Glue

[glennk28]

Just got my GRAMPS tank car.  One of the coupler cut lever mounts is broken loose.  I don't feel this is worth a trip to Philly--  Also there are a bunch of placard boards to mount, also needing a good glue. 

What plastic cement or other adhesive works best on the new Spectrum cars?  Where do I get it?

[the Bach-man]

Dear glenn,
i use Dr. Mike's CA, which I get from Micro-Mark.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

[glennk28]

Thanks--I was hoping to find a solvent-welding material--will order the Dr. MIkes--

[Greg Elmassian]

CA is not solvent welding... did you mean you will use the CA instead of a solvent welding type glue, or understood Dr. Mike's is solvent welding?

I have to admit gluing stuff is a black art to me, some plastics love CA and some shrug it off.

Regards, Greg

[glennk28]

I am looking for the solvent--I have found that in most plastics the solvent-welded joints are strongest.  CA joints have to be just so--or they don't hold as well.  Also, when there are moving parts involved, as in this one  with the cut lever, CA often gets where it is not wanted.     gj

[r.cprmier]

Your first order of business is going to be to find the composition of the parts you want to glue.  So far, I am not familiar with the tank car, but I did have a 2-8-0 arrive a long time ago with a broken tender truck.  I used "Tenax" glue on it, clamped it for a day, and it is as good as new.  Don't forget;  ACC will work by capillary action; that is, its compound will seek out the pores and veins in the two mating parts, and when its' structure changes to harden, mimics the structure of the parts.  A welding glue like a styrene cement will break down the composition of the styrene by chemical molecular action, thus providing a "liquid" styrene medium that will actually mate one to the other by fusion.  Do check out the plastic composition.

RIch