What Glue Should I Use?

jd7792

Senior Member
The last time I put a "kit" version of a plane together I used 5 min epoxy. I had to replace the fuselage of a Sky Surfer after a bad "landing"! Anyway that was an awful experience as I was really rushed to beat the glue from drying before I could get it together. At the end I had a couple of gaps that I hid under extreme tape.
When I built my two scratch builts, an F16 and a flying wing I used hot glue and in a couple of places incorporated CF glue and even some hobby spray glue. Both of these worked out very well.
Anyway I have just purchased a Bixler 2 in kit form as I wanted to upgrade all the electronics so I couldn't see the purpose of buying a ARF just to have to pull it apart and end up with a heap of spare parts. Anyway once I am ready to put the two halves together what is the best glue to use? Will hot glue do the job or should I get something like 30min epoxy?
Really keen to hear your thoughts! Thnx in advance!
 

earthsciteach

Moderator
Moderator
Hot glue will work. That's what I used on mine. Plus, its easy to separate by heating if you need to, later. If you are looking for a stronger bond, I really like foaming Gorilla Glue. It is light and crazy strong. But, it can be messy if you use too much of it.
 

FlyingMonkey

Bought Another Trailer
Staff member
Admin
I have had to give up on hot glue for planes I want to fly in the summer. They tend to re-kit themselves while baking in the back of the car under the Florida sun.

I have been using White Gorilla Glue.

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It cures white, and you can just cut off the part that foams out. It dries fast, but not too fast. And it seals it's own gaps.
 

jd7792

Senior Member
I have noticed a lot of people speak about Gorilla glue, but I can't find any one who stocks it in Australia and on EBay the price is crazy, so it's back to the drawing board. I'll keep looking around but I think I'm going to have to revert back to epoxy.
Thnx to all for your help!
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
If you have plenty of time - ordinary white wood glue (aliphatic) works fine on all foams.
It is water based and it looses wieght when it dryes if that is an issue.

CA is fine with bixler type foam.
It will normally not cure to fast on foam. There will be time to adjust and tape the things together.
I am using "baking soda" to accelerate the CA. It makes a hard surface you can sand if you want to make it smooth. Apply the baking soda efter everything is assembled and taped straight.
 

jd7792

Senior Member
If you have plenty of time - ordinary white wood glue (aliphatic) works fine on all foams.
It is water based and it looses wieght when it dryes if that is an issue.

CA is fine with bixler type foam.
It will normally not cure to fast on foam. There will be time to adjust and tape the things together.
I am using "baking soda" to accelerate the CA. It makes a hard surface you can sand if you want to make it smooth. Apply the baking soda efter everything is assembled and taped straight.

Do you use thick, medium or thin CA? Is one better than the others?
When you use the baking soda what do you do? Just sprinkle it over the joint or put it on the CA before putting the pieces together?
 

lobstermash

Propaganda machine
Mentor
For most smaller glue joints I find it hard not to use hot glue. However for joining two halves of a plane together it sets too quickly. You an do 15cm or so at a time, but it's hard to use it sparingly.

5 minute epoxy is alright, as is CA, but if you're like me and the plane is likely to last longer than those glues, PVA is great.

If you use CA, the kicker from HK is addictive. Seriously, it's choc full of lovely smelling amines! But you shouldn't need to use it unless you really overdo the CA.
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
..Just sprinkle it over the joint or put it on the CA before putting the pieces together?
Sprinkle it over the joint after getting everything straight and taped together. Really dont know if thin medium or thick is better. The soda (Sodiumbicarbonate) will get everything hard and you can use it to build up surfaces to sand if needed.

