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[Bunkerbarge]

All held together with good old fashioned polystyrene cement.  The best glue for Club 500 builds as it dissolves the surface of the plastic creating a completely fused and welded joint.

[Martin (Admin)]

If Polystyrene then traditional plastic kit glue would do the job. This included a solvent so it welds rather than glues.

If that true, then this should be the stuff!

Amazon: EVO-STIK:  Laybond Gripfill Solvent Free Gap Filling Adhesive Cartridge 350ml For Polystyrene And Foamed PVC
 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laybond-Gripfill-Adhesive-Cartridge-Polystyrene/dp/B07R3QWHDW/ref=sr_1_6?crid=H56WUU74G4MH&keywords=polystyrene+cement&qid=1683711279&sprefix=polystyrene+cement%2Caps%2C358&sr=8-6
 
 

[zooma]

All held together with good old fashioned polystyrene cement.  The best glue for Club 500 builds as it dissolves the surface of the plastic creating a completely fused and welded joint.

I like orange 


What did you use to stick the deck on with?

[Bunkerbarge]

If that true, then this should be the stuff!

Amazon: EVO-STIK:  Laybond Gripfill Solvent Free Gap Filling Adhesive Cartridge 350ml For Polystyrene And Foamed PVC
 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laybond-Gripfill-Adhesive-Cartridge-Polystyrene/dp/B07R3QWHDW/ref=sr_1_6?crid=H56WUU74G4MH&keywords=polystyrene+cement&qid=1683711279&sprefix=polystyrene+cement%2Caps%2C358&sr=8-6

No, that will only hold as a result of excluding air between the adhesive and the plastic but the adhesive will peel away from the plastic.  The clue is in the "Solvent free" bit.  You need to dissolve the surface of the plastic to create a proper plastic to plastic welded bond.


You need a glue that is designed to dissolve polystyrene.  Many of them, such as Plastic Magic, Tamiya Liquid etc, are limited as they are of a very low viscosity so will only be good for bonding surfaces that are flat together.  Revel Contacta is medium viscosity so better and has good control from a fine metal tube.  If you want something that will fill a gap as well, i.e. deck to hull, then you need a thicker polystyrene dissolving glue, such as good old polystyrene cement.

[Bunkerbarge]

I like orange 


What did you use to stick the deck on with?

It says in the quote you included!

[zooma]

It says in the quote you included!

Polystyrene cement gave enough gap filling?


I thought you may have used something in addition to fill the gaps after bonding with the plastic glue.

[Bunkerbarge]

The only glue I used was polystyrene cement on the deck to hull joint.  First I taped the parts together with vertical strips of tape with the boat upside down, then I spotted the joint between the pieces of tape with polystyrene cement.  Left it overnight to totally harden, removed the tape then ran around the joint with a bead of polystyrene cement.  Do not overdo the glue as it can cause ripples in the plastic surface as it dissolves right through.  A couple of lighter runs is better than one very heavy one.  If you don't get a seal then follow up with a fillet of silicone rather than apply too much polystyrene glue and deform the plastic.

[Martin (Admin)]

No, that will only hold as a result of excluding air between the adhesive and the plastic but the adhesive will peel away from the plastic.  The clue is in the "Solvent free" bit.  You need to dissolve the surface of the plastic to create a proper plastic to plastic welded bond.

You need a glue that is designed to dissolve polystyrene.  Many of them, such as Plastic Magic, Tamiya Liquid etc, are limited as they are of a very low viscosity so will only be good for bonding surfaces that are flat together.  Revel Contacta is medium viscosity so better and has good control from a fine metal tube.  If you want something that will fill a gap as well, i.e. deck to hull, then you need a thicker polystyrene dissolving glue, such as good old polystyrene cement.

Cheers BB !   

[Big Ada]

Could that be used as a re-enforcement for the bow?

YES<

[zooma]

My new Club 500 kit has just arrived (via FedEx) so I am looking forward to opening the box and seeing what progress I can make before we go away again with the (small) amount of time left in-between the various jobs around the house and garden that I have to get done first!


Hopefully I can get everything cut out and make a decision about the various adhesive's suggested on this thread and keep half an eye on Martins glue testing to see how he gets on with testing the Liquid Poly and the traditional "plastic kit bashers" tube of polystyrene cement.


From my own kit bashing experience over the last 70 years or so (I started making Airfix kits when I was 4 years old) I have found that the various liquid poly type's vary vastly from being almost ineffective to being really fierce. 


