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I have recently discovered the wonderful purple power of Super Clean and its ability to not only strip paint off of metal models, but also dissolve glue.

Does anyone know if this stuff would dissolve glue off of a plastic model? I don't see why it wouldn't, but I want to be sure it won't hurt the integrity of the model. If not, does anyone have any good suggestions for stripping glue off of plastic models?

I've used super clean to strip my plastic models of paint, but it certainly doesn't dissolve the glue. Mind, I don't know what kind of glue it was.

I know Super Clean doesn't dissolve plastic cement, but it may or may not dissolve super glue.

There is no solvent for plastic glue that won't dissolve plastic.

Plastic glue isn't a glue, it's a solvent that welds the pieces together chemically.

There are superglue debonders (acetone, commonly used in nail polish remover) which WILL destroy plastic but there are also non-acetone nail polish removers that shouldn't.

Hrmmm... guess I'll give non-acetone nail polish remove a try then. Any suggested brand that I might want to pick up?

Thank you both for your replies.

The technic i ise is brute force the sand paper treatmen it works great with space marines since they hide very well the bonding marks but i think its useless in any other race

if your using acetone for glue removal try mixing with some soap and hot water, eats through the glue faster that way.

otherwise i've always used brute force and clippers/sand paper.

If you use plastic glue, then you can only use lots of force. Often you'll break the model apart but not where you want to. If you used superglue, just take sterillium (medical desinfectant alcohol). Eats away glue and paint without damaging any model.

sterillium(?) Where i can get that can i get i get it in a pharmacy? or i have to go to a dark alley and ask the toughtest looking thug?

I, too, am curious as to where I could pick this up.

This thread is making me realize I don't want to use plastic glue for my models anymore. Why weld them when superglue will do the job just as well & I'll always have the option of unbinding them in the future should I want to?

If you are using plastic cement, your best bet is a good sharp craft knife, or a jeweler's saw.





On the topic of why you might want to use plastic cement instead of superglue:

First, a carefully bonded plastic cement join is much more secure than superglue. It's not going to fall apart if you drop the model, for instance.
Second, while superglue might allow you to take a model back apart, plastic cement allows you to strip it with Simple Green without having to reglue the whole thing.

It just depends on whether you are more likely to disassemble models, or repaint them.

Also, I use a non-toxic plastic cement, and it has a pleasant citrus odor, rather than the unpleasant chemical odor of many other glues, so that's a bonus to me, as well as not having to worry about gluing my fingers together or anything.

wyrd boy of da naith wrote:sterillium(?) Where i can get that can i get i get it in a pharmacy? or i have to go to a dark alley and ask the toughtest looking thug?

Yep, you can get it at the pharmacy. It's quite costly at first (10 bucks) but you can reuse it many, many times. I've used it to strip metal and plastic models, even a resin model and nothing happened to the models. In many cases, I didn't even need to use a toothbrush cause the paint was literrally flying away! I can only HIGHLY recommend it!

https://dccdn.de/shop.doccheck.com/de/out/1/html/0/dyn_images/z1/bode_sterillium_virugard_410_z1.jpg Now this is a german product but I'm 100% certain that there is some clinical hand desinfectant (mainly alcohol) in other countries as well. If your mum or dad's a doctor, they can easily get it from a hospital for free as well.

Da Butcha wrote:
Also, I use a non-toxic plastic cement, and it has a pleasant citrus odor, rather than the unpleasant chemical odor

So the main reason you use a non-toxic one is because you like the 'pleasant' chemical smell over the unpleasant one? Chemicals are chemicals. There are no more citrus fruits in your glue than there are in mine (the definitely toxic toluene based one).

I use plastic glue because I want my figures to stay the way they are built. I actually take the time to plan HOW I want them to look. Changing your mind every 5 minutes is the mark of a puppy or teenager.

Superglue is mainly for amusement value with teenagers.

Both Superclean and Simplegreen weaken super glue bonds. Simplegreen does it less, but doesn't strip paint as well.

Hans Chung-Otterson wrote:This thread is making me realize I don't want to use plastic glue for my models anymore. Why weld them when superglue will do the job just as well & I'll always have the option of unbinding them in the future should I want to?

I realised that a long time ago. It bonds faster and you can make sure it won't fall off when drying. Also when you make a mistake while glueing you can always fix it easilly. Also no plastic melting is a good thing.

I will often purchase a pre-assembled model on ebay for a kit bash project. (Cheaper in most cases to purchasing an entire kit.) I can usually safely remove parts with super glue de-bonder no matter what type of glue was used, although there is always at least minor damage to the plastic cement applications. This is primarily based on how much glue was used on the joint. On the other hand in some rare cases where I am sure the person who assembled the model was more into sniffing the fumes instead of assembling the model and has glue globed all over the place it is sometimes necessary to cut off the desired parts with a hobby knife. In those cases if I still need a good fit on those parts I will just file and sand, then drill and pin the pieces back in place.
As my preference I have always used super glue to assemble my models. In conjunction with that I drill and pin my minis and models into several subsets for painting purposes, which also strengthens the joins on final assembly. Also super glue works wonders in those situations where you really need to pin two parts together and you do not know where to drill the holes. I just fit the parts together with a tiny dab of superglue then I just drill all the way through both parts. Then a dab of de-bonder releases the super glue and then you add the pin which gives you a perfect fit every time. If this hole will be visible on final construction just fill the hole with green stuff or similar product and sand/file to match.

