CA question

[Santacarl]

Hello All,

As I continue to read up and study I notice that Mike Ashley in his book "Inside Building & Detailing Model SHips" recommends the purchase of Duro super glue in both the blue and white tube. Throughout the book I see many references to recommendations to use the white tube superglue but I can't recall seeing a single use of the blue tube.

I went out today and stopped at 5 places and could only find blue tube.

Can anyone tell me what the difference is between the blue and white tubes? Is this a viscosity issue?

Is there a similar product to Duro white tube in another brand (Krazy....Gorilla)?

Thanks....This CA approach is new for me so I'm trying not to end up with a mess on my kit.....

[robertmelvin]

Santacarl, my experience has been that CA is CA, with very little if any differences across the board. I personally use the Insta-Cure brand. It comes in three thicknesses, from thin to quite thick. The thicker the glue, the longer the setting time. I find that their "gap filling" thickness is generally about the most useful, with the thin being good for things like railings where you want good capillary action. And, the gap filling thickness is generally great for just that - filling gaps. I've heard some good things about Gorilla Glue brand CA, but haven't tried it myself. To me the stuff seems to be pretty much all the same, with each person having his own personal preferences for various reasons.

Bob Melvin

[Santacarl]

Santacarl, my experience has been that CA is CA, with very little if any differences across the board. I personally use the Insta-Cure brand. It comes in three thicknesses, from thin to quite thick. The thicker the glue, the longer the setting time. I find that their "gap filling" thickness is generally about the most useful, with the thin being good for things like railings where you want good capillary action. And, the gap filling thickness is generally great for just that - filling gaps. I've heard some good things about Gorilla Glue brand CA, but haven't tried it myself. To me the stuff seems to be pretty much all the same, with each person having his own personal preferences for various reasons.

Bob Melvin

Thanks Bob,

I was tracking pretty much along the lines you spoke of....I just wondered about the difference that was mentioned in the book. I think, like you, that CA is pretty much CA..... I just wanted to make sure I was following which viscosity he was recommending in the book....as he never quite gets around to explaining what white vs blue tubes are..... I figure the white must be pretty thin stuff because he references capillary action a couple of times when he says white tube...

As you can probably tell....I spend a lot of time researching.....I'm a firm beliver in the old carpenter philosophy of "measure twice cut once".....Only in my case it's probably closer to 4 to 1....

I have 3 different thicknesses to choose from in the 'supply bin'.....I thought to go out and get some of what he recommended in the book and check to see the comparability to the ones I have on hand. Just couldn't find the white tube stuff to make the comparison on.

Your comment on "gap fill" was helpful in forming a mental image....

I am still struggling with a trust factor on using a capillary application along a seam......Over the years I had become quite adept at using Testors thin for that purpose.....I have these visions of superglue residue all along the seam......that I have to try and remove...... Haven't had to worry about that with my old Testors since I long ago mastered that trick.....

[Santacarl]

UPDATE:
Okay....I went back through the book (not a small task looking through 110 or so pages for about 3 words ) and found where Mike defined blue as a gel. So, I'm assuming, based on other comments about white and capillary, that the white tube he refers to is thin...

Guess I blew past that on my first read through....note to self.....take notes!

[robertmelvin]

A suggestion on using the thin CA. You can get really fine teflon applicators that fit over top of the bottle (at least the Insta-Cure bottle) and come in various lengths. I've used these to apply thin CA to seams with none of the flooding problem you talk about. Some really talented folks here actually make their own using stretched sprue! If you put something like "applying thin CA" in the search line you can probably find some posts on this. You can also get a tool called a "Touch-N-Flow" which is a long thin glass tube with a hollow needle tip like a syringe to apply thin CA along seams as well. The teflon applicators and, I expect, the Touch-N-Flow, works well on attaching railings as well as seams.

I've used the teflon applicators as I said and after using them you can clean them up like new by leaving them, covered of course - I use saran wrap over a shallow metal bowl - soaking over night in enough acetone to cover them. Next morning take them out, blow through the large end to get rid of a tiny amount of excess acetone and you are good as new. Just remember, blow!

Bob Melvin

[Santacarl]

A suggestion on using the thin CA. You can get really fine teflon applicators that fit over top of the bottle (at least the Insta-Cure bottle) and come in various lengths. I've used these to apply thin CA to seams with none of the flooding problem you talk about. Some really talented folks here actually make their own using stretched sprue! If you put something like "applying thin CA" in the search line you can probably find some posts on this. You can also get a tool called a "Touch-N-Flow" which is a long thin glass tube with a hollow needle tip like a syringe to apply thin CA along seams as well. The teflon applicators and, I expect, the Touch-N-Flow, works well on attaching railings as well as seams.

I've used the teflon applicators as I said and after using them you can clean them up like new by leaving them, covered of course - I use saran wrap over a shallow metal bowl - soaking over night in enough acetone to cover them. Next morning take them out, blow through the large end to get rid of a tiny amount of excess acetone and you are good as new. Just remember, blow!

Bob Melvin

Great tips Bob....thanks..... Sometimes I hate the learning curve that comes with new techniques....but taking time to absorb them usually pays off I've found.....

[robertmelvin]

Hope I was able to be of some genuine help. Let me know how it works out for you.

Bob Melvin

[MatthewB]

How did I miss this thread.

I remember when Radio Controlled airplane construction (the balsa-wood variety) shifted from using the Testers Wood Glues (which were incredibly volatile) to using CA.

We went from taking weeks to build up an airframe to being able to do so in a day (and the CA was WAY Lighter than the wood glue (and stronger, too, since it penetrated into the joint).

We had a guy use a fuselage once as a baseball bat to show how strong it was. (true, it was a big .80 powered pattern airplane with a box fuselage, but it was still impressive).

I was one of the first adopters of CA in Wood R/C Aircraft.

But I seem to be resisting this same shift in plastic models, even though it would seem to make more sense.

I just bought some detail applicators (but not the long thin teflon capillary applicators - they were out, and I was too impatient to buy online).

I will try out CA on one of my older Japanese destroyer kits (I should have used it on the 1980s Hasegawa Fuso), to get a feel for it.

I wish they made an opaque superglue/CA, so that when filling seams, you could see that the seam was completely filled.

But this thread has been useful in helping me to make the leap.

MB