I tried plastruct bondene styrene & ABS plastic solvent cement on the fuselage and wing joints, the stuff is hard to control as it is very thin, I thought I was being fairly careful but some slopped over on the exterior of my raiden jack and have spent a lot of time sanding the slop off and losing some detail.I had no such problem and had good results with thicker glue (super jet medium) any thoughts? what viscosity glue is the preferred by most? I do realize capilliary action is the method for thin glue on joints.

I prefer Tamyia extra thin, comes with a nice fine brush for applying the liquid, exactly where you need it.
For plastruct bondene styrene & ABS plastic solvent cement, which I also use, or any other liquid cements, I suggest tossing out the crappy over-sized brush that comes in the bottle, and using a fine pointed paint brush instead.
For long seams, I still break out my old- "can't remember the name of it, glass tube with the needle point", designed for the appication of these super thin type liquid cements. I'm sure someone will remember the name of the damn thing.

I second Dave, Tamiya extra thin........ for most construction., I also use the medium grade CA , and thin only on occasion (both mostly for resin) Epoxy as needed...............

Hi Dave

I use a range of cements, depending on the application. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how many of them are available in the US, by my reasoning behind how I use them might be helpful (or not! LOL!).

My favourite all-purpose cement is Humbrol Liquid Poly. It comes a very stable glass bottle with a brush in the lid, but to be honest, I always prefer to use a paintbrush for extra accuracy with any brand of liquid cement. The reason I like Humbrol? It's thin - but not the thinnest - and it's a mild cement. By this, I mean it dries fairly slowly and doesn't instantly attack the plastic. It allows a little working and positioning time - and because it's mild, it can be used to restore the surface shine after sanding (don't touch the area until it's thoroughly dry). Slow drying is also very useful if you're tackling longer joints.

Next up is Revell Contacta Professional. This comes in a plastic bottle with a fine metal spout (almost a syringe needle) for precise application. Again, it's slowish-drying and thicker than pure liquid cement, so it won't run. It's great for running along a line on, say, a wing joint before joining the parts. But beware the similar Contacta Liquid - I think it's basically the same stuff, but it's too thick to apply easily with a brush and comes in a bottle that's dangerously easy to tip over (as I've found to my cost!).

More specialist styrene cements, such as Tenax or Plastic Weld are also great (I can't vouch for it, but I sense they are like the Bondene & ABS you mention) - but need to be used with extra care because the are "hot". By this, I mean they are very aggressive - they attack the plastic surface rapidly and must be used extremely sparingly for "spot welds". They dry very quickly when used in small quantities and are almost "instant". You must rely on capillary action to draw them into a joint - otherwise they'll be dry before you bring the parts together. Used carelessly, they will literally dissolve what you're working on - so be careful!

I almost never use the "old-style" tube cement that was the norm when I was a kid in the 60s - but it does still have its uses for long joints that need to be strong. It's the thickest of all the available cements - and that means the longest drying time, i.e. days (realistically).

I hope this helps

Rowan

I am going to search for the humbrol liquid poly for the longer joints...sounds like just what I need, the super jet has its place too but apparently not as the one and only glue to use on a project, thanks everyone

[quote]
But beware the similar Contacta Liquid - I think it's basically the same stuff, but it's too thick to apply easily with a brush and comes in a bottle that's dangerously easy to tip over (as I've found to my cost!). /quote]

Aparently there is a cut out in the cardboard box the liquid glue comes in that acts as a base to avoid knocking them over - found this out too late.

Andy

For places where I want to avoid running or when I want to fill gaps, I use the more viscous Zap CA- (SLO ZAP)

for everything else I use
Zap CA+

Both of them are excellent glues.

cannot find humbrol cement in the states, will try SLO ZAP, no kidding the thin stuff I was using is hot...will only use for welds, live and learn eh?

Rowan,
are you talking about "Plastic Putty Model Filler"? This one is available through
Great Models Webstore

Minor case of CRS Dave? I suffer from that too. The tool Dave is referring to is the "Touch-n-Flow" and it works great. With most of my building I use Weld-on or Tamiya Super Thin. I'll also use various CA's on a case by case basis, but not that often as I find I have better control with the solvent based glues, and a paint brush. I use the CA glues for filling more than assembly. "Q"

Yep, that's it.

Can`t seem to get Tamiya thin in UK, but have the Humbrol bottled stuff.
One point on the brush method.
How do you clean the paintbrush after use ?
one application , one brush, might get expensive.

For products easily available in the USA, I like to use the following combination:

For a slightly viscous plastic solvent type glue, I like Testors liquid cement. It has a very useful long metal applicator tip for easy placement of glue, it is thick enough to not run, and it does not evaporate too quickly to glue long runs like fuselages and wings.

Tamiya extra thin plastic cement is good for occasions where you already have pieces touching and you want to use wicking action to get glue in between to bond them. Also excellent for gluing things into holes since the thicker stuff mentioned above can glob out and make a mess or even prevent you from full instertion because of compression (the thin stuff just works itself around what you are inserting). If you accidently get this stuff in other places, just let it be and fully dry before trying to correct it. You may find that no significant damage was actually done once it fully evaporates and the plastic gets hard again.

Zap-a-Gap CA (super) glue (medium thickness) - good all purpose CA glue. I can't deal with the thin stuff (I get it everywhere) and the thickest seems to clog too easily.

These three get me through 99% of my gluing needs. every so often I do use epoxy cement, but that is not really in he scope of your question.

Humbrol Liquid Poly seems to evaporate right away, so it don't wreck brushes, unlike the revell contacta pro, which is more of a cement than a solvent to my mind. I have a solid brush to prove this. Mind you the contacta pro in the blue bottle with the metal applicator is top class, i wouldn't be without it. I also use Ambroid from Modelzone as a Hot Solvent.

HTH

Andy