My question is mainly about gluing the really minute PE parts.. especially when the PE part is smaller than the smallest drop of CA glue I can manage to put on there.. but I see pics of small parts like that glued without the slightest trace of excess glue anywhere in sight... I tried using a pin.. a shaved toothpick tip.. thin and thick CA glue, but nothing is working for me... there's always excess glue that oozes from underneath the part... I'd appreciate any tips you guys can give me as to either gluing PE parts to each other, or to plastic surfaces.

Thanks in advance
Hisham

Hisham,

Take a needle, grind down the eye so that you have created a Y.
Chuck the needle into a pin vise so that you have a handle and
viola a CA glue applicator.

Use different size needles and adjust the depth of the Y so that you can
use these to pick up different amounts of glue.

Also, there will always be some overflow....just use the end of a hobby blade
to scrape off the excess.

You can also use very thin wire to pick up very small amounts
of CA.

Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Joe

Hisham,
I usually drill a pin hole or depression that allows me to both apply enough and hide excess.

Hisham,
An old aircraft modeler's trick is to use clear enamel as the adhesive for small parts. Obviously this works best if the part doesn't protrude a long way. Take a lot longer than super glue to dry, but the edges feather in perfectly.

PH

Are you gluing the PE part to the kit or another PE apart? If its the former you can you can glue the part to a very thin sheet of Evergreen 9009 (.005 in) styrene, trim or sand the excess around the part, then glue it to the kit using regular cement. A bonus with this method is it gives you more time to place the part.

For PE to PE I have always gotten good results with just a finely sharpened toothpick and a little dab of ZAP gel.

Take a look at these dedicated super glue applicators. These are for the very thin super glues, that have not been thickened with starch molecules.
http://missing-lynx.com/reviews/other/gluelooperreviewcs_1.html

I'm relatively new to gluing PE parts. But because I'm not particularly skilled yet, I was looking for a way to glue the parts that was more forgiving than CA. From reading review online, I found Gator's Grip glue that is water soluble and yet has decent instant tackiness:

http://www.gatorsmask.com/gatorglueorder1.html

http://www.mmodelstore.com/gg-01.aspx

Because it's water soluble and takes several minutes to fully cure, you can clean up around the part with a microbrush or damp toothpick. If you need a rigid bond for structural support, Gator's Grip may not the right glue to use, but for things like handles on AFV's where a little bit of give in the join is okay (so you don't break off the handle when you accidentally hit it).

I'm still experimenting with ways to get the glue out of the bottle; I'm currently dipping a toothpick into the bottle of glue and transferring a small amount of glue to the depression of a plastic paint pallet. I then use a toothpick I've sharpened with a hobby knife to apply the glue as a dot to the model for small parts such as handles or a microbrush where there is more contact between the PE part and model or other PE part.

This video shows how Gator's Grip can be used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQod75gYZng

And the best part:

If you mess things up, you can remove the part, clean the area with a damp cloth and try again.

Even though I use Gator's Grip instead of CA, this is still sounds like a really good idea. Thanks for the tip.

Hi Hisham
The trace of excess gule can be cleaned using CA gule buster~

When a little CA glue oozes out around the part, I wait about 15 mins and carefully scrape it away with a hobby knife. The glue will be dry but not rock hard and it usually comes away just fine without damaging the joint or the plastic underneath.

For very small parts, or even large flat parts I use pledge floor wax. It gives you plenty of time for positioning and it levels nicely when dry.

for small parts like bolt heads I brush on some flat coat, add the part then a minute later brush on another coat of flat.

Thanks a lot for your tips, guys.. all great ideas to try out.

Mark.. in the video you linked to about the Gator's Grip glue, the guy says the company stopped production for some reason.. do you know if they're producing it again?

Cam.. does it work with either acrylic or enamel flat coat? I use Tamiya acrylic paints.. would their flat clear work?

Thanks again
Hisham

You can also use acetone to clean up the excess. Apply with a q-tip or small brush.

Hi, Hisham! I do EXACTLY what Joe does, and have been doing it this way for years. Believe me, that's THE BEST way to fly with this type of situation. I like to use CLEAR GLOSS with Clear parts...

Hey, Dennis.. I'm assuming that you and Joe are talking about medical needles.. what do you grind them with, and how? I mean, they already have an extremely sharp tip.

Hisham

Hi Hissham,

Sorry I should have been more specific....I meant sewing needles.

You can grind the end with a Dremel and a fine grinding stone or
even a fine file.


Cheers,
Joe

So, what you mean is opening up the "eye" of the needle so you end up with a "Y" shape? I guess that makes sense

Hisham

Yes Hisham: That's what they mean -- not the pointed end. They mean the end with the eye-loop that you'd normally feed with thread. Chop off most of the loop and leave yourself a Y shape.

Hisham,

Also any accumulation of CA that dries at the Y end, can
be burned off with a cigarette lighter and restores the tool.

Cheers,
Joe

Hisham

I have a bottle of Polly Scale flat that I use but I have also used future so I would think that any flat or clear that dries relatively fast would work. I can't get things like the fasteners on the EBR-10 fenders in the exact place on the first try so this gives me some wiggle room.

Great tips here. I've tried Future too which works well when there is at least *some* flat area to make a bond. I've also had some PE so small that when it 'pinged' off the tweezers I had to shrug my shoulders and carry on regardless. (Bronco 25 pounder I'm looking at you!) In any case the parts were so small no one would ever notice, especially when the 25 pounder was inside a Bishop!

So PE I love you but sometimes just too d**n small!

Depending on particular situation I use 3 methods:
*CA with an eye-cut needle as said above
*Tamiya gloss, better than flat because the finish is smoother
*Acrylic resin like this which can be clean with water before it dries.

For positioning very small parts, better than tweezers I use a picker pencil

Carlos... I've seen pics of that picker pencil before and thought about ordering a couple... does it really pick up the parts well and hold them until you place them where you want?

Hisham

Sure... it's kind of wax so for very small parts they do stay at the tip until they touch something more sticky, like varnish or glue.

Anyway for $0,70 with free shipping is worth to try

Moreover, the link is the first that came from eBay, look around and you may get it even cheaper.