MEK (supplied in a glass bottle for use with a thin brush) was always the best (of the "easy to get") types but maybe there are better types available these days?  I welded the plastic card superstructure of my TID tug together with this stuff and it really melted the joints together very well,  but it is super - thin and has no substantial viscosity, so it does need really good fitting surfaces to work well.


My own experience with Tamiya "Green Top" super-thin liquid poly has also been very good - but maybe these two liquid poly types do not work too well on HIPS  - especially if precision fitting joints can not be achieved and a more viscous (thicker) type would be better (such as the BB recommended Revell type)?


I never noticed much difference between the various branded tubes of plastic cement, but it would still be good to know exactly what brands of plastic tube cement have been used with success on Club 500 kit plastic - as results may vary with the slightly different composition of manufacturers products.


The Revell liquid poly (blue plastic "non-tip" bottle with the thin metal tube applicator) has already been used and worked well, so that one is already "in the bag" 


I would also guess that the prop shaft will need to be epoxied into the hull as no type of plastic adhesive would be the best choice for this particular job?

[Bustergrunt]

This is what I’ve been using for the internal glueing…

[Martin (Admin)]

Today's tests ....





.... results tomorrow.

[Circlip]

' There's only one way to deal with a mole'          


 Clue is in 'Solvent', BB is quite right , Ketone (MEK) (NOT MEKP) is the solvent for Polystyrene. In its raw state you can paint it on with a brush BUT, its viscosity can be modified. Chop some bits of scrap polystyrene up and dissolve in Ketone 'till the thickness suits, it can be thinned down by adding more liquid.
  The guys in the 3D model shop of one firm I worked for made their own 'Glues' for the different types of plastics using the different solvents for whichever type of plastic needing to be joined - in ALL cases a welded joint. MEK, Acetone, Trichlorethylene (Snopake thinners) all used with dissolved base materials. Chopping up the bits makes them dissolve quicker.
 'Nother thing to remember, wash the moulding to get rid of surface greases and scuff the two surfaces to be joined.


  Regards   Ian.

[Martin (Admin)]

Spoiler Alert!

Screwfix, No Nonsense 'Solvent' Grab adhesive was a bust too! ....  pity, it was cheap and has a strong Solvent smell!   
It's grey and has the consistence of toothpaste.

[Martin (Admin)]

Club500 boat build - Round  5 - More Glue tests!   https://youtu.be/VfRNuWb2qQc   

[zooma]

You need to get a trade account with your glue supplier!   

[Martin (Admin)]

You think that's embarrassing !   

[Tug Fanatic]

Martin


When you have found an adhesive that you like you can start to think about what water immersion will do to the bond over time.


If you want to be really sure I would dissolve some of the styrene into a styrene solvent of you choice to make a thick solution (splodge) and attach the parts using that. To fill any gaps you just introduce slivers of the styrene into the gap with more splodge.

[Martin (Admin)]

Yes good point TC.

The experimenting is very interesting as I was hoping to find a suitable 'mastic' type adhesive as it covers all basses
 but I'm probably going to go with 2 part epoxy in the end.

I'm very wary of using a total solvent as any melting or distortions of the hull will be hard to disguise on such a simple boat as the Club500....

Which styrene solvent do you recommend?

M
 
 
 

[Circlip]

Replies #s 81 & 87 spring to mind.


  Regards  Ian.

[ChrisF]

Hi Martin - I think the Soudal would be good for fixing the deck to the hull and the flexibility would be of benefit.

I'd be interested to see how the 3M adhesive that I mentioned performs. Did some reading on 3M adhesives and it sounds as though it would do the job once fully cured.

Chris

[Martin (Admin)]

 
I had high hopes for the Soudal Fix All, but under test, it easily pulled apart and could easily be peeled of the plastic.

See video: https://youtu.be/VfRNuWb2qQc?t=288b

[Tug Fanatic]

Martin

The total solvent that I use is plain old MEK which I was given by a friend but is available cheaply on ebay.

I have never had distortion when using fillets of dissolved styrene in MEK but I would suggest that thin layers are less likely to cause it than thick layers and if there is a gap then building up with scrap styrene in stages reduces it further. How big a gap are you trying to fill?

I guess epoxy will work but I don't really like hard glues on flexible material that will be subject to bending stresses and even more so if I had used it to fill large gaps.

There are so many club 500 models out there that I am surprised by the lack of a definitive answer.

[Martin (Admin)]

There are so many club 500 models out there that I am surprised by the lack of a definitive answer.

Same here!   

[Martin (Admin)]

Not just me it seems!

 HIPS Styrene Experiment which glue should I use? - https://youtu.be/eGflHK6gJ9o