Wednesday 9 September 2015

The Wrong Glue.

A Salutary Tale

Once upon a time, a few years ago when I took up paper model-making, I scoured the Internet for advice on the best glue to use.  I wanted something that would cover well, dry relatively quickly and hold fast.  There were various horror stories about water-based glues that caused shrinking and warping of the models, so I decided to avoid those.

Eventually, the consensus on the net seemed to be that this was the stuff to use:


Note that this is not a common or garden glue stick, as used frequently in primary schools around the world.  Rather, this is a clear, thick, liquid glue pen that promises not to cause any problems with the paper or card being glued: no shrinkage, no ink smudges and no warping.  It's a bit more expensive than many other glues, but it seemed that this was indeed the answer to my prayers.

For a while, I used this glue on all my paper models and it worked well.  The joints were sound, colours never ran and the card was not distorted in any way.  However, after a while, I noticed that my older models weren't quite as perfect as when I built them.


For example, the walls of my hotel started to sag.  The fire escape fell off at one end (and was then torn off the other end by its own weight).  It looked as if the glue had re-liquefied or softened, the parts had moved and then the glue had hardened again.  What was going on?

Many of these models were stored on shelves high up in a back room.  It gets pretty warm up there at times (hot air rises!) but is otherwise quite cool.  Mind you, compared to some parts of the globe, the range of temperatures in my house is probably not that great.   I can only imagine that such limited changes in temperature, perhaps aided by changes in humidity, had caused the glue to flow slightly over a long period.


It's a bit of a puzzle because any time that I've investigated, the (remaining) parts of each affected model have been held very firmly in place at whatever angle they've come to rest.  At no point have I detected any stickiness or softening of the glue!

So, what next?

I gave up using the UHU office pens several years ago, once I started to notice this effect on my first card models.  I'm sure that they are a very fine product for some applications, but they don't suit my needs at all.  Now I use exclusively white glue (PVA, "Elmer's glue") for paper kits.  I use a sculpting tool to spread a very thin layer on one part only; the join is relatively quick and absolutely permanent!

For the older models that suffered such fatigue, I've mostly had to bin them.  The UHU glue has encrusted itself onto parts of the joints, leaving other previously-glued parts almost bare.  It is possible to cut or scrape such hard conglomerations away and re-glue the models with PVA, but it's just not worth the effort in the worst cases.  For the less badly affected kits (mostly vehicles), I have indeed made some such repairs.

At least with paper models, I can always build replacements.  Of course, finding the time to do this might be a problem...

13 comments:

  1. That is a true horror story Sir! I'm glad you found white glue acceptable for your card models.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Robert. It was all the more distressing because the ill effects occurred months or even years after the models were completed and believed to be good.

      Delete
  2. Your mileage may differ. PVA is the way forward dude!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PVA, used sparingly, is definitely the stuff for paper/card models!

      Delete
  3. That's a horro story I would rather have not read considering the amount of card buildings and accessories I have - that and the fact that I use UHU glue too (of the Bargainpoundlandworld variety).
    As of tommorow I will be keeping a close eye on my older card/paper on foambaord models, but I'm hopeful that nothing will be remiss, considering the amount of glue I've used on them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The problem I've had has been only with the UHU "Office Pen" glue. This is quite different stuff from their much better known contact adhesive (which comes in a tube).

      I've been using the UHU contact adhesive for decades on wood, plastic and metal. It's a very fine product and I've never had any issues with it.

      Delete
    2. Thanks for the re-assurance, I've only found a very small amount of peeling on my models, normally at the corners (form the normal wear and tear of handing) and it was easily fixed.

      Delete
  4. sorry to hear that you have trubble with the glue :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was just this one type of specialist glue; all other glues I've used, including other varieties of UHU, have worked fine.

      Delete
  5. Remember that PVA is a resin (Resin W). I don't mean that as a warning but perhaps a cry of celebration! It really is wonderful stuff! Shame that you UHU has started to miss-behave!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PVA is wonderful stuff for absorbent surfaces such as paper and some woods! I don't know what I'd do without it :-) .

      Delete
  6. Gosh. I am hoping that won't happen to me. It is always a tough decision to bin stuff you've made.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I wouldn't worry too much. I've only ever had problems with this particular type of glue which (to be fair) isn't even designed for model-making. Just stay away from "office" glues and you should be fine :-) .

      Delete