Hi gang

this may sound a bit stupid, but I need a good replacement for my glue. Until now I used Kibri glue which is very thin, medium aggressive and dries very fast (for a plastic glue). Unfortunately this stuff is no longer available (at least I could not find it). I contacted Kibri .. maybe they can help me find that stuff.

I have heard very good things of Tamiyas Extra Thin Cement. But dito I could not find a shop in Germany tha carries it (no luck at HLJ either, but maybe I am just too stupid). I was told selling this stuff in Europe is forbidden (whatever that means .. the same guy told me such "BS" about Gunze Aqueous Colours .. so I buy that paint at Moduni)

TIA

all the best

Steffen

yeah, the tamiya thin works great and comes in a nice, wide, stable bottle.

doesn't seem like HLJ carries it.

eHobbies does:
http://www.ehobbies.com/tam87038.html?utm_source=tam87038&utm_medium=shopping%2Bengine&utm_campaign=froogle

Yeah Steffen ! I don't know if you can get these in Germany , but I use Tenax-7R . I also use Microscale Micro weld for when I need a little more drying time .

Tenax dries very fast , 10 seconds to complete the bond . micro weld is 10 minutes .

I haven't tried the tamiya yet so I have no comments on the product .

Here's a pic .

Many thanks!!!!

.. of course I would prefer a German source, because of speedy/cheaper delivery (postage from asia is also pretty cheap)

@ Vance: Seems this is a US shop and I have had very expensive deals with such shops lately .. just because of hilarious p&p costs (e.g. Sqn) and this is special delivery "hazardous material" .... for just a few bottles of cement that are maybe confiscated at the costums this is not justifyable (I could not find prices there)

@Terry: Tenax is also no longer available. I know a shop that sold that stuff but no longer carries it because of some new regulations. He has Ambroid Pro weld, but I do not know that stuff.

What I like(d) about Kibri was that when I spilled a bit over my model e.g. some runs on the fuselage during glueing the fuselages halves. I just left it for a few minutes and it was dry and I could handle the part again. The damage was just a slightly rougher surface where the glue had touched the plastic part nothing more. I am looking for something similar because I am very ham-fisted ....

all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen

I don't know if they're easily available in Germany, but three types of thin cement I use are Slater's Mek-Pak, EMA Plastic Weld, and Tri-Tak (mine was supplied by Thorp Modelmakers years ago). All dry quickly (the Tri-Tak is almost "instant") and are quite aggressive.

All the best

Rowan

Hi all

many thanks for your help!!!!

I thought back and forth and finally I did a small search at evil bay. Found a ROC shop that sells Tamiya Extra thin for 5,20 Euro (incl. p&p) and just gave it a try ... using paypal I have at least some kind of safety ... still I can loose it when visiting customs .. we'll see.

all the best

Steffen

uhm, isn't the active ingrediant in plastic cement a commonly available solvent you can get in hardware stores?

the materials safety data sheet for testors plastic cement includes Ethyl Acetate and Methel Ethyl Ketone. I am pretty sure it is the latter that does most of the work? If so, you can buy that anywhere that sells fiberglass working materials.

apparently (from their materials safety data sheet) Tenex is just methylene chloride (or dicholoromethane), which is a paint stripper (also, oddly, used to decaffinate coffee!!!)

apparently there are several plastic welding chemicals by various names that are predominantly methylene chloride.

In a real pinch, I think both acetone and toluene can both be used to weld styrene as well.

What I use as an alternative for Tamiya Thin cement is a product called Hudson Polyurethane Reducer. I dont know if its available in your area but here in the Philippines, it can be found and most hardware and paint stores. Its a dead ringer for Tamiya Thin Liquid Cement and it smells the same. I bought a 1 liter can 4 years ago (for the same price of a 110ml bottle of a Tamiya Thin Cement) and I still have ebough for another couple of years. If you want it to be consistent like ordinary liquid cement, you can add standard tube modelling cement (similar to the ones found in the Academy kit) in order to change the consistency. Work well for me and it welds plastic very well.

Another radical alternative (believe it or not) is chloroform. I have used it before but now the drug stores are very strict in allowing civilians to buy over the counter.

Cheers

Hi Vance and Tony

First a general note: I wanted a regular modelling glue that can be freely bought (this is something I do not like to experiment with) and it should be available here in Germany.

@ Vance: Thanks for the additional hint! ... Would you think that MEK can be freely bought when Tamiya glue is prohibited? ... I have never come across it here (knowingly). I know that some people use "Nitroverdünnung" (it is very strong smelling paint thinner .. I have no idea about the chemical formula) for gluing delicate parts .. but these joints are pretty weak. As already stated above I seek a thin cement that does not harm the part too much when I am a bit generous but also solves the plastic when used in the right places.

