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I just got a large mess of IG infantry from a friend of mine. 100 Guardsmen in one plastic container. The problem is, a little glue bottle exploded in there, making a ridiculous mess of things. The glue has hardened so handling them is not much of a problem anymore. However, several Guardsmen are stuck together and if I try to force them apart, they'll end up being looking like as if they got hit by a krak grenade. Any ideas how to handle this situation?

Well, leaving them in Nail Polish remover overnight should deal with the glue, however, the models which have been glued together may be a bit of a lost cause.

You never know what a bit of greenstuff and patience can make however!

Iranna.

What kind of glue is the most important part of these threads which always seems to be missing.

If it is plastic glue - you are a good bit FUBAR. Nothing really to deal with plastic glue in this situation, I would recommend taking up a Chaos Guard army or something along those lines.

All other glues can be handled in pretty much the same way you remove paint - as well as freezing them or using an ultrasonic cleaner.

The vast majority of paint removal methods will remove glue just as well as they remove paint, so the various things like Simple Green, oven cleaner, brake fluid, alcohol, acetone - they will all work to varying degrees whether it is epoxy, super glue or some other substance which isn't solvent based.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Keep in mind though, the same rules for stripping apply for degluing. Not everything is safe for all materials. Acetone in particular can make a mess out of plastics.

The glue is named Zap-a-gap.... this is..... plastic.... glue.... right?


BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD

What sort of glue? If it's PVA (white/wood) glue, you should be able to cut, pry, and peel them free without damage. If it's plastic cement, they'll be physically fused into a blob, so they'll need to be physically cut/sawed apart (whether that means whole models or bits and pieces depends on their position and your skill). If it's CA (super-) glue, they can likely be separated, with a bit of work and patience (popping them in the freezer for a while will make the glue extra brittle, helping you pry the parts free without mangling them), but the buildup of glue on their surface will likely render them useless.

If you can't separate them, a tangled mass of Guardsmen might make for a decent Tyranid objective/terrain piece. Sink them in some tinted resin and you've got yourself one nasty digestion pool.

Zap a gap is superglue.

Whilst it CAN be used on plastic, it is NOT a 'plastic glue'. It's rather brittle (because ALL superglues except the rubberised ones are) and responds badly to freezing.

'Plastic glues' weld the plastic together into a new single piece and no solvent can dissolve that bond without destroying the plastic.

So my best option is to freeze it?

 Diesel Stradin wrote:
So my best option is to freeze it?

That is the best place to start. Freezing doesn't actually risk much of anything and it is minimal effort. Stick it in a zip lock bag and throw it in the freezer over night. The next day, give it a firm "thwap" with your finger like you were attempting to get someone's attention, and 9 out of 10 glue joints will fail.

After that in order of effort, I would rate an ultrasonic cleaner/jewelry cleaner and finally paint stripper (oven cleaner or Super Clean being my tool of choice).

Once they are separated you can generally brush the glue residue off with a stiff tooth brush.

Go to the Dollar Store and get a big bottle of LA Awesome and let it soak in that overnight. It "should" brake down most of the glue to a point where you could tooth brush it off.

You should try soaking the models in simple green CONCENTRATED, mind you for 2 days and run them under hot water, then gently pry them apart under hot water (And any paint will come off too)

So my options are (and I'll try them in this order):

1. Freezing
2. LA Awesome
3. Simple Green

Alright, gimme a week and I'll tell you how it went. If anyone is interested, I can post pics and stuff to so others will benefit from this.