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I hope someone can explain this, because it's plagued me for a long time. It doesn't matter which superglue I use for putting my metal models together, zap a gap, lock tight, etc....it seems like I always reach a point where the glue might as well be water.


It takes it forever to begin working. I was just wondering if anyone else had this experience. And if so, is there anything that can help?

i've tried scrubbing the bits with soap and water before hand and it doesn't seem to make much difference.

The best tip I can give is pinning. Drill into one part you are glueing and stick a short bit of wire in there (paperclips are perfect for this), then drill into the other piece in line (the best way to do this is to blob a bit of paint on the wire, then line them up so you leave a spot of paint where you need to drill) and slot them together. When you glue it makes the whole thing tons stronger. Also, if you just want it to work quicker you can buy various superglue activators, they usually come as sprays, that will make the drying process almost instant.

Yeah, what Greebynog said, get superglue accelerator. Just be careful never to get wet glue on your hands. The accelerator causes a chemical reaction that cures the glue really fast, but also heats up the glue enough to blister skin. I know this from experience (ouch).

You might also go online or to hobby shops and look for medium or thick viscosity glue.These aren't as runny and fill small gaps better.

The current GW superglue seems worse than useless and I always have the same problems with lack of cohesion. I use some revel superglue which does the job well for small or detailed parts, and for larger parts I always use a two-part epoxy glue (araldite usually). That will glue anything together and wont come undone

i use a really runny super glue from my LGS, called javis cyanoacrylate adhesive. it does tend to get every where but sticks really well.

ambient temperature & humidity may also have an effect on your glue

Another note about superglue accelerators is that they'll make the glue more brittle and weaker, and in that instant the glue hardens a puff of smoke will come up (depending on how much glue you used) which you'll not want to breath in.

Couple o' other ideas:

If you're using any kind of Zap (which I prefer) - keep it in the fridge when not in use. I'm no chemist, but I know that a bottle of Zap lasts longer and activates quicker when lightly chilled.

Also, if you're not pinning, scratch some hash marks on each piece of metal to be joined - makes juuuust a lil' bit more surface area for the glue to latch onto, and this way, it never comes glopping out the sides when you press the two pieces together (not that it should glop, but you get my drift...).

Oh, and yeah - kicker/accelerator is to be used sparingly! It definitely makes your glue more brittle, and it's a carcinogen to boot. I know some guys that use that stuff everytime they assemble anything... yikes.

If you want to avoid all this chemical nastiness, I know some people use a tiny bit of water for a similar, but more brittle effect.

Just as an FYI all superglues are CA or cyanoacrylate.

I'm not totally sure what you're asking. Is it an issue of cure time, or of strength in the resulting bond?

If it's an issue of cure time, a lot of the posts here should help, but I can add a bit more. Accelerator is the answer if you can't wait for it to cure. Getting it into place when you're holding two parts already can be tough, though.

One option is to put glue on one side of the bond, accelerator on the other, and slap them together. This will work in a hurry, but it's a real pain if you fumble the assembly, and end up with gaps, or not the angle you wanted, or whatever. It's a good idea to do some test fits first, make sure you're confident it will click into place, then do it.

One thing I do to make this go smoother: I spray a little accelerator on the edge of my workbench. While it's sitting there, giving me cancer, I put the glue on one side, make sure it looks good. Then I take the other part, swipe it over the accelerator laden desk surface, then slap it in place. Saves you the trouble of fumbling with a spray bottle, dousing your whole model and forearm with it when you try to spray just a bit, etc.

Another option, which I use a fair bit, is similar. Spray some accelerator on the bench... But then swipe a wire through it, collect a little bead of accelerator, and apply it right into the glue. This works well when you've got a relatively stable join, maybe you can hold it one handed, but you want it to cure up so you don't have to hold it all day. The main idea here is to get the accelerator to the glue without spraying the whole world down. I have issues with my sprayer, it tends to not spray, not spray, not spray, then I push it a LITTLE harder, and it blasts a half liter of juice over the whole model.

In the end, this whole hobby is just a collection of thousands of little skills that all add up to a toolbox you can draw on to solve problems. Working on different gluing techniques that work for you is just part of the game.

Phryxis wrote:In the end, this whole hobby is just a collection of thousands of little skills that all add up to a toolbox you can draw on to solve problems. Working on different gluing techniques that work for you is just part of the game.

What a lovely sentiment.

Thanks for all the advice so far...


Let me clarify:

When I'm assembling a metal model(s), sometimes I glue a part on and there is no problem, hold it for a about 10 seconds and let go and it's adhered.

Then, sometimes on the same model, I glue another piece on and I may have to hold it for up to a minute or more until the super glue begins to harden enough where you can let go of the piece. it happens on tiny bits as well as large ones. I do pin larger pieces to make the joint more stable or tiny tiny pieces to avoid snapping them off while playing.


My question is: Is there something i'm not doing to the model to avoid the glue problem. I had heard at one time that you should always wash metal parts due to the casting process...i do this alot, but is seems to make no difference whether the part has been washed or not.

My solution without nasty hemical stuff -

scratch the surface - larger surface area, but also no longer a flat surface meaning that there is more sideways friction. your now gluing a slightly 3d space rather than 2d - same as stage lighting and mist for those who understand....

use a medium density glue

if the joins not sticking 'sacrifice' a little glue onto the surface to be joined, let it dry and try again. The dryed glue will give a better surface to bond to, similar to scratching. Heck, do both!

Accelerators - don't bother, water - to akward, my solution - breathe onto the join. Your breth has quite a bit of moisture in it, and as a free bonus is slightly alkaline - causing the same reaction as accelerator, although on a slower speed, but of course this does mean that a bad connection can be recitified.

Pinning also helps. I've been gaming for many years now but rarely actually pin models. Only things that jump to mind are a dragon's tail and my battle knight.

I'm lazy so I'll use greenstuff to hold the mini in place while
the superglue dries. It seems to work quite well when the
greenstuff AND the metal AND the CA glue are all in
contact. Not as good as pinning, but not as annoying either.

Superglue (cyanoacrylate) sets when exposed to moisture. It was originally developed to be a battlefield wound-closure solution, which is why it sticks so well to your fingers. I've seen kickers (accelerants) make the glue go all foamy when you spray it, so be warned of that problem.

For those hard-to-set joints on metal minis (I know what you're talking about), I use patience and my breath. That's right, breath on it. You've got a lot of moisture in your breath, and it helps the glue to set faster. It has the added benefit of not needing a third hand to operate.

Hope this helps!

I am a big fan of pining and green stuff for annoying gaps like that.
Green stuff works really well I find to make certain there is proper contact between the joints. Usually the issue I have with metal is that there is only direct contact at a few points due to the inexactness of the casting. Putting some green stuff in, squishing the peices together and removing the extra before glueing gives you a much more full bodied contact (can't think of a better phrase) to help it stick.

Pins are just the best thing ever for metal models.

if you have superglue on the model and having adhesion problems, perhaps you have too much glue. In fact many people I see using glue are using too much glue. The more glue you have, the longer it takes to cure and the longer it takes to cure completely through.

What happens is the area where to glue contacts the other glue it cures slightly and then you have a pool of uncured glue behind. Thinking the cure is good, you let go and blammo, the piece falls off.

I am not sure if that helps any, but it's a good suggestion nonetheless.