@Tony: Thanks for your advise! The problem is, that I have no idea about chemical ingredients and how to translate what you wrote to German to what is written on the tins in the craft store. That means, I cannot find the German equivalents. E.g. I tried to find white spirit or mineral spirit in craft stores here (which is definitely there ... somewhere), but I only get a hollow gaze when I asked. So I use Humbrol thinner because I just do not want to ruin a project for 50ct savings ...

Thanks again to all!

all the best

Steffen

Must say I really like revell's contacta liquid (the stuff the brush in the bottle) its cheap and easily available.
Bonds quickly. I guess it is just another plastic solvent.


I don't like the revell one with the needle applicator as the glue is too thick. Though the needle works
great with the thin liquid.

Thanks JP

easily available here too. but that one is much to viscous / gooey for my taste .. Kibri is like water, maybe even more fluid (and I suppose Tenax, Tamiya extra thin and the like are too). And it is also less volatile (see above for reasons).

The ROC shop did give me a positive note at ebay .. hope I will get the TETC soon. At the moment I am rigging that darn Avia .. no need for plastic glue right now

cheers

Steffen

I use Ambroid ProWeld almost exclusively except for the occasional use of Tenax 7R. I find them very similar with Tenax perhaps a little faster with drying/set times. Both are 10 - 15 seconds and can be sanded or shaped afer about 15 minutes without gumming up the sanding sticks or files.

cheers;

Bob

Thank you Bob

if my ebay adventure fails I will get that from a mail order shop here in Germany. I just was not sure what tis Ambroid stuff is all about.

all the best

Steffen

Can you buy thinner for wooden flooring varnish in Germany? It is tetra-hydro-toluol, the solvent of ABS and polystyrene, in absolutely pure form, there is nothing thinner than this. A half litre bottle should be around 4-5 EUR, enough for decades. I suppose it should be available at a Baumarkt.

You can change its consistency by dissolving clear sprue parts in it so you can make your own gap-filling glue in your desired thickness.

Have a look round for plumbing suppliers. MEK is used, a lot, for cleaning/preparing plastic pipes before they're welded together with a dichloromethane mixture. I used to buy it in 1litre cans, without any problems.
Edgar

Hi Gabor and Edgar

many thanks!!

Gabor: I was at the "Baumarkt" today to get myself a diorama base for the Mark.58 stuff I bought and I asked for floor varnish thinner and they told me that their stuff must not be thinned (I also looked around .. nada) . The ingredients of all the stuff there was rather vaguely described (thats what I meant above with translation to craft store terminology)

BTW it was the first time I found Acetone .. had to buy a bottle

Also I finally got an answer from Kibri. They still sell that stuff, but I would have to pay almost as much p&p as the bottle costs .. so I first try the Tamiya ETC (no not the "Einzelträger für Cylindrische Abwurfmunition " but their glue) and if it works I am happy .. else I will buy a whole Box from Kibri.

all the best

Steffen

Hi Steffen,

I see... perhaps this stuff is not sold in Germany for safety or health reasons. By the way in proper English it is called toluene. I was just wondering because we have used this for decades here in Hungary, well before any western brand became available here.

Thanks again Gabor!




I used the stuff in the Plasticart kits for all glueing then .. also the silver paint. ... I try to remember what I used for the KP kits .. I think there was a plastic cement brand in GDR...

cheers

Steffen

I lived for a couple years in Berlin and have a vague idea of German restrictions compared to the states, and it is my guess that you could find MEK there without trying TOO hard, if you are smart about looking. While you can get a liter of it here if you look hard for it, you can easily get a few ounces of it at any hardware store or even automotive parts store.

MEK is the setting catalyst for polyurethane resin. A couple drops of it will cause quite a lot of resin to do its exothermic reaction and start setting. polyurethane is used with fiberglass and bondo (putty for filling dents in cars, etc). A little tube of MEK comes with a liter of resin or bondo, and often small tubes of MEK are available next to the resin or bondo.

Of course, finding a liter of it is the cheapest way to go for sure (a place that sells fiberglass in bulk is a good place to look, but it has other uses too, so don't limit your search to that). and whether you get a liter bottle or a small tube of it, you'll want to transfer it to an old paint or glue jar.

Hi Vance

Thanks again. really I am not that much after a cheap replacement (I am not using that much of it) but for a quality that suits my needs.

The Tamiya ETC was shipped today, so I expect it soon .. at the customs.

As for MEK (and other stuff) either it is not available here or it just has a different name. I just had another look at my bottle of "Nitroverdünnung" which I know some people use for glueing (but which produces a pretty weak bond) and there is only a vague description of the ingredients. I am to lazy to spend weeks studying chemistrey to find out whats really in it. I am happy with standard hobby products, it was just that I can hardly get my usual stuff and I wanted opinions on replacements.

Thank you again!

cheers

Steffen