Can anyone tell me what would be the best adhesive to fasten metal to plastic? I'm trying to fasten a weight to a box car floor. Thanks.
Chuck- I'd suggest either a CA, (Zap-A-Gap is my favorite), or a little bit of Walther's "Goo" should hold the weight nicely. I keep both of these on my modeling bench. BoxcabE50
The best glue I have found to date is HOME BOND SUPER GLUE that I get at Home Hardware. It comes in a little plastic 3ML bottle inside a plastic vile, but I only use it on stuff I don't ever plan on removing. It bonds instantaneously. A seven minute Pinesol soaking of a steamer winter cab with styrene glued to it with this glue did not fall apart. I sweated that one.
I use 3 dollops of GOO on 40' box cars. Holds perfect, takes just a minute. Put a drop of GOO on 3 spots on the plastic floorboard- on ends and middle. Put weight on then remove. Wait until goo dries a little, then reattach. Down the road if you want to remove it or replace it, a small screwdriver will do the trick. Ken "Steamguy" Willaman
I've used good old-fashioned "super glue" and Goop with good results. One other thing you might look into is get the weights with a piece of adhesive strip on the back. Just remove the protective paper, press the weight on where you want it to go, and presto- it's there! I haven't had any problems with weights coming loose.
I do a lot of scratchbuilding and I have found that gap filling CA works the best. Try Zap A Gap. SJ Morris, MMR
I have used various adhesives for retaining weights. Gap-filling super glue works ok (I also use Zap-a-Gap). But have also used a contact adhesive, as it is easy to remove later, if required. Silicone should work very well although I have not used it so far, but I have used it in the past to attach motors
The silicone sealer which has been previously mentioned is IMO an under-appreciated adhesive. On the Oakville Sub, it's the adhesive of choice. I use it wherever possible, and it has never let me down. I even went so far as to use it to adhere the cork roadbed to the plywood subroadbed, and then the track to the cork. I've used it to fasten weights in cars, numbers in numberboards, ditch light light pipes (fiber optic) to the inside of locos, signs to buildings, and people and foliage to the ground. It will pretty much glue anything to anything. The only negatives might be the smell and the mess you get if you're not careful. In my mind these are offset by being able to put it only where you want it, and if you miss it will easily wipe off. And it cures pretty quickly (15 minutes). The best part about it is it's fairly easily removed, and the previously glued parts will clean up perfectly. There's always a tube waiting on my workbench. [ 24. November 2002, 14:41: Message edited by: Jim Reising ]
I'll throw in another vote for the silicone adhesive! It works great for adding weights! It has a lot of other great uses too. Give it atry. You'll like it.
