"hotness" of plastic glues?

[amrogers3]

I understand some of the liquid glues for plastic are hotter than others and melt plastic at a faster rate. Trying to find a comparison of Plastiweld, Tenax, etc.

I am trying to find a brand that is not so hot as I am discovering my seams are forming a valley when I apply the liquid weld glue. I think I am using Plast-I-weld, the same guys who make the Touch-n-flow applicator which I also use to apply the glue sparingly.

[EVApodman]

Tenax is a very hot glue. Testors liquid is milder and I prefer to use it for my modeling. i have no experience with MEK type glue or one made fro use with ABS plastic which is similar to but different to styrene and regular plastic cement won't work as well with it.

[MillenniumFalsehood]

One of my favorite go-to "low-temp" welders is actually lacquer thinner. This stuff is amazing because it'll bond small parts without liquifying them like Tenax. I like to use it when welding thin styrene strips and tiny kit parts because there's no risk of it marring the sharp edges and it evaporates very quickly, making it set much faster than "hot" welders. You can sand the joint within seconds of bonding. You do sometimes have to do more than one application if it evaporated before properly liquifying the plastic, but it will weld the part just fine.

[SpaceRanger1]

FineScale Modeler did a glue review a while back, but i don't remember which issue it was in.

[Kylwell]

Tenax, which is no longer available, is about as hot as Plast-i-weld in my experience. It's about middle as the liquid glues go. Tamiya is less hot, Weld-on is hotter. There are people who will mix 50-50 Tamiya extra thin & Plast-i-Weld to get a happy medium. Gunze also makes liquid glues and their Limonene is non-toxic and works. They also have Mr. Cement, Mr. CementS, Mr. CementSP, and Mr. Cement Deluxe. Other than having varying levels of hotness I have no idea of the difference.

Lacquer thinner is largely acetone, which is actually less toxic than the chemicals found in most liquid glues. It also flashes off very quickly.

[naoto]

Lacquer thinner is largely acetone, which is actually less toxic than the chemicals found in most liquid glues. It also flashes off very quickly.

IIRC the active ingredient in nail polish remover is acetone.