Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post - How to protect paint jobs on miniatures??

GoatRider · 01-07-2005, 05:56 PM

Turns out I have a stock post for that I use on another forum. My friends call me "Mr. Adhesives". So don't think I spent a lot of time typing this out just on your behalf:

CyanoAcrylic glue, also known as super glue, is best for gluing metal to metal when the joint fits together really tight, and the surfaces are smooth. It also works fine on plastic. It's an unstable liquid that turns hard when it gets squeezed. You want to use as little as possible, and like I said, the surfaces need to be smooth and tightly fitting. The best way to do this is to file both sides flat with a mill file. If you can't get the joint tight, use epoxy, described next. There are a lot of brands of CA, most of them are pretty good. I usually just buy the store brand at the model airplane store. It also comes in thick, medium, and thin, with thin being the fastest. Medium seems to be the best for minis. You can also get a spray accellerator, but it weakens the joint somewhat.

2-part Epoxy is useful when the joints don't fit well, and there's a big gap that needs to be filled. I'm not sure why, but a thickened cold-weld epoxy works the best, like JB Weld or JB Kwik. Unlike CA, the joints should be roughed up a bit, so that the epoxy has something to grab onto. You mix the two parts in equal amounts, and it gradually starts getting hard. It doesn't "dry", it "cures". JB Kwik is workable for only a few minutes, and you need to hold the joint for 5 to 10 minutes. It's then cured in a few hours. JB Weld is workable for about a half hour, hold it for an hour, and it's fully cured in 24. One thing I like to do is use a little extra, and the excess squeezes out. When it's partially cured, I use a modelling knife to slice off the excess and carve details into the epoxy filling the gap. Note that Green Stuff is also an epoxy, but it's got too much thickener to be a good adhesive. I've heard some people will put a thin layer of CA before the green stuff, to glue the CA to either side of the gap- but I think that's not as good as using the right epoxy in the first place.

01-07-2005, 05:56 PM	#6
GoatRider Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Maple Grove, MN	Re: How to protect paint jobs on miniatures?? Turns out I have a stock post for that I use on another forum. My friends call me "Mr. Adhesives". So don't think I spent a lot of time typing this out just on your behalf: CyanoAcrylic glue, also known as super glue, is best for gluing metal to metal when the joint fits together really tight, and the surfaces are smooth. It also works fine on plastic. It's an unstable liquid that turns hard when it gets squeezed. You want to use as little as possible, and like I said, the surfaces need to be smooth and tightly fitting. The best way to do this is to file both sides flat with a mill file. If you can't get the joint tight, use epoxy, described next. There are a lot of brands of CA, most of them are pretty good. I usually just buy the store brand at the model airplane store. It also comes in thick, medium, and thin, with thin being the fastest. Medium seems to be the best for minis. You can also get a spray accellerator, but it weakens the joint somewhat. 2-part Epoxy is useful when the joints don't fit well, and there's a big gap that needs to be filled. I'm not sure why, but a thickened cold-weld epoxy works the best, like JB Weld or JB Kwik. Unlike CA, the joints should be roughed up a bit, so that the epoxy has something to grab onto. You mix the two parts in equal amounts, and it gradually starts getting hard. It doesn't "dry", it "cures". JB Kwik is workable for only a few minutes, and you need to hold the joint for 5 to 10 minutes. It's then cured in a few hours. JB Weld is workable for about a half hour, hold it for an hour, and it's fully cured in 24. One thing I like to do is use a little extra, and the excess squeezes out. When it's partially cured, I use a modelling knife to slice off the excess and carve details into the epoxy filling the gap. Note that Green Stuff is also an epoxy, but it's got too much thickener to be a good adhesive. I've heard some people will put a thin layer of CA before the green stuff, to glue the CA to either side of the gap- but I think that's not as good as using the right epoxy in the first place. __________________ - Benton