"Testor's plastic model glue - weaker formula now?" Topic

I remember back in the day when I would build a model getting glue on my fingers was a disaster – too easy to get a permanent glue fingerprint on the model, and I would be flaking glue off my fingers for hours.

Now if I get glue on a model I can just wipe it off, and no such thing as finger flakes. I know the answer in my head, what with federal regulations and all, but has the formula changed over the years?

How old are you? Do you recall when kids were sniffing glue? That's when the formula changed…early 1980's.

I remember when they made a version of model glue that was lemon scented. Just encouraged huffing.

58, and I remember when they did the big change, but it seems like it has gotten worse lately. and yes, I too remember that awful lemon glue. Stunk worse and held worse.

Yeah, testors glue or any other tube glue isn't very good anymore IMHO. I use Tenax but there are several other solvent types such as Tenax and Weld-on which I have used. Have to be careful since the literally melt the styrene and are the consistency of water.

I hadn't rally noticed a difference. Testors is all I've ever used. Is this some sort of by-product of making the glue less huffable?

(I'd forgotten about the lemon-scented stuff, back when no one was much concerned about its alternate uses)

Yeah drop the tube glue. I don't know anyone that is at all serious about model building that still uses the stuff. Get the liquid cement in the jar. Usually it's MEK cut with a drying retarder. Tube glue uses a polymer carrier designed to increase working time, but if a good bond isn't made, the polymer can break down & parts start falling off. With the liquid cement this does not happen as there is no polymer to "grip" but instead the solvent directly welds the plastic together.

Damon.

Undiluted MEK is the best plastic cement I've ever used.

Then again, it destroys million brain cells with each breath you take while modelling :(

I stopped using testors a number of years ago. I felt the holding power wasn't what it once was. Now I use exclusively Tamiya plastic model cement.

The red tube Testers has not changed. Also 58 and its just the same as when I started building models in the mid sixties.
The changed formula with the lemon sent is/was in a blue tube. They changed the formula so that you couldn't get high huffing it.

jdg

I remember in the early 70's buying a tube of Testors $ the cashier refused to give it to me in a bag (she said because of that huffing thing) even with my mom right there. First time I was accused of being a dope fiend… ;-)

Still trying to find a solvent to dissolve/loosen the old Testors without melting the plastic. Got a pile of 1/35 figures to redo…

I don't know anyone that is at all serious about model building that still uses the stuff.

I was never serious. I just use it to assemble plastic miniatures.

The red tube Testers has not changed. Also 58 and its just the same as when I started building models in the mid sixties.

Actually…. I found this on another forum…

Testor's "Red Tube" Plastic Cement is NOT the same formula as it was back through the late 80's era.
It appears to have about only 50% of the Toluene content and 0% (none) of the Oil of Mustard (Allyl Isothiocyanate) that it used to have.

While on yet another forum that the change was made in 1995.

Well it still works well enough to put together plastic tanks and 28mm figures for the game table so I still use Testor's.

There is a mixture that you can make using the Testors tube glue that works really well for plastic models. You take a bottle of the Testors liquid glue, squeeze in about 33% tube glue (so the mixture is 2:1 liquid to tube) throw in some styrene pieces (grey is preferred so as to not be too bright) shake to mix. Let sit until all the styrene is melted, and shake again. Holds really well and also fills small gaps.