UV-activated glue?

MillenniumFalsehood · Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:07 pm

I saw this on How It's Made and I thought this stuff would be good for gluing canopies. I do have some questions about it:

Is it expensive?
Does it cure fast or slow?
Does it work well or poorly on styrene or resins?
Are there any particular advantages to using this glue?
Are there any disadvantages?

Kylwell · Post by **Kylwell** » Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:16 pm

You'll have to do some research:

http://www.norlandprod.com/adhesives.html
http://www.parsonadhesives.com/parlite/ ... esives.htm

NNYGamer · Post by **NNYGamer** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:27 am

I want voice activated glue, you hold the parts together and say "dry" (or set or cure etc.)

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:44 am

Tamiya has a UV curing putty that would work as a gle, except that it's yellow when cured.

What's wrong with PVA, or better yet, Eatch crystal cement? This stuff is next to invisible when cured.

Another option would be Gator-Grip - it's a type of PVA that is much stickier right out of the bottle.

naoto · Post by **naoto** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 12:32 pm

NNYGamer wrote:I want voice activated glue, you hold the parts together and say "dry" (or set or cure etc.)

What would also be handy is voice-command activation would allow for de-bonding too... That way you could say "release" and it would de-bond. Of course, this might not be good adhesive to use for costume worn by a cosplayer dressing up as Sakura Kinomoto...

And what about with vice-activated glue? The problem of course would be that it would probably set off even before we have a chance to use it?

MillenniumFalsehood · Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:07 pm

PVA doesn't stick well enough to suit me. I've had more than one canopy or window become permanently entrapped in a model which required major surgery to extract, which has had the effect of permanently putting me off of PVA glues for plastic modeling of any kind.

I mainly want the UV glue because I want a near-instant cure for precision joints.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:22 am

MillenniumFalsehood wrote: I mainly want the UV glue because I want a near-instant cure for precision joints.

It's not instant - it takes about 5 minutes in strong sunlight to harden and about 10 minutes under a UV light source, 15 - 20 under a fluorescent bulb. The Tamiya putty cures to a light yellow.

There's a UV setting car repair putty made by Bondo - It's in another thread - it may be worth trying.

MillenniumFalsehood · Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:49 pm

Really? Are you sure it's the glue? The type used on HiM set in about five seconds under a strong UV source. Well, it was strong enough to handle. Probably not set, but it was . . . 'stiff'.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Tue Nov 10, 2009 12:11 am

MillenniumFalsehood wrote:Really? Are you sure it's the glue? The type used on HiM set in about five seconds under a strong UV source. Well, it was strong enough to handle. Probably not set, but it was . . . 'stiff'.

The Tamiya putty takes a while to cure. It may form a skin, but will have soft spots underneath (discovered by poking it every few seconds while out on the balcony - "Is it cured? No. Is it cured? No. How about now? Nope...."

The stuff dentists use does set in seconds. This company makes a UV setting adhesive that sets in seconds and cures in minutes. Endmund Optics (used to be Edmund Scientific) sells it - expensive stuff ($25/oz)

MillenniumFalsehood · Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:25 am

Well, I guess if I only use it for cockpit canopies, as I plan to do, $25 an ounce may go a long way.

macfrank · Post by **macfrank** » Mon Nov 16, 2009 1:59 pm

MillenniumFalsehood wrote:Well, I guess if I only use it for cockpit canopies, as I plan to do, $25 an ounce may go a long way. :oops:

You should try the Watch Crystal cement first - it's cheap, lasts forever, crystal clear and holds firmly almost as soon as the two surfaces are pressed together.