Author Topic: ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting (Read 1942 times)

Dennis Leonhardi · « **on:** October 14, 2006, 07:31:45 PM »

ABS Plastics – such as the cowl and wheel pants in some Sig kits – How do you glue & paint them? Are they durable?

Looking for user’s experiences – TIA!

Dennis

Leester · « **Reply #1 on:** October 15, 2006, 03:53:09 PM »

Normally they give instructions, but as far as glueing, you take a strip of scrap or most of the time a pcs is provided and put it half way on one side with the other half sticking out. Run thinner down the edge and it will bond, then match up the other half pcs on the scrap and do the same. As far as painting you'll want to ruff up the surface with 800 or so sand paper, clean off and spray. Bondo or some other filler may be used to smooth joints. I haven't used them in a while but this is what I remember.

Ralph Wenzel (d) · « **Reply #2 on:** October 16, 2006, 04:38:33 AM »

This is kind of a "testing" question, and here's a 35-year-old answer, from when the stuff started appearing in R/C ARFs in the early '70s. There are two solutions that I remember. For completely hidden joints, use some lightweight fiberglas cloth (1 - 2 oz per yard) cut into a strip thats about 30% as wide as the joint is long (i.e., for a 3" joint, use a 1" wide strip the correct length), and use Oates Plastic Pipe Glue. This stuff is black, and virtually unpaintable - that's why it's for hidden joints, but it is fuelproof.

For anything that's going to be visible, try a reinforcing strip of ABS on the inside with the whole thing stuck together with Methylene Chloride, the same stuff used for styrene or Acrylic plastic. sand the joint with 220 to provide a bit of "tooth" and prime with your favorite secre3t blend. Brodak's Primer should work, but I haven't tested that.

I think I remember that MEK works also, but Acetone evaporates too fast to bond properly. ABS is tough!

Harry Rice · « **Reply #3 on:** October 16, 2006, 05:30:18 PM »

ABS is actually two plastics (resins) and a rubber blended together - Acrylic (Plexiglas/perspex), for higher temperature, Butadiene rubber (for toughness), and polyStyrene ('cos it's cheap) and the previous two are compatible with it.

Plastic model kit cement is fine (plastic kits are HIPS - ABS without the "A"!). Cyanoacrylate adhesives will also work well. (In my business, for one job, we glue ABS hollow ball halves together and they are good for 200 bar pressure!)

Cellulose based paints (e.g. Dope!) will attack it severely - use enamels - the stuff sold for painting plastic kits. (white spirit based). Not sure, but I guess what in the USA is " Rustoleum" is a spirit-based paint.

You can get primers with which to cover ABS - then you can use cellulose based paints on top for colour matching...

Cheers

Harry

Dennis Leonhardi · « **Reply #4 on:** October 17, 2006, 11:19:16 PM »

Well, so much for a quick, easy answer!

It would seem these parts were a poor choice to put in kits marketed to kids. And I'm still just a kid!

Dennis

Tom Dugan · « **Reply #5 on:** October 20, 2006, 03:35:42 PM »

Try Sig Plastinamel. It will work, Ive used it on the type Sig parts you mention. But as always make a test. The problem with plastinamel is its kind of limited colors.

Thomas

Author Topic: ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting (Read 1942 times)

Dennis Leonhardi

ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting

Leester

Re: ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting

Ralph Wenzel (d)

Re: ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting

Harry Rice

Re: ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting

Dennis Leonhardi

Re: ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting

Tom Dugan

Re: ABS Plastic – Gluing & Painting