Question on glueing parts..goit a smal problem here today

[Gil Finn]

I have a few times ran into this before.

I had to shorten the funnle stack on an old Tyco or Bachman 4-3-0 American or General loco as it would not clear a major structure on my pike.

I took of a 1/4 inch from the bottom and sanded it level then glued it back with Testors.
It fell off so I glued it again. Now of after 24 hours, much of it in the sun, it is "soft" and some what flexable rather than hard and secure.

As kid building model cars I know at times two much glue would melt the plastic and ruin it.

Is this what I am up against here.

Think maybe I should redo it once I clean away the bad plastic and use maybe super glue or epoxy? Some plastic wont take epoxy however.

I painted this engine black and put coal in the tender.

I differnt stack would do but I would like to keep this one.

Great day to work out side and get some sun on thse littel projects, wish all of you were free to do so today and didnt have to work.

Gilbert, your train geek, fishing buddy.

Fish fear my name..hobby shop owners dream of my comeing with visions of sugar plums dancing 'or thier heads at night

, fishing

 

[MasonJar]

Gil,

If the part is styrene (most injection moulded platic bodies) then the thin Testors styrene cement should do it. If you've used the "airplane glue" from Testors, then too much is often "not a good thing". You're right in thinking that cleaning the joint up again and retrying is probably your best bet.

Remember - less is more! Good luck.

Andrew

 

[Gil Finn]

That is it!

 

[Gil Finn]

I removed some melted plastic from both pieces with a knife then an emory board. The thick heavey duty one Bubbette gives me are a great tool, I superglues the stack back on and it did well. I repainted it with touch up paint and will later blend it all with a squirt of Dull Coat.

Now I am adding coal to the tender where the plastic load of wood once was.

I plan to use it on my logging opperation. That was rare but proptotypical in the south and even here in W Va.

See web site for an enteresting read.

West Virgina Midland RR - Narrow Gauge Railroad

 

[nachoman]

Great link.

A thought on your glue problem-I have had similar issues glueing parts that could easily get bumped. The glue may hold just fine, but the next time it gets slightly bumped, it breaks off. If there is any way you can use some kind of mechanical fastener, things will be much stronger. In this case, maybe you could drill about a 3/16" hole in both the stack and the base, and find a short piece of styrene plastic rod to insert into each side, and glue the whole thing down tight. The plastic rod will make the joint stronger because it spans the gap between the stack and the base.

Kevin

 

[Russ Bellinis]

It might also be an abs plastic instead of styrene. If that is the case, you need to use Plastruct cementn or mek instead of Testors

 

[Gil Finn]

This is an old Mantua.

If the stack falls off ( it seems very solid now, I will use a straight on that I have drilled a hole for.

The probelm with it now is the cab falls of. Testors didnt hold it and I used super glu.

What A dope! Some glue dripped on the traction tire and wheel and made it derail.

I got it all of and now witha tooth pick epoxied it back.

If it wont preform not I am taking a hamnmer to it or selling it for parts with a lot of odd cars on ebay.

 

[nachoman]

I use the testors that is in the squarish black bottle with the narrow metal tube spout. Seems to work well on styrene type plastic. ABS plastic is a different animal, and I don't know what mantua used. Make sure you try and scrape off all paint and other glue from the joint before attempting to glue.

A few models use ABS plastic. Plastruct makes a glue for that.

Kevin