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Ive been using Humbrol liquid poly to glue glue my plastic minis. Arms/heads/all manor of things fall off. Am i doing something wrong? Should i switch to another brand? Any advice at all would be welcome. Cheers.

That stuff only works on plastics so if you're gluing anything other than plastics it's not going to work. Generally, though, most plastic glue and superglue that you can find at hobby stores work pretty well as a whole. You just have to make sure you are getting a glue that works with what you're gluing.

I, personally, have always used and sworn by the MAXI-CURE Extra Thick Superglue from Bob Smith Industries. It works on pretty much everything from plastic, to metal, to resin, to rubber, to fingers (unfortunately). It generally comes in a little clear bottle with a pink label and cap.

Thanks for tip. Any reason for that particular brand? Cheapest? Best? Most readily available?

Are you gluing to bare plastic or trying to glue on primed or painted surfaces? Also, a very little goes a long way.

On BSI CA glue - from what I gather, it's both cheap and effective. Apparently, a number of hobby shops/suppliers even relabel their glue to sell as in-house brands, so it's also not particularly hard to find.

To the OP: Solvent-based plastic cements melt the plastic then evaporate away, leaving the two sides of the joint (that have been squished together, mixing the two liquid surfaces) physically welded together. If properly applied, the joint should be as strong as if molded as a single piece. If the cement isn't faulty, you're likely doing something wrong.

Are you applying paint to the parts before assembly? Thin applications (e.g. a little overspray) generally just get melted along with the plastic in the kit, but it's still foreign matter in the join. Excess paint can seriously weaken plastic glue joins, if they end up taking, at all.

What do the instructions say about application and timing? Some glues can be wicked into the fine seams of parts that are already clamped together. Some are too thick for that, but still work slowly, requiring you to apply them to both surfaces, wait for them to soften, then mate the parts. The amount applied also matters - too much creates a goopy, melty mess. Too little or left too long before mating and the mostly set plastic is only tacky enough to stick the parts together - you can easily peel them back apart. This is probably the most common issue with plastic glue joins, from what I've seen - insufficient solvent present at the time of joining.

What kits are you assembling? Solvent glues are generally intended for specific materials, although they sometimes work on several. Most model kits are made from styrene, so most solvent glues are formulated to act on that material. It's possible to get kits made from other plastics (vinyl, ABS, etc.), though, that the solvent won't act on. Mantic's "restic," Reaper's Bones plastic, etc. require superglue for that very reason. A thick enough plastic glue might tack the parts together without actually creating the intended weld.

How old/well-maintained is you bottle of cement? I don't know what exactly goes into any given plastic glue formulation, but I doubt it's pure solvent. It's possible that an old bottle, especially if left open for extended periods, could still contain liquid after having lost much of its (potentially more volatile) solvent to evaporation.

Finally, how careful are you about the fit of your joins? Like any type of adhesive, more contact area means greater strength.

Onto bare plastic. Assembling Eldar guardians atm in preparation for painting them for a friend. Damn these guardians have lots of parts, well in comparison to the marines i've painted up until this point.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
First i would like to say thanks oadie! Really, you have replied to a few of my newbie problem posts with long, well thought out replies, and i appreciate that. Not to degrade the value of everybody who replies to me. I appreciate the fact that anybody would take out time to help me That being said. To answer a few of your queries. I am applying as per instructions. Apply to both surfaces wait a few seconds press together and hold. I think the applicator brush is too large so I've been using a smaller old paintbrush. Ohh and its a new, well less than 6 months. I think it may be easier to switch to the earlier suggested glue. Especially if i can use it across the board. Cheers.

 BlackOps wrote:
Thanks for tip. Any reason for that particular brand? Cheapest? Best? Most readily available?

No particular reason other than it's what they sell at my hobby shop, it's cheap, and it works really well. I also like it because you can use it for pretty much every material.

For building hard plastic kits, polystyrene cement will always be the preferred choice of adhesive because of its melting and 'welding' attributes.
The thin stuff that you brush on is best used for close-fitting parts, that can 'wick' the cement into the join, so may not be 100% suitable for sticking limbs to bodies, for example, because it's just too thin and runny.
Using a more viscous type of cement such as that sold with the needle type applicator, or even that sold in the tube (if you apply it like filler with a cocktail stick) might solve your problem.
I use the Revell brand, both tube and needle type, because it was bought for me but Humbrol is just as good.

yeah, Ive persevered with the plastic cement for the time being until i get enough time to go to the store. I applied to both surfaces and waited 15-20 seconds before trying to bond them and that seems to be working out much better. Perhaps i wasn't giving the cement enough time to work its magic before bonding. Cheers.

My go to glue for any plastics for many years has been Revell Contacta professional. It comes in a blue plastic container , yellow cap and has a needle like applicator tube. works like a charm , dab a bit on , push the plastics together , several seconds later you can take your fingers awayand be pretty confident in the bond.

I do what ^ does.

Revell contacta pro.

If it is taking too long, you're probably using too much.
The same applies to superglue, actually, too.
(Too much of that is bad).

Humbrol is so good even the GW staff at my local advised it, although for finecast it messed up for me, it was one of the few times i brought GW clue to play it safe, it was well overpriced but worked for finecast. Also anyone know any good metal glue?

For metal and finecast i use GaleForce Nine hobby glue - the glue is great however the bottle it comes in is poop. always getting clogged and lid glued to bottle etc.

Thanks for all the great responses. I'm just going to order Revell Contacta professional for my plastics and BOB SMITH BSI Insta-Cure Gap Filling Super Glue for everything else. Cheers.

Also, for really heavy metal joints, I use JB Kwik 5 minute epoxy along with a nice pinned joint.