TIPS & TECHNIQUES

ADHESIVES

    The question always asked lately is "what kind of glue did you use?" This article will cover some of the glues that seem to work well in various situations in our outdoor garden train world.  Almost all of the adhesives described are surface adherents, they work by sticking to a surface, not penetrating the surface. Therefore for these adhesives to work, the surface to be bonded must generally be dry and free of rust, oil grease, dirt or previous glues. The most important thing is to follow the instructions that came with the adhesive, as they were written by people who have proper knowledge of the product.  By doing so you will be satisfied with the results.

    Tite-Bond II  is a yellow wood glue that is basically waterproof when dry.  It can be thinned with water. It takes time to set up and requires some clamping if used on buildings. I have used it to glue down ballast with reasonable success.  It does not do well in standing water even after it has set up and dried.

    Silicone is often used to glue plastic buildings together for use outdoors. It is pretty much water and weather resistant, and will allow the buildings to expand and contract with temperature due to its retained elasticity. Goop is actually a silicone based adhesive, and Marine Goop is probably the best, since it contains a UV inhibitor so that sunlight does not destroy it outdoors, and of course it is waterproof.

   Epoxy glues usually come in two parts that must be mixed before they can be used.  They comes in various setting times, with my favorite being 10 minute epoxy. Plastic Weld is a type of epoxy that works well with plastics.  It doesn't react to the plastic, it fills gaps, and can be sanded when cured. This is one of the strongest adhesives that is on the market. The downside of epoxy is that you have to keep mixing the two parts as you work and need more glue.

   Model glues. These work well with plastic models that will not be handled, moved or used outside. This stuff comes in many of our building kits (Piko/Pola?).  It works well for assembling buildings for indoor use, but will not hold up outside.  If you use it outside, your buildings will begin to fall apart once the sun hits them.

    CA cements (super glues) work well where there are no gaps to fill between the pieces being joined. It bonds very quickly and permanently. Zap-a-Gap is a CA that fills gaps in irregular surfaces.  If you want to get the adhesive to set up faster, you can buy a "kicker" which is applied to one side of your joint. This is instant bond with no chance of repositioning your part. Any of these glues will frost clear plastic, so do not use them to glue windows in place in either buildings or rolling stock.  One of my favorite CA's is distributed by a company in Palmetto, Florida, and is called Sinbad. This is usually sold at train shows or can be ordered on line.  This is the original industrial strength CA which is not sold in hobby shops. Without a "kicker" it bonds in 2 minutes, and cures in 24 hours.  The company also offers a gap filler for irregular surfaces, and a gel version is available.  The company claims that their adhesive bonds, metal, rubber, vinyl, glass, plastic, wood, leather, stone, cork, and canvas. It also glues fingers so keep some of their De-Bond handy. This is much more powerful than your average "super glue".

   Creativ' Craft Glues This is a series of adhesives that is available at Michaels. They have a glue that works on plastics, one for wood, one for ceramics, and one for styrofoam.  I have used both the plastic and wood types and have been very happy with them. They are easy to use, and dry quickly. I would not recommend them for stuff left out in the sun and weather, but they worked well for gluing parts to locomotives and rolling stock, and I also used the wood version to build a station platform, and add a wooden deck to a flat car. The plastic glue works real well with setting windows in buildings and rolling stock. It does not react with the clear plastic.

    Remember, use the adhesive that will work best with your project. There not a "one size fits all" solution when it comes to glue and adhesives.  I have each of these in my cabinet, and use them for specific applications with excellent results.