"What stops Zap Gap from bonding?" Topic

I just tried to glue a GW LOTR Knight together. The glue would not set. I had 2 halves of the horse clamped for about 5 minutes. I glued skin to skin, and skin to finger nail. That bonded in seconds. But the metal pieces would not set.

I don't normally wash figures. And most of the time(99%) the time I don't have issues. I'm waiting for them to dry now, as I'm trying a warm soap wash and scrub.

Xin

Will probably help. Like you I rarely wash minis but I do find that sometimes you get one or two in a pack that have releasing agent (?) that stops the glue from taking.

Metal casters (many of them) claim they never use release agent.
I can see the point, because the solvent can be quite volatile when molten metal is poured in the mold.

I have been running into a lot of metal that cyanoacrylates will not bond lately. Human body parts, no problem.
Maybe the patent has expired…

When gluing tanks together, I use Gorilla Super Glue.

what temprature is it. Zapagap has a "sweet spot" of about 70-80 degrees. Hotter than that and it thins and runs, colder than that and it's a gooey mess that fogs, expands, and becomes brittle

Strangely enough, the very cheapest super glue, the kind that goes for a dollar for a 2 or 3 pack at Dollar Tree, gives much better bonding than the more expensive Zap a Gap. The red tube flows just as easy. It is also very good at gluing body parts.

If you can take a small file and file a little bit of each piece where they will join together, you will find that the bare metal on metal bonds immediately.

it also helps to keep a fewmetal shavings in the recess between the two. Glue adheres by surface area, dust and metal shavings INCREASE the "contact patch" between the two.

The worst thing I ever tried to glue together was the GW Khemri Blood Bowl team.
Some idiot decided to take the tiny parts from the 28mm multi part plastic skeletons and cast them in metal. Howv exactly are you supposed to hold the parts together while the glue sets? No matter what the ads say, it is NOT an "instant" bond.
How many arms and hands do you need?
Oh you want to use a Kicker? That's yet another hand needed.
I gave them away, and Roger has never forgiven me for that.

I actually LOVE assembly and kitbashing. If I thought it would be a service someone else would WANT I'd offer to do it just for the spares/bitz

@BigNick

I would use that service! I'd send you a kit, you send it assembled, gap filled, sanded and primed flat black.

Sadly I don't have an immediate use for the service. But would have had you do all my SST bugs, some tanks, some LOTR etc.

get your self some zap kicker or super glue activator.

link

most of the new super glues are not fast at all without it. Most take up to 30 min to set now do to so many law suits.

Xintao --

One of the things I've found to be useful is to file some rough edges onto the figure where I'm going to apply glue. If that doesn't work, I then resort to pinning.

Too much glue will retard the cure, and may prevent it completely if there is a considerable glob. Less is more with zap-a gap. Thin coats or spots.

The Zap kickers are OK, but bear in mind they will make the join brittle and more prone to breakage.

G.

Actually superglue works better with smooth surfaces. Interferes with the crystalline structure.

Rough surfaces increases surface area and provides tooth which does help traditional glues.

Or, you could try something besides super glue for everything. Many, many threads here on TMP concerning glue if you search. Not every glue works best for everything.

Smudge some white glue on one part and super glue on another part. Helps bonding a lot. I USUALLY have problems gluing GW metal and a bit of white glue helps a lot.

I don't know what is going on in my basement but this stuff will not set. I've washed, dryed, filed my pieces. Clamped them for minimum 20 minutes if not longer(length of Call of Duty match) and about 1 in 5 of the pieces glued.

It must be the evil Games Workshop metal. Most likely made from crushed puppies and kittens.

About to hammer flat Prince Imrahil, Xin

Is your glue really old? Are you in an extremely arid location? These could affect the ability to set.

If you are gluing parts together that are big enough to clamp, use 5 minute epoxy.

The glue is not old. My basement is usually very humid. The only change is the wife finally decided to do some laundry and has been running the washer/dryer non stop for 2 days.

I just bought some new super glue and very similar experience. Better success rate, about 50% now. Prince Imrahil's horse came apart again. I filed every surface that looks like it will make contact. Filed with furiously with anger. Then I took an exacto knife and scored the flat surface with lines. We'll see.

Xin

I agree with John, clamp and 5 min epoxy works wonders!
I also pin the pieces if they are a to clamp,
or if I'm woried about slipage during clamp time

Alternatively go somewhere like this and source the exact properties you require from you adhesive shop4glue.com