Testor's cement

[Mark II]

No, not the usual stuff...

Has anyone ever tried this product? http://www.ehobbies.com/tes4505c.html

I was wondering if it was just another version of our old friend CA, but the label says "Contains Oil of Mustard"?

Mark

[Shreadvector]

It is crap. Repackaged wood cement normally used for balsa gliders. Completely unsuited for Model Rockets. It does not soak into the wood or paper well. It is quite flammable.

Fins fall off, motor mounts fail and shoot up inside the rockets. BAD, BAD, BAD. I've seen dozens and dozens of rockets built and ruined with this crap.


http://home.earthlink.net/~mebowitz/safety.pdf

[ghrocketman]

That stuff is the "old school" celluloid-type model airplane cement similar to Ambroid that really is suitable only for stick-&-tissue rubber-band powered small free-flight model airplanes.

If used for anything that has any sort of substantial arodynamic / thrust load (such as rocket fins & motor mounts) IT WILL FAIL !

DO NOT USE IT unless you intentionally want a spectacular failure. One would be better off building rockets with Mucilage, a Glue Stick, or hot melt glue. :p

[Mark II]

That stuff is the "old school" celluloid-type model airplane cement similar to Ambroid that really is suitable only for stick-&-tissue rubber-band powered small free-flight model airplanes.

If used for anything that has any sort of substantial arodynamic / thrust load (such as rocket fins & motor mounts) IT WILL FAIL !

DO NOT USE IT unless you intentionally want a spectacular failure. One would be better off building rockets with Mucilage, a Glue Stick, or hot melt glue. :p
OK, that settles that question. I was just wondering because I had stumbled across it on a website, and it was a product that I had never seen before.

Thanks for the 411.

Mark

[Doug Sams]

It is crap. Repackaged wood cement normally used for balsa gliders. Completely unsuited for Model Rockets. It does not soak into the wood or paper well. It is quite flammable. (snip) Are any of Testor's glues any good anymore? Their paints are fine, especilly the Boyd's line, but danged if I can get much use from their plastic model cement. My Lucky 7 sure came apart on its first flight. Is it the anti-abuse measures which have made the glue impotent?

When I was a kid, the glue for sure was more potent - you could smell it across the room. Granted, even then, the mirrors and gear shifts ended up in the trunks of the cars, but that was always attributed to inadequate surface prep - