Priller13 (Login PRILLER13) HyperScale Forums from IP address 74.83.168.146
Does anyone have a good method for "ungluing" solvent based glue joints? I am attempting to restore some old kits and particularly need to seperate the fuselage halves so that the cockpits and interiors can be repainted. Seams were glued with Testors liquid cement or MEK allowing capilary action to join the entire length. Any advice would be appreciated.
Those types of glue melt the plastic, fusing the two halves together. Unless you can carefully apply pressure to break the joint, the only other option is to cut/saw/slice. It's not like there's plastic > plastic. It's just plastic >>
... is what you will need. Per the prior post you will need to "cut" the joint. I used a #19 blade at the cockpit area to start the cut. Work your blade into the seam and slowly make the cut. With a sharp blade it will be easy - change the blade to a new one when you get resistance. You need to be careful and take your time as you "slice the halves apart. Good luck.
When I need to debond assemblies which I have glued with the old Testor's tube and liquid glues I run a bit of superglue accelerator along the seem. After letting sit a while, I then carefully use a knife blade to split the seam. The accelerator weakens the bond making it easier to separate parts. This works pretty well for me.
I am nowhere near an expert on such matters; however, I recently got a 'mostly' built kit from a friend who didn't want to finish it. I'm not sure what adhesive he used, but I'm almost certain it was a liquid similar to the Testors or Tamiya items.
In any case, I applied some Tamiya Extra Thin liquid cement with its brush applicator along the join lines, and was able to 'disassemble' the items in the bomb bay, a gun turret assembly, the engine nacelles/cowling joins, the rudders/elevators assembly to fuselage join, and some other joints. I did insert a #11 blade into some of the softened joins and applied a little twisting effort, and repeated the glue application occasionally, but it mostly did a good job of getting the parts 'apart'. Granted, the kit wasn't years old, only being assembled a few weeks before I got it. If your project is not extremely valuable, it may be worth a shot.
Posting or replying to messages on Plane Talking requires visitors to register:
First you will need to register with Network 54, the Forum provider. Click here to register with Network 54. (If you already have a Network 54 Login you can go straight to the next step)
Your user name and password will give you full posting privileges to all of HyperScale Forums.
Please note the following conditions of posting:
All contributions are welcome but please refrain from political or abusive comments, racially or religiously offensive remarks, swearing (including the thin disguising of swear words with asterisks and other characters), insulting language and crude metaphors. Please do not use Plane Talking as a public platform to complain about retailers or manufacturers (about issues such as broken or missing parts) before you have followed all normal channels to resolve any greivance. Plane Talking is not the place to conduct personal feuds or for posting personal attacks. Please do not post in capital letters only, as this is considered to be shouting and therefore impolite. Also, please do not post in 'texting message' word format. Any posts breaching these guidelines will promptly be removed from the server and the offender may be excluded from further posting to the HyperScale Forums. Off-topic posts may also be removed from the server.
In addition, Plane Talking is not a forum for the public criticism of the models that appear as Galleries or Articles. Please make any suggestions for improvements or criticism direct to the author via the email link at the bottom of the Article.
Finally, please note that this Discussion Group is privately operated and that I reserve the right to delete any post or cancel any registration for any reason whatsoever.