Glue for paper kits (suggestions)

[cteno4]

Aleene’s (sorry I was dyslexic one that tog everyone calling it arleene’s) tacky glue may be a bit thick in the really tiny bits. I’ve used tooth picks and pin tips to apply to small places, but being thick it takes some teasing as its viscosity means it does not spread as well as thinner PVA glues. But this can also be a benefit of not having to spread too far too fast! It’s tackiness once parts are joined I’ve found to be the best aspect with holding parts in alignment better than thinner glues that need more propping up and clamping. When you do clamp I’ve found aleene’s thickness and tackiness to be a be a positive as it tends to keep pieces from sliding around as much when pressure is applied. With thinner PVA you can have real issues of parts moving like this. But Aleene’s takes a bit more work to

 

Aleene’s does tend to dry faster which is nice but also means a drop on the workbench to use with toothpick application will get gummy and dry up faster than thinner PVA glues so you need to keep making new drops to work from more often. It’s also more work to spread aleene’s over a larger area, but little glue spreader tools help with this and I have a number of them. Even a credit card or pieces of styrene sheet work well for this.

 

Aleene’s is a good one to have on your workbench to use. I must have 30+ glues and am constantly finding new ones to try. Some I only use in some situations and others like Aleene’s tacky is my go to modeling PVA glue. Glues are also a bit personal as well and it’s good to find what works best in your hands for different projects. Always good to experiment on scraps of your work materials to determine the best glue for each situation in your hands.

 

cheers,

 

jeff

[Kingmeow]

Jeff, I'm assuming Aleene's would be good for my new and first Sankei kit?  I've been using Aleene's for a while and love it.

[cteno4]

Yes for me Aleene’s is my goto for sankei and other chipboard/cardboard kits and projects.

 

i also use the tamiya craft bond when i need thinner for some applications (i probably could just thin Aleene’s but im lazy and never tested that).

 

The testor’s wood glue (the organic solvent one) works well to for bonding but it’s a mess to work with, organic fumes, and cleanup is not as good as can excess can darken the color of the cardboard so maybe visible. 

 

jeff