12/09/2014

#hobbytiptuesday - Fun with Plastic Glue!

 I'm not sure how many people have ever played around with plastic weld glue or pure acetone, but both can be used to smooth rough features on plastic models or even remove mold lines... if you are very careful! I generally use Testor's Model Master Liquid Cement for Plastic Models when gluing plastic figures together as it has a nice thin metal applicator tube that doesn't clog and comes in a slightly thicker viscosity. After the fact, or if it's parts I can hold together, I generally use Tenax 7R plastic welder (possibly discontinued, I've had it a while) or Ambroid ProWeld (still available in a goodly-sized bottle) for the same thing.

 Now for the tricky stuff - using a fine tip nylon/synthetic/Taklon brush (as this will eat natural hair brushes alive), you can actually apply either of the thin viscosity plastic weld glues directly by gentle brushing and they will smooth out modeling imperfections like file marks, mold lines, and the like. You need to be very careful with the amount of liquid and how much pressure you apply, as this literally melts the plastic of your model, but trial and error are your friend. Acetone also works, but evaporates much quicker and is even more runny. What to do when your nylon brush gets clogged with plastic? Give it a quick dip in acetone and clean it - caked-in plastic gone!

 Hopefully goes without saying that anything that welds plastic is toxic and has fumes you shouldn't be inhaling...

2 comments:

  1. Yes!!! I got this tip from scale modelers at a local store and have been using it ever since. My favorite is brushing on Ambroid Pro-Weld. It does a great job of smoothing the small surface flats caused by scraping mold lines with too much gusto but doesn't melt detail too much.

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  2. Ambroid Pro-Weld is the stuff I've been using, too. I used to use Tenax 7R, but used that all up - don't care for the Ambroid brush/lid combo so I transferred some of the liquid to my old Tenax bottle and I just use it out of there with an old synthetic brush.

    Thanks for the comment - glad to know others have had success, too!

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