Glue for paper kits (suggestions)

[bc6]

I'm not sure if this is deserving of its own post but Ive been disappointed with my current glue situation for paper kits  and I've been really interested in this conversation and decide to go glue shopping lol. I did some research on glues (not much) but enough I think. I used to use good old Elmer's glue which is ok but it use not precise enough for me and I wanted more. I came to the conclusion to buy a tube of Tombow Aqua Glue which is a permanent glue that has some flexibility to it I think 5 seconds or so. It has two applicators on it a fine and wide applicator and it's refillable and good for cardboard those features check a lot of boxes for me. I'm expecting it next week and I'll post my thoughts on it. I'm also looking at a glue pen that Tombow and others offer as a gluing solution. There's a link below if you're interested in the glue.

 

 

 

https://www.tombowusa.com/mono-aqua-liquid-glue.html?srsltid=AfmBOopa-Rlhr5QrLs843n0L-b6QxA3wdqYo2P1rrjwWXq17cRq9Qh52

Edited December 14 by bc6

[cteno4]

Interesting, just ordered the aqua and multi off of amazon to try. Glues are an eternal search for the best for each particular application.

 

Most have found Arleen’s tacky glue and tamya craft bond work best with sankei and other paper kits. They are PVA based glues but don’t tend to soak into papers as much as other PVA glues can. They also seem to dry just a tad softer than regular PVA glues do. Elmers and many PVA wood glues can dry very hard. I did a test on Todd’s corrugated cardboard Ttrak module to put PVA wood glue in the corrugating holes along the edges to see how well they would stiffen all the edges and man it came out like a very hard plastic! The flexibility I think makes the Arleen’s and Tamiya glues a tad more forgiving in a paper/cardboard situation where things may bend a bit here and there. 
 

Personally I like the Arleen’s tacky glue the best, it’s thicker so less water in it to penetrate any paper/cardboard and potentially warp it and it starts out very sticky to positioning things is easier than thinner PVA glues which can slide around more. Thickness also means it doesn’t tend to squeeze out joints a lot. They sell it in little pen applicators for the Arlene’s and the tamiya comes only in a pen applicator I think.

 

ive also used the organic solvent based model wood glues for some parts in paper/cardboard construction. Works well in situations you don’t want any moisture or warping. But it’s messy stuff to apply and does not dry totally clear, sort of leaves a darker tone on any visible bits on joints or surfaces.

 

We also have a topic on glues in general as well here:

 

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[bc6]

I'm familiar with people using Aleene’s. tacky glue and when I did my research that brand didn't come up for some reason. I wish Aleene’s. would have purchased a bottle of it. Hopefully when the Tombow Mono Aqua does show up it'll be a good alternative to Elmer's glue.

 

Thanks for linking the Glues thread which I will check out.

 

The video below although not N scale, offers lots of references to gluing and assembly of paper kits.

 

 

Edited Thursday at 01:59 AM by bc6

[cteno4]

Arleen’s and Tamiya are about the same in practice. Again I just like the Arleen’s as it’s a bit thicker and tackier. But that also means it’s hard to spread over larger surfaces. Good thing about Arleen’s in the us is it’s just about where ever crafts are sold. Michaels always has it, Amazon, etc.

 

If you like those little applicators they are dental applicators and you can find them on Aliexpress or ebay for a couple of bucks for a 100. Hobby shop had them repackaged like 10 for $5 as microbrushes. Like 5 different head types to choose from for the job. Also work for cleaning nooks and crannies and doing lubing.

 

Enjoy your kits, I find sankei kits very zen and satisfying to build.

 

jeff

[brill27mcb]

Do you mean Aleene's Tacky Glue instead of Arleen's? That might help your search...

 

Rich K.

[bill937ca]

A quick video where the author seems to use Tamiya glue.

 

 

[cteno4]

1 hour ago, brill27mcb said:

Do you mean Aleene's Tacky Glue instead of Arleen's? That might help your search...

 

Rich K.

Sorry I’m dyslexic, both words look identical to me at a glance! Also may have just been the auto correct on how I dyslexicly typed it.

 

It’s Aleene’s.

 

It’s mainly North America I think. You can find it on Amazon.co.jp, but it’s like 4x more expensive than in North America so I expect import and tamiya of course easily and cheaply available in Japan. Pretty much same stuff, Aleene’s is just a tad thicker/stickier when using. Both seem to end up with the same bond in my use.

 

jeff

[bc6]

Today, I had the strangest coincidence. I went to my local 99-cent store for a birthday card and wound up in the arts and crafts section. I looked around and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw bottles of Aleenes Tacky Glue front and center. Needless to say I picked up four bottles for $1.25 each what a Christmas miracle, lol. 

 

Edited yesterday at 01:08 AM by bc6

[cteno4]

Yes forgot to mention it does turn up in small bottles at dollar stores! Also look as they sometimes have small bottles of the various finishes of mod podge (ie gloss, satin, matte) that are handy for scenery or other building stuff.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

So my Tombow mono aqua glue and mono multi glue showed up in an Amazon order today. I am super impressed by their applicator bottles! Very nice screw on locking caps and two applicators a small point applicator on one end and a wide silicon spreader on the other end. 
 

So I cut up the cardboard backing from the one bottle and chopped it up to do some really fast tests. Both sides of the chipboard is cover with usually packaging printing ink so not bare chipboard, but closer to sankei laserboard than bare chipboard. I tried gluing two small squares, one with 4 small dots to attach to bigger piece and the other with a spread across the square and did this with both glues.

 

Both applied easily. The aqua is a clear glue, no organic solvent smells and water soluble. The multi glue looks like PVA glue, but after drying I doubt it is or it has other stuff in it.

 

Aqua Results

glue spread well and with pressure tended to slide around a bit. The tackyness was not great and the square could be moved around for quite a while easily. Once dry the glue stays clear, but does not dry super hard like a PVA glue, but a bit more flexible. I let it cure for about 4 hrs and tried to peal things off. Both the full spread and the 4 dot squares popped off the base cardboard pretty easily. It’s not a really perminent glue to the inked surface of the cardboard. I’ll try with non printed chipboard and some sankei waste pieces, but from this first test result I don’t think I’m using it for lasercut kit assembly. It may be useful as a water soluble alternative to e6000 glue that is organic solvent based for things you want to tack together but easily pop apart later.

 

Multi Results

the glue spread well and was very slippery with pressure. Pieces could be moved around easily for quite a while after being pushed together well. Once dry the glue was clear, but it remained very tack 6 hrs out. It’s very flexible once set and when I tried to pull the pieces apart the glue was very sticky and stringy, almost like a rubber cement. Again I’ll try some further tests, but because of the tackyness that seems to stay it’s not great for kits and I fear will just attract and hold dust with time.

 

Interesting new glues, but I won’t be using them on lasercut kits, I’ll stick with the aleene’s tacky glue. 
 

But their applicators are so nice I may transfers the tombow glues into needle bottles I have and try aleene’s glue in the tombow applicator!

 

jeff

[bc6]

 Thanks for the review Jeff I had high hopes for the Tombow Aqua glue. Well at least I got some Aleenes Original Tacky Glue. I did experiment a little with the Aqua on paper and it stuck just like the white stuff does. I'm going to try it out on some cardboard scraps and see how it works out.

[cteno4]

The sankei laserboard has a lot of resin in it (what makes it so hard and stiff) and it doesn’t behave like regular cardboards/chipboars, it’s a bit more plastic like and moisture resistant. Experiment on some of the edge scraps on one of your sankei kits. Other laser cut kits use more normal chipboards that will be have like regular, uncoated cardboard. I just did a test with the tacky glue on the same printed/coated chipboard I did the tombow glues to see how it directly compares.

 

jeff

[bc6]

Oh very interesting, I didn't know Sankei kits had resin in it and affected how the glue worked. I will work on some scraps and see how they react to the Tombow glue thanks again. I agree with you on the applicator on the Tombow Aqua Mono bottle is nice and I like it a lot and being refillable is another plus. In my search for glue I was drawn to this glue bottle which may be of interest to you. 

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NDJ64MG/ref=ewc_pr_img_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Edited 13 hours ago by bc6

[cteno4]

Thanks, I have a ton of little needle bottle applicators and ones you can attach what ever gauge hypodermic needles to. I love applicator bottles! I even use them for things like cooking oils (like sesame) that are strong flavored and fancy soy sauce to be able to put it into cooking a drop at a time.

 

jeff

[tossedman]

I've used Tamiya Craft Bond with good results. Comes in a bottle with a narrow tip and it's easy to apply small dots of glue. It's probably just some form of white glue but I do like the bottle. My local hobby shop carries it. I laser cut a little stand for the bottles.

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87078/index.html

 

 

Cheers,

 

Todd

[bc6]

Thats a nice stand tossedman.

[tossedman]

Thanks. I just copied one I’d seen on Hobby Search. 

[bc6]

Im not really sure where to post this but here seemed like the right place. Its a Kofu Models Paper kit, It was assembled with Aleenes Original Tacky Glue, Believe it or not I was really close to tossing this kit because I messed up some parts. It still needs work but that will happen soon hopefully. Full build pics are on my blog if you're interested. 

 

Edited 7 hours ago by bc6

[cteno4]

Bc6, small laser cut kits like this are a real challenge. First few you make mistakes and learn how to assemble bits, amounts of glue to use, etc. even then hey are challenging.

 

jeff

[cteno4]

Yes the resin makes the paper fibers less exposed and open to moisture. It’s more plastic like. But this is what gives it stiffness and hardness. Plain chipboard with very little resin/binder is much more open to glues penetrating into the fibers and binding. 
 

so I just tired the aleene’s test with the same pieces of printed chipboard packaging backing I used in the tombow test after 4hrs of curing and I had to rip the cardboard apart to pull it apart. 
 

my experience with aleene’s and tamiya has been pretty much the same in final bond, aleene’s just is a bit thicker and tackier when apply and fitting.
 

jeff

[bc6]

cteno4 I'm very happy that I didn't dump the kit before I tried to complete it. I almost lost a piece while trying to assemble this kit and almost had to fabricate a replacement piece. I may be mistaken but either I can make a different version of this locomotive or another kit whatever may be the case I'm going to see the to completions.