How long does it take sterrilium to strip a miniature? I couldnt find the sterillium brand alchohol but bought some store brand 80% ethyl alcohol that sterrilium is supposed to be.

Loki77515
2005/11/03 11:53:18 Subject: Plastic Models and Dissolving Super Glue
I have recently discovered the wonderful purple power of Super Clean and its ability to not only strip paint off of metal models, but also dissolve glue.

Does anyone know if this stuff would dissolve glue off of a plastic model? I don't see why it wouldn't, but I want to be sure it won't hurt the integrity of the model. If not, does anyone have any good suggestions for stripping glue off of plastic models?

If you live in the US then super clean is the way to go.
This is a detailed blog post about it and my results
http://warfrog.blogspot.com/2011/08/saving-ebay-finds-part-2.html

I have yet to have super clean damage any type of model

Hans Chung-Otterson wrote:This thread is making me realize I don't want to use plastic glue for my models anymore. Why weld them when superglue will do the job just as well & I'll always have the option of unbinding them in the future should I want to?

because plastic glue spills are easier to control and won't leave your fingers/hands glued to eachother, the desk or your forehead. The welding also creates for a stronger bond. If you are creating something fiddly, it will hold together better than with superglue, which will just snap at the glue point. Metal models are a testament to this.

Mit Gas wrote:If you use plastic glue, then you can only use lots of force. Often you'll break the model apart but not where you want to. If you used superglue, just take sterillium (medical desinfectant alcohol). Eats away glue and paint without damaging any model.

I once heard alcohol stripped paint from plastic models. That squad of RTB01 marines have been sitting in the jar of rubbing alcohol about four years now. Last I checked the paint was still very solid. Maybe my alcohol was too dilute?

Brotherjulian wrote: I once heard alcohol stripped paint from plastic models. That squad of RTB01 marines have been sitting in the jar of rubbing alcohol about four years now. Last I checked the paint was still very solid. Maybe my alcohol was too dilute?

There might be a difference between isopropyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol. I had to hunt to find some ethyl alcohol at a pharmacy here in town. Isopropyl was everywhere else. Nobody knows how long it might take?

Hans Chung-Otterson wrote:Why weld them when superglue will do the job just as well ...

Because superglue doesn't do the job just as well. It does an adequate job, right up until the model suffers any sort of sharp knock or sideways pressure... and then pops right off.

If you're careful with your models, or don't mind reattaching arms on a regular basis, superglue is fine. If you actually want your models to stand up to years of gameplay, plastic glue is a much better option.

Super Clean does breakdown super glue bonds for most CA glues. It can take anywhere from 2 days to a week of soaking depending on how tight the join was and how much glue was used. Tight fitting joins let in less solvent and actually take longer to loosen up.

However- some super glues that are formulated for RC planes or cars that use gas engines- brands like JET, are solvent resistant and dont seem to ever loosen up to superclean or simplegreen soaking.

And- plastic glue is only really better in the hands of a competent modeler. I suggest amateurs stick with super glues for a while so they can go back and fix thier mistakes. Superglue is forgiving in that aspect, plastic glue is not. Ive gotten alot of gimped models that suffered horribly due to clumsy use of plastic glue.

Actually, superlgue DOES hold well, the trick is, you need a good pin-point and the surfaces also need some roughing up so there is something to bond to. After pinning my metal raveners, I have dropped them, and my heart thrust itself into my throat at the misadventure that I KNOW re-assembly and repainting is, but it I picked the model up and it was okay (red terror). Super glue does the job, but It's not worth the hassle where it's not needed, and so reccomend it only for metal models.

besides, getting another models is relatively cheap if youre okay with second hand.

Havent had any problem with superglue not holding my plastic and resin models together.

Is super clean safe on plastic models? This ethyl alcohol isnt working.

So far super clean has been miniature friendly to plastic, metal, and resin.

Sterillium is great for dissolving super glue. Plastic glue is impossible to dissolve, because it basically melts the pieces together.

I will NEVER use plastic glue. I like the ability to break down a fig and redo it with different equipment.

Also, does sterillium work better than super clean at dissolving glue?

More alsos, What's the best way to determine if something was plastic glued? I got some figures from a trade a week or so ago, and the figs have been sitting in super clean. Some figures pop right out, but some infantry simply will NOT come off the bases. I'm starting to think it's a plastic glue job. I've never had a figure refuse to come off the base that was super glued (discounting slotted figs).

I have stripped well over 40,000 points of figs for my self and friends. (I haz ultrasonic cleaner) Super Clean in the cleaner or warmed to about 110-120 degrees F works wonders on glue and is reusable.

You can often tell super glue vs Plastic Cement just by looking at the joint, if not throw it in the cleaner and see what happens.

Can't believe the amount of people in this thread who like to be able to break up their models and put different equipment on them all the time.

It's like those people who respray their marines whenever a new marine codex gets released..