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A friend suggested I leave my firewarrior arms/arm off so I can paint the chest easier, same goes for the pathfinders. Do I need to mask off the arm sockets or can I glue over them?

You don't have to worry about masking off the connection points. Super glue will stick to the paint as well as it will to the bare plastic.

If you really want, you can go back with an exacto and shave off the paint on the affected areas when you are about to glue the model together, but that is kinda overkill imo.

Superglue will stick to paint as well as it will to bare plastic, but paint won't stick as well as superglue. When you glue without clearing the mating surfaces, be they metal, plastic, or resin, you're relying on the paint's adhesive strength, alone (weakest link in the chain, so to speak, regardless of what glue you use), which means the joint will never be particularly strong. Best to mask them off before spraying or scrape them clean afterward - either method takes no more than a minute and either a blob of poster tack or a hobby knife/file/sandpaper, respectively.

The other option is gently rub a round file along the area and then use plastic glue.

Put a small drop of white glue in the sockets and a small drop on the opposing surfaces. When you are ready to assemble, the glue will pop right off with a little bit of pressure from a knife.

Spend the extra time in prep and use a small ball of blu tac to mask the join areas of the arms and torso. It's the safest bet.

I've had accidental slips when I tried the file/xacto score the paint off method. For plastic, I've had success with Model Master plastic glue going through thin layers of paint. Not so for the old Citadel plastic glue.

oadie wrote:Superglue will stick to paint as well as it will to bare plastic, but paint won't stick as well as superglue. When you glue without clearing the mating surfaces, be they metal, plastic, or resin, you're relying on the paint's adhesive strength, alone (weakest link in the chain, so to speak, regardless of what glue you use), which means the joint will never be particularly strong. Best to mask them off before spraying or scrape them clean afterward - either method takes no more than a minute and either a blob of poster tack or a hobby knife/file/sandpaper, respectively.

I've got some poster Tac, I'll try that our, thanks.

Ifurita wrote:Put a small drop of white glue in the sockets and a small drop on the opposing surfaces. When you are ready to assemble, the glue will pop right off with a little bit of pressure from a knife.

Does the white glue leave any residue?

Also, should I wipe the pewter models down with anything? Like rubbing alcohol, or blast them with some break cleaner? I've been scoring the mating pieces with my knife to give the super glue some more bonding area, and I just bought some "Zap-a-gap" and some Locktite "gel" super glue.