Hot Glue

[peabody]

I wonder if anyone here is using hot glue on their models?
One of our club members demonstrated to me how he used hot glue to build up the area that held the receiver (new one was smaller....he wrapped the new piece in aluminum foil).
I know that all the ARF/ARCs are assembled using the stuff....

Just curious.....

Thanks Martha Stewart

[Scott Richlen]

I crashed a Flying Fool years ago, completely demolishing it.  I re-assembled it using hot glue.  This is a very fast way to put stuff together - as fast as CA, but instead of gluing my fingers together, I burnt them.

One other drawback: the stuff is heavy.  I notice that the glue seams on the ARFs are very thin, so you'll need a fine nozzle, if there is such a thing.

Scott

[Tim Wescott]

Go here http://flitetest.com/ and see if you can find a video on hot glue gun reviews.

These guys build everything out of dollar-store foam board, and they're astonishingly serious about their equipment (which makes one wonder why they don't just use BALSA!!!).  At any rate, they show how to lay down a very thin bead of glue to preserve lightness.  They also mention that you want to use dual-range sticks with a high-temperature hot gun to give you the most working time before the glue sets.

[Motorman]

I've never though of hot glue as being the best way to go.

MM

[Tim Wescott]

I've never though of hot glue as being the best way to go.

If it's in use, it's best for something.  I couldn't see using it to put together a serious CL model, but I've put together some foam board stuff both for RC and for CL, and it works quite well.

[Russell Shaffer]

Wreck repair.  Great gap filler .  Yes, it's heavy but if the plane is already sort of dead you can get some more service from it. Also works for gluing tip weight where heavy is good.
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[Mike Griffin]

Unless the Chinese have gotten more quality conscious, the last ARF I bought several years ago was held together with hot glue.  I actually bought one and stripped it down to see how they built it.  I ended up nearly gutting the whole thing and replacing almost everything on it.  That was the last Chinese made ARF I ever bought.  The motor mounts were even put in with hot glue.  Not a good idea.

Mike

[Mike Keville]

Fa'gheddabouddit!  Long live Ambroid!!!   

[Dan McEntee]

  Do a search on here for threads by me and the engine coming out of my Top Flite Score! It is only a surface bond. When repairing the Score, I was able to peel the remaining glue off every where I could grab hold of it. Not worth the speed.
  Type at you later,
   Dan McEntee

[Dane Martin]

Unless the Chinese have gotten more quality conscious, the last ARF I bought several years ago was held together with hot glue.  I actually bought one and stripped it down to see how they built it.  I ended up nearly gutting the whole thing and replacing almost everything on it.  That was the last Chinese made ARF I ever bought.  The motor mounts were even put in with hot glue.  Not a good idea.

Mike

I got a NIB RC extra 300 arf from a friend as a trade. I assembled it and flew it several times in a 30cc gas engine. I sold it to another friend who made a bad landing and asked me to repair it. I pulled the covering, and tada! Hot glue. This was an 82" model with a big vibrating gas engine.... Hot glue? Weird! I use hot glue on foam planes and park flyers. But this was holding ribs to le and te... That's beyond its capabilities i would say

[Mark Scarborough]

To decide if its actually beyond the capability of the adhesive, is it stronger thanthe substrate it is attaching? most hot glue is actually stronger than balsa, maybe not stronger than ply , but definitely stronger than balsa.
andif you research a little,there are many varieties of hot glue, not all of it is  the stuff you use to put sparkly things onto christmas ornaments

that said, I dont see a use for it in modeling as we build things,,

[Phil Krankowski]

Foam, fluted plastic, anything needing added weight hot glue is the stuff to use.  When bonding foam the working time can be in minutes since the material is nice and insulating.

There are much lighter glues to use for balsa and other woods, so I have not tried to use hot glue for repairs.

Phil

[Scott Richlen]

I have taken a number of ARFs apart to rebuild the wings and more troubling than the hot glue is the amount of fuel soaking that I have seen.  Somehow they are not getting their plastic sealed down very well.  I guess, considering the amount of vibration from our engines, there is an argument to be made for using a somewhat elastic glue, but you have to get past the weight issue of hot-glue.

On my ARF Nobler I managed to break the (non-maple) motor mounts.  So the first time I repaired them I used Gorrilla polyurethane glue to just glue them back together.  Afterward, I could grab the spinner and move the engine around!  The glue held like crazy, but it was so flexible, the engine could move!  Sorta like that flexible-mount thing that the stunt-lemmings were chasing a few years ago.  So, I replaced it with an RC mount.  Great improvement!

Scott