Agree - the smell of almond makes you want to taste the kicker - but baking soda is a lot cheaper ;-)
 

jd7792

Senior Member
Thanks to everyone for your help. I have a lot more ideas and options than I started with, but take it from me if you are putting a plane the size of the Bixler together you need more time than the 5min Epoxy gives. I used it as mentioned and it was impossible to work with properly.
I think I will get some 30 min Epoxy for this job but I am definitely going to try the baking soda idea, that really intrigues me!
 

con244

Senior Member
Hi jd, I have used ca but make sure you get foam safe otherwise it'll eat your plane. I usually use either exterior grade Selley's PVA or SIKA polyurethane glues. Both the products are available at Bunnings. The Selleys product is white and dries clear and can take a bit of moisture, and dries in an hour or so. The SIKA Polyurethane is, I think, similar to the Gorilla product all our American friends use. It is very strong and will rip the foam away before the glue will fail and takes about 6 hours to set. Be aware that it will foam up as it dries and the best way to avoid it foaming out of the joints in an unsightly mess is to put masking tape over the joint to keep the over flow in the joint. For the Bixler fuselage I would probably use the SIKA glue unless you intend to take the fuse apart again.
Con
 

jd7792

Senior Member
Thanks heaps for the info. Nice to hear American products converted to stuff you can buy here at good old Bunnings.
As previously stated I used 5 min epoxy on the last Skysurfer kit and will never do it again! Buy the time you mix it and get it on its half hard, and the plane body is just too big to work with. It flies, crashes and all the other things needed but certainly could look better when you take close looks!
Thnx again got some great feed back and lots to think about.
JD
 

pgerts

Old age member
Mentor
5 minute epoxy is fine for repairs or tiny drops when needed.
Remember that epoxy is dangerous - allergies cancers and so on.
Ca is not very good for your health either...
Both are fine for fast jobs when you need to get back in the air fast.

PA glues are a pain somewhere if you sometime need to repair or need to sand. It is also one of the worst to get rid of from your fingers.
 

aiidanwings

Senior Member
Five minute epoxy doesn't have to be five minute epoxy. With a bit of trial and error, you can adjust the mix to a more flexible cure time.
 

asitterlee

New member
Selleys Kwik Grip Advanced (water based), it's actually made to be used on all types of polystyrene and is quite flexible.
 

gravitysucks

New member
I mix CA, hotglue and epoxi depending on what's going to be glued. But i would like to use hotglue more than I do (it's cheaper and easy to use), but as you mention, it cures too fast. But looking at 'all' the build videos (not only FT) there seems to be no problem with that.

There are at least three types of glue guns. Low heat, medium and hot. There are gluesticks with low and high melting points and there are gluesticks for different materials. Can it be the wrong combination of gun/glue/material that makes it cure too fast?

I started of with a medium temp glue gun and it works ok, it cures to fast (no idea what kind of glue it was). So I bought a state of the art cordless hot glue gun. In my case the Depron I used melted :( So i bought a low temp el cheapo glue gun and got the same results as the medium one.

Are there anyone that has tried different set-ups and know what is best for Depron or foam board ?
 
I have noticed a lot of people speak about Gorilla glue, but I can't find any one who stocks it in Australia and on EBay the price is crazy, so it's back to the drawing board. I'll keep looking around but I think I'm going to have to revert back to epoxy.
Thnx to all for your help!

gorilla glue is a polyurethane glue (PU) made by many manufactures popular in Europe before brought to US. J
ust a trade mark hype
 

Scrammy

Junior Member
Hi huys. I thoght id share my experience with glue on foam over the years..

*CA+kicker are great for some small mending projects on SOME foams. No really my favourite. Sometimes causes the foam to get brittle...

*Hot glue. Great glue. Most of us probably have some experience with this....glueing with hot glue is an art! Not to hot, not to cold....a great hot glue seam can hold for a very long time.

*And my all-time favourite. Wood-glue(outdoor). Im really sorry to say, but i really dont know the chemical specs of it..(Maybe somone else knows?) In Sweden it is sold as glue for wood. Indoor is white and not so strong. Outdoor wood glue is orange/red and is extremely durable!
Apply on the foam, wait 30 minutes. PRESS as hard as you can/dare. Wait about 12 hours and youll have ha a joint that will never go up. It does expand a bit, so beware. If possible, apply force to it as long as i hardens.
Very cheap, and the strongest foam glue ive ever seen. I use it whenever i need some extra reassurance(motor mounts, vings etc.) - and got the time. This, is my favourite glue :)

Hope this helps sombody...