Glue for styrene materials

Prometheus

Well-Known Member
I am about to begin work on my LAWS ATAT helmet. Since i have never worked with styrene before, i was wondering if you guys can recommend the kind of glue that can be used. I have worked with ABS before but i dont know if the glue for ABS can be used on styrene.
 
Tenax 7R would be pretty good, but you'd need to buy a special dropper for it. It's thinner than water and can get everywhere before you know it.

-Sarge
 
This is what I have learned when I have looked for info about this on the web/in the forums:

ABS = Acrylene + Butadiene + Styrene.
HiPS, what is commonly called "styrene" = Butadiene + Styrene, i.e. without the Acrylene.
.. so my guess is that if you have a glue that works great with ABS then it should work well with HiPS also. Have you not trimmed off any excess that you could try it with?

"Plastic welder" liquids generally contain chloroform (trichloromethane) which melts the plastic and makes plastic bond to plastic. Beware that chloroform is poisonous (causes cancer) and is a sedative, so use it only in a well-ventilated area. Because it is a hazardous substance, these liquids can also be hard to get hold of in some states.

I have seen people in the US recommend "Household Goop" for styrene and ABS. It works as a "plastic welder" and should be available in many hardware stores across the US.
Some glues for plastic models should also work well, because plastic models are also made from a type of styrene.

I think CA is OK for most things anyway. Some helmet builders prefer a type of CA glue that cures slowly, but comes with an accelerator in a spray bottle.
 
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You can try hobby grade CA, medium thick is what I use to assemble sytrene. If you could get your hands on MEK (wear a respirator) and pour some in a cup, if you have any spare styrene cut up some small (like pea size) pieces and mix it in with the MEK and it will melt into a liquid perfect for bonding styrene.

That little trick works well with any ABS or styrene and acrylics.
 
CA forms a chemical bond, meaning that it actually bonds to itself, which is why it works wonders on porous materials (ceramics, resins, wood, etc) and not so hot on plastics and metals. It has great pull strength, but very poor shear strength. It's hard to pull parts apart, but tap it from the sides and it comes right apart.

Glues like tenax, Tamiya (in the orange, hexagonal topped bottle) and testors (in the black bottle) form a mecahnical bond. They actually melt the styrene and then evaporate, leaving the two pieces of styrene as one solid pice. Impossible to break, you actually need to saw through it if you goof up. You can order these online at most hobby shops like megahobby.com, towerhobbies.com or ehobbies.com

-Fred
 
Tamiya (in the orange, hexagonal topped bottle) and testors (in the black bottle) form a mecahnical bond. They actually melt the styrene and then evaporate, leaving the two pieces of styrene as one solid pice. Impossible to break, you actually need to saw through it if you goof up. You can order these online at most hobby shops like megahobby.com, towerhobbies.com or ehobbies.com

-Fred

Forgot about that, listen to Fred! :$
 
Here you go-

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXNA77&P=ML

tnxr1010.jpg


This set's a little pricey, but includes the dropper and some little applicators. The bottles by themselves are 2.99 and go a really long way. :)

-Sarge
 
OH! Money saving tip with the Tenax-

Only put a little in the dropper at a time- the stuff is so thin it will evaporate through the hollow needle! Keep the main portion in the original bottle.

-Sarge
 
So Tenax is very runny?
In that case, looks like i will need to work it in such a way that both pieces are placed together first before letting Tenax seep into the joints?
Is that how you guys do it?
 
Prometheus,

if you intend to use goop, be sure not to apply too much of that stuff. While reinforcing my chestbox from within, the goop 'melted' (for lack of a better word) certain areas where the styrene is particularly thin:

atatchestbox_goop.jpg


Anyone else had a similar experience using goop?
 
Prometheus,

Tenax is very runny and highly evaporative. Let's put it this way, I accidentally for got to tighten the cap on a full bottle and the next day, it was gone.

When using tenax, rubber band or clamp the two pieces together, Then, use a hobby knife to slightly seperate the pieces and put the tenax between them and then close them.

This is why I prefer the tamiya. It's a thicker compound and doesn't evaporate as quickly, giving you at least a minute to work. Tenax evaporates almost immediately.

-Fred
 
Ok, so i bought a bottle of the Tamiya cement and tried it on the styrene sheets made by Tamiya (PLA PLATE). I am going to leave it alone overnight and test its strength.
I plan to use the PLA PLATE to reinforce the interior of the helmet and chestbox at a later stage.
I learned after my purchase on the internet that the Tamiya styrene sheets are actually not recommended for model use. Lets hope the styrene sheet and the cement work well in providing a strong bond with the ATAT helmet.
 
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I have been making my own glue by putting scrap pieces of ABS in a cup with acetone. The acetone chemically melts the abs into a paste or even thinner depending on the amount of acetone. Thicker fills and bridges gaps; Thinner mix can be applied with a model brush or syrenge for pinpoint application.

The acetone evaporates very quickly while fusing the parts together into one piece that holds very well.

The picture show a test where I butt fittted a 90 degree angle and used a model brush to apply the mixture. This is the weakes type of joint to form but since it fused into one it was very stong.

image00255pw9.jpg


i have completed a Repiublic Commando and an ARC set of armor using this method and am very pleased so far with it's duability. If you read the label on ABS cement it contains acetone and all the components that form ABS.

hope this will help.
 
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