How you deal with photo etched parts?

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Hi All,

as the name of the thread says. How do you stick together two pieces of photo etched parts? I use quick glue and I don't struggle with large pieces. My struggle is gluing two small pieces like in example below:
example.jpg

When I was doing this I really struggled in setting parts PE30 to PE5. It was like trying to glue a tip of a needle to paper sheet vertically. Even with quick glue, no luck. Not to mention it's very easy to over do it with glue and when it dries it does not look clean and nice. Also in the example above there were no holes in PE5 part to help with holding the parts upright until the glue kicks in. The surface on which the glue has to act is very small for part PE30, like tip of a needle. I also noticed even larger pieces can be difficult if its metal to metal joint. If I have to glue metal to plastic its much easier.

Any tips and tricks for cases like these?
 
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minitnkr

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Rest hand holding part in tweezers w/CA applied on the bench, while holding tongue just right, drag the work to the part while whispering incantations to the modeling spirits.
 

Gary MacKenzie

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Mine: I use PE where it is better than the kit part and can be seen.
PE to PE for me, even with any of the good glues is a dice-roll.
One solution might be to puncture a hole in a bigger piece for the smaller piece to go through and a piece of thin plastic behind to adhere to.
 
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adt70hk

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Rest hand holding part in tweezers w/CA applied on the bench, while holding tongue just right, drag the work to the part while whispering incantations to the modeling spirits.
You forgot to cross all fingers, toes and appendages!!! ;)
 

Mark1

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Some of them small bits can be tricky but I use loctite gel, dip the end of pe 30 in it and place,gel will leave a blob of glue for the part to sit in rather than a liquid which has no real mass to it.20210815_000513-1-1.jpg
 

rtfoe

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Firstly what is Quick Glue? Is it cyanoacrylate? I have no problem with either the liquid or gel versions of cyano although the gel ones can give a little millisecond time adjustments. The trick is the lesser the better it stays and if you're not comfortable with the bond then wick in a little more with an applicator or sharp needle once it has set in probably 5 seconds.
I think the difficulty is holding the part still for 5 seconds so sometimes I place the two parts together with the help of blu-tac and extra hands and then wick in the cyano.

Cheers,
Richard
 
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David Lovell

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As the chaps have said nothing hard and fast here everybody uses a diffrent approach one that they've developed through trial and error ,I use two diffrent ca's one giving me five to ten seconds the other ten to twenty. Mig/ammo have a new pva glue out for etch but can't see it having the grab factor of ca. Very small parts I'll put a tiny dot of glue in the correct position (even a a sharpened old piece of spru is good for this)then take the part to the glue. It's one of them im afraid but the more you do the easier it becomes. Dave
 
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Ian M

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Dip the small part in a little drop of CA then give the large part a squirt of accelerator and apply the small part. It 'should grab and set right away.
 
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Tim Marlow

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I use a similar approach to Richard. It’s also useful to fix the main part to the bench with blue tack so you only have to worry about one part moving while you add the small parts. I find locktite gel best for these applications as it gives a better mechanical bond. I never use accelerator, by the way. Huffing on a part gives the same effect. CA bonds in the presence of moisture and the absence of air. Breathing over the part has the same effect and doesn’t need a third hand. Larger parts I’d use blue tack and five minute epoxy. You get a far stronger bond.

To be honest, some of your issues are down to lazy etch design. It would not be difficult for the manufacturers to etch in location slots or holes to improve the mechanical arrangement of the parts, but they almost never do…
 
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Steve Jones

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You may want to look into using black super glue. This will allow you to use more glue than usual to help stick the parts together. Then use a debonder and gently remove the excess glue which is obviously visible as it is black.
 
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I use Loctite Super Glue, precision. I was thinking next time I should have accelerator that could help. The bond does not need to be super strong as anyway these small parts go in cockpit so they are quite protected already.
This time I really struggled with this, as not only the glue would not hold them the part would follow my tweezers even when let go. Probably static or something.
 
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yak face

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I use Loctite Super Glue, precision. I was thinking next time I should have accelerator that could help. The bond does not need to be super strong as anyway these small parts go in cockpit so they are quite protected already.
This time I really struggled with this, as not only the glue would not hold them the part would follow my tweezers even when let go. Probably static or something.
You do sometimes get the part sticking to the tweezers , most tend to pick up a bit of magnetic charge. You can get non magnetic tweezers fairly cheap , its what i always use for PE
 

scottie3158

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Daniel,
The methods that have been mentioned are the methods I use. Sometimes I do drill a small hole to allow the part to be supported. But bear in mind the PE offering is not always the best the kit part is often better or can be replaced with wire as the PE is flat.
 

Jim R

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Mig/ammo have a new pva glue out for etch but can't see it having the grab factor of ca.
That's interesting David. I use Gator Glue which sounds very similar. It has been discontinued and so the MIG stuff may well be a good alternative.

You may want to look into using black super glue. This will allow you to use more glue than usual to help stick the parts together. Then use a debonder and gently remove the excess glue which is obviously visible as it is black.
I've read about this black CA. Definitely worth a go.
Jim
 

David Lovell

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That's interesting David. I use Gator Glue which sounds very similar. It has been discontinued and so the MIG stuff may well be a good alternative.


I've read about this black CA. Definitely worth a go.
Jim
Jim strange isn't it one mans poison and all that ,I can remember having a long conversation with Simon T about gator glue and how we both came to the same conclusion and binned it ,I almost bought the MIG stuff the other day but thought na probably another gator glue.With a pva type you can wick away the excess with a damp brush ,not that I've ever used it but can someone explain that if you use debonder to clean up why doesn't it debond the part that's glued ,if its that noticeable I flick it off with the tip of a scalpel blade. All I can say to Daniel is just as you think you've sussed it the next lot makes you feel like a first timer again. Dave
 
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JR

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Daniel I can stick PE to any thing other than the model , normally it end up on me !

Probably the hardest thing to work with when it's very small.Someone told me once to slightly abrade the surface of the larger part and ensure that all the PE is clean . When I do attempt to use it I place an amount of CA on a bottle top and use a needle with the eye part cut open ( thanks Paul )
Using that to apply the smallest amount of glue to the larger part then by holding the small part with tweezers ( clean ) offer it to the larger and give a very light spray with accelerator.
Paul's suggestion of using wire for those parts that need to be found is good .

Keep trying !
 

Dave Ward

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Daniel,
with PE, I ask myself - does it add anything to the model, can it be seen? Is a 2D part better than a plastic part? Just because the part is on the PE fret, it doesn't have to be used! I regularly don't attempt to fit the tiny parts, life's short enough as it is!
When I do use PE, I clean the fret with IPA, I have a porcelain bathroom tile I cut the PE on ( scalpel ). I use fine tweezers to hold/fold the part. I apply CA to the model ( cocktail stick, or wire ), then apply the part - don't flood the area with CA. I do on occasion use a kicker ( accelerant ) to speed things up.
Dave
 

Jim R

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The way I use Gator Glue is that I fix the part with it, plenty of wiggle time and water clean up of smears and blobs. Then when it is dry I wick thin CA into the joint. Gator Glue works fine on its own for PE with a decent contact area but for something like Daniel showed in the first post I would definitely use CA as well. You can buy CA which is reckoned to be more flexible which would be good.
Jim
 
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