Why doesn't superglue work?

[Kahoolin]

OK, I've been building models for over 20 years now and I have never been able to get superglue to actually make any sort of strong bond. I've tried all different varieties, tried putting heaps on, tried putting a tiny amount on, and everything in between. I'm currently using Gale Force 9 hobby glue which comes highly recommended, and still today this happened:

I have some Cadians that I've glued West Wind metal heads on. I carefully filed the heads and Cadian neck holes to make sure they fit, carefully glued them on, waited a week, and then yesterday when I was basing I dropped two of them from seriously about two centimetres (an inch for Amricans) onto a cardboard box and both their heads fell off. I have NEVER been able to get a good bond between plastic and metal, or even between metal and metal.

Am I doing something wrong, or is superglue just not as good as I think it should be? How the **** can I play a game when every time someone falls over their freakin head falls off?

Anyone got any tips?

[Valdore]

Hmmm, I know what you mean, I don't know whether it help, but when doing a joint between plastic and metal I tend to put a bit of superglue as well as a little plastic glue on. Don't know whether it helps or not, but other than that your only option is pinning really to strengthen the bond or magnets, but then you have to get the magnets to glue in place.

[vman]

Kahoolin try selleys quick dry gel from bunnings
takes ages to dry but when it does its strong

u can also try some setting agents and other superglue related products that aid in use of the glue

in general superglue does my head in a bit, but you need to find a good one

Theres alot of rubbish superglues out there

[Kahoolin]

Kahoolin try selleys quick dry gel from bunnings
takes ages to dry but when it does its strong

Thanks mate I love how it's called "quick dry gel" and you say it takes ages to dry!

[Rafen]

When im working with plastic and metal. I like to pin the model between the plastic and metal and then use superglue and it holds like a charm of course it depends on what you are pinning, but in this situation it would work wonders. Also don't put super glue on top of another layer of super glue the bond will not hold and will break and just gunk up the joint. This can be resolve by filing the old superglue out.

[TSINI]

the problem with superglue is it requires surface area to attach, its not a thick glue, even when you glob it on, most of it evaporates and its only the areas of metal and plastic that are touching that get glued.

i too have glued west wind production heads onto cadians for my conscripts (so theres a lot of them) [it looks well cool don't it ]

i use some serious industrial adhesive, it works just like superglue, but its much much much stronger and dries in about a second BUT even i have had difficulty. because of the small surface area,

the other day while giving my conscripts a badab black wash, one head fell off. lol.

its also difficult because the metal head makes the model quite top heavy, so when they fall over, they really hit the ground with their heads first.

my suggestions would be some of the following:

• spend longer shaping the bottom of the heads to match the neck of the cadian body
• put enough glue to fill the neck of the cadian body, and hold the head still with some pressure until it grabs (this is what ive done, and for the majority its holding)
• if you're careful, maybe use a blob of epoxy resin instead, its thicker so would grab better

also one big problem with superglue which i didnt know until a little while ago is that superglue goes off if it is left in warm rooms for lengths of time, its best to store it in the fridge

hope this helps.

[Schnitzel]

I'm in the same boat as you. Darn stuff never wants to work for me. Often results in me saying screw it and busting out my green stuff.
Speaking of which... I'm starting to run terribly low.

[ThePov]

I'm in the same boat as you. Darn stuff never wants to work for me. Often results in me saying screw it and busting out my green stuff.
Speaking of which... I'm starting to run terribly low.

Agreed. I've only gotten superglue to work ONCE for me, and don't ask me how I did it, I don't know. Most of the time, I just put a thin layer of greenstuff on the part of the metal model where the glue would go and stick it on. When the greenstuff fails to hole (which it most likely will) you can then use plastic glue on the green stuff, and it stays like a charm.

[BDub]

Well for me superglue works great, but you have to respect its limitations. Some things that might help are; first, use a thicker variety and not cheap stuff either. Get yourself some maxi-cure or similar. Don't use too much! In fact use just a little on each (clean, not greasy) surface (very important). Put the pieces together and then pull them apart - they will both start getting tacky. Put them back together (and here's the trick) spritz the joint with an ever so slight amount of super glue accelerator (yeah, get some of that too). That will make as good a bond as superglue will allow.

Now for the specifics of your situation. You should pin those heads! Superglue will break very easily with dissimilar material bonds. The plastic and the metal do not react the same way to impact and that will crack your bond easily. Secondly, don't file the joint surfaces so smooth - make them level but leave them scored or scratched up. This will give the glue something to grip. This is a good idea with most things like plastic arms on IG guys. Scratch it up slightly but not deeply at all.

I hope this helps.

[Aldramelech]

Yep, sound advice.

Most people just don't understand how glue's work, and thats half the problem. Plastic glue "melts" the plastic together and this is why you get such a strong bond. Super glue doesn't work like that, it needs a good surface area to grip. Even when dry it is very brittle and breaks easily. It is super important that the areas being stuck are Clean! lots of people overlook this. I use it for metal on metal and don't have many problems. For metal to plastic I tend to use Green Stuff or Miliput.