Superglue (unsticking/debonding) built kits

[hayfield]

Like many I cannot resist buying part built kit to either finish or rebuild. Normally for a painted kit its a bath in a caustic soda solution , perhaps a liberal coating of paint stripper or a period of being over steam. The hardest parts to undo are deep joints, without damaging the parts. I have a decent independent tool shop locally and when I ran out of thin superglue I went in to buy some (I used Loctite) they sold me some Industrial grade superglue and found it so much better I have stopped using cheaper grades

 

I have seen superglue debonder before but never seen the need to use it, many years ago I bought a part built Southeastern Finecast E1 lacking its chassis, the build was quite good and I though I would one day finish it off. I am not a great fan of super gluing the main kit parts. The day of rebuilding the E1 has come, I have an etched chassis being built in EM gauge and when I put the chassis to the body there were a couple of issues, so I tried my usual trick of putting the kit over a steaming kettle, one small part came loose. Further action was required, I had seen a bottle of superglue debonder

 

Same make as the Industrial grade superglue so at £3.95 I thought it was worth a try. Well it does make the superglue very tacky, takes much longer than 30 seconds and 2 or 3 coats with a small paint brush and quite a bit of waiting was needed

 

 

Here are the unassembled parts, only one part (side valve) was broken, the deep lugs were eventually freed up. with most parts having no damage I was extremely pleased, I probably used a quarter to a third of the bottle it saved me more in replacement parts than its cost

 

These are the products I am using, not very expensive, but well worth the price (the super glue is 50gm so quite a large bottle)

 

https://www.everbuild.co.uk/product/superglue-de-bonder/

 

https://www.everbuild.co.uk/product/industrial-superglue-gp/

[30368]

Really useful tip John (hayfield). I have used Glue Buster with similar results. Saves a lot of time.

From: www.deluxematerial.com

 

Not as cheap as De-bonder though at £7 or so.

 

Kind regards,

 

Richard B

 

 

 

 

 

[hayfield]

I seem to be at the back of the queue when trying things out, especially with glue. I have started to use mitre bond (which I think is another form of superglue) for a lot of DIY jobs, For more strength I use a polymer glue called Extreme by Schtuk.

 

I see Ever Build do a glue called Crocodile I guess its the same as gorilla but snappier 

 

[JeffP]

I find placing models in a closed  polythene type box full of acetone, (propanone), debonds superglue 

 

Much cheaper than buying debonder too.

[friscopete]

10 minutes ago, JeffP said:

I find placing models in a closed  polythene type box full of acetone, (propanone), debonds superglue 

 

Much cheaper than buying debonder too.

Yup .this is the stuff .used it for years .

[hayfield]

On 03/03/2020 at 09:41, hayfield said:

Like many I cannot resist buying part built kit to either finish or rebuild. Normally for a painted kit its a bath in a caustic soda solution , perhaps a liberal coating of paint stripper or a period of being over steam. The hardest parts to undo are deep joints, without damaging the parts. I have a decent independent tool shop locally and when I ran out of thin superglue I went in to buy some (I used Loctite) they sold me some Industrial grade superglue and found it so much better I have stopped using cheaper grades

 

I have seen superglue debonder before but never seen the need to use it, many years ago I bought a part built Southeastern Finecast E1 lacking its chassis, the build was quite good and I though I would one day finish it off. I am not a great fan of super gluing the main kit parts. The day of rebuilding the E1 has come, I have an etched chassis being built in EM gauge and when I put the chassis to the body there were a couple of issues, so I tried my usual trick of putting the kit over a steaming kettle, one small part came loose. Further action was required, I had seen a bottle of superglue debonder

 

Same make as the Industrial grade superglue so at £3.95 I thought it was worth a try. Well it does make the superglue very tacky, takes much longer than 30 seconds and 2 or 3 coats with a small paint brush and quite a bit of waiting was needed

 

 

Here are the unassembled parts, only one part (side valve) was broken, the deep lugs were eventually freed up. with most parts having no damage I was extremely pleased, I probably used a quarter to a third of the bottle it saved me more in replacement parts than its cost

 

These are the products I am using, not very expensive, but well worth the price (the super glue is 50gm so quite a large bottle)

 

https://www.everbuild.co.uk/product/superglue-de-bonder/

 

https://www.everbuild.co.uk/product/industrial-superglue-gp/

 

 

I have not quite finished the loco yet but I thought I might give a heads up on how its going

 

The body went back together very well, in fact far better than normal, as much as possible was soldered only the smaller parts glued

 

Initially I fitted a High Level Road Runner, however the motor was slightly too far back. I fitted a Road Runner + and the cab is clear of motors. I also fitted one of the new High Level coreless motors, far superior to the Mashima's its replacing and looking at how much folk want for their old Mashima's cheaper

 

 

Part way through painting and I need to adjust the ride height slightly due I think to the oversize flanges of Romford wheels. I have a backhead to fit and a brake standard, but this will be done once the cab is painted

 

A nice little project which has not cost the earth, and still giving a lot of pleasure building it

 

 

[rab]

On 03/03/2020 at 12:23, hayfield said:

I see Ever Build do a glue called Crocodile I guess its the same as gorilla but snappier 

 

Probably works better in water too!

[The Johnster]

On 03/03/2020 at 15:05, JeffP said:

I find placing models in a closed  polythene type box full of acetone, (propanone), debonds superglue 

 

Much cheaper than buying debonder too.

Sounds like an explosion waiting to happen to me, don't use it anywhere near a Dapol working water tower...

 

On 03/03/2020 at 12:23, hayfield said:

 

I see Ever Build do a glue called Crocodile I guess its the same as gorilla but snappier 

Perhaps it forms a skin that can be made into a handbag?

[JeffP]

18 hours ago, The Johnster said:

Sounds like an explosion waiting to happen to me, don't use it anywhere near a Dapol working water tower.

 

Having worked with the stuff, and far worse,  all my life, that's why I specified a closed box. 

And it would be outside, for the same reason.

 

To be honest, though, if everyone thought out the possible dangers to the nth degree, would anything ever get done?

[hayfield]

As we are repeatedly told, use a good amount of common sense mixed with equal quantities of caution.       

 

I am lucky having a work room inside the house and a shed outside for things which could be dangerous in enclosed spaces (its very drafty)

[Guy Rixon]

I too use the Everbuild Industrial Superglue and find it very good, but I've been seeing a weird effect: it seems to set very slowly after dark. Something in my workshop that correlates with time of day is upsetting it. I thought temperature, but in daylight it seems to work in both winter and summer (and the workshop used to be really cold in winter when the heating was bust). I thought humidity but that doesn't correlate either. Breathing on the joint (old folk remedy) doesn't speed things up. Could the glue really need light to set? Seems a bit bonkers.

[hayfield]

I won a Judith Edge kit with wheels motor and gears on eBay for a fair price, not dead cheap but a good saving on retail prices, the box had a date stamp or 2006, so may have laid part built for 10+ years

 

Someone had started building the model, initially with solder badly and strangely I found it hard to soak up with a desolder wick, Then with large amounts of superglue.

 

For some reason the glue was extremely thick in places and was quite difficult to remove, still most smaller items cleaned up quickly and eventually the larger ones yielded

 

Nothing to do with the superglue but the roof had taken a but of a hammering above both of the cab sides. I have never been taught the dark arts of metal working, knowing that as it was I would have to make a new one, I tried my hand at panel beating. Well I had watched the repair workshop and various car rebuild shows. Out came the toffee hammer and a thick flat steel bar, to start off it looked even worse but I carried on and now have a piece much flatter which I hope will be fine once it has been rolled again

 

First job will be to get the chassis working, thankfully the only parts started are the coupling rods, which I assume have been superglued.

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by hayfield