come from that induces the two to part company?

 

I used to use Sellotape double sided tape to attach etched nameplates, however over a period of time the adhesive dries out, leaving a residue on the loco when the plates fall off..........

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I have use Revell contacta for laminating, use sparingly, many tiny dots 1/4 inch or so apart and two flat boards and weights overnight while it sets/ 

 

The stuff is sweet smelling, I suspect it it limonene like in a gel . 

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Believe it or not, I've found that a thin smear of Uhu is just the job, although I can't comment on whether or not it would deteriorate over time.

Also once the outer brick lamination is set in place (weight it down if possible while curing) you can also run a thin bead of superglue around window apertures etc. I've never used the specialist superglues for this so far, the stuff found in pound shops is more than adequate. Apply with a pin or similar.

 

Agreed that Mek type solvents, Plastic Weld and so on can cause warps and bubbles. Best avoided if you want to keep your building square, generally speaking these otherwise excellent products often seem too harsh for this.

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I think there are many great bits of advice here, some of the top modellers I have seen cut/punch/drill holes at intervals on the inner skin  to allow silvent to be applied, in addition they brace the building well. I have heard that plasticard like wood has a grain and sheets that are being laminated should be joined at 90 degrees. I would also suggest you use a thick backing sheet as possible, and always make sure you leave ventilation gaps, never have a sealed box

 

Good luck

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There's always photo spray adhesive, never got round to trying it myself, but there's no reason it shouldn't work?

 

Mike.

 Same problem as tape, can let go after a while. Been there, done that, had it fall apart years later.

 

When laminating you should always aim for odd numbers of layers, preferably balanced in thickness. I have in the past applied Slaters brick to 0.5mm styrene for each face of the wall, with 1mm styrene battens separating the two faces.. 

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I have used Evo-stick for laminating styrene together without any issues (so far). I have also used No More Nails. Epoxy type glue however might be the better option, just more expensive and a pain to get the mixture right.

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Hi

 

I'm going to try and scratchbuild a bus depot and thought I'd use styrene sheet covered in slaters embossed brick sheet. I was wondering which glue would be best to use on this project. I have poly cement and a bottle of limolene (which I have never used).

 

I'm concerned that if I use the wrong glue the plastics may warp over time.

 

Many thanks

 

Tim

Hi Tim

 

My favorite at the moment is Revel Contacata for most jobs. I use liquid solvents for some jobs as it is more appropriate.

 

I have been building models from plastic card for over 40 years. I have some loco bodies which are 37 years old with no warping, nothing fancy, no holes to let the fumes out, no counting the number of layers. Other stuff I have built I have followed all the advice and two days after has become all wavey. Conversely there I have built things where I have followed advice from others and they have been fine and ones where I done my own thing which turned out all wibbly wobbly.

 

My advice is to experiment and find what works for you and most of all enjoy making things.

 

post-16423-0-94137200-1544615606_thumb.jpg

Made from plastic card

 

post-16423-0-95882700-1544615653.jpg

And so was this, wonderful stuff.

 

The sticky stops being  ...... ummm ......sticky

 

 

 

Emma

 

ooops , answered whilst posting

Hi Emma

 

Fully agree, all glues and tapes can over time lose their ability to hold things together. Solvents don't as they "weld" the parts together.

 

I used weld as it is the easiest way to describe the action of solvents.

There's always a danger of warping (whatever material) if the glue lamination is made up of an even number of layers (made worse if they are dissimilar materials); that is why 'ply'wood is always an odd number of layers and veneers are always applied to both sides of 'the solid' - even on IKEA shelves.

Plastic card laid in uneven numbers of layers works if the molecular structure of each sheet is at 90 degrees to each other, like with plywood where the grain of each layer is set at 90 degrees to the layers below or above.  I cannot tell which way the molecules are lying in a sheet of plastic card, that is why I think laminating does not always work, two sheets with the molecules facing the same way but one is larger than the other they will work like a bi-metal thermostat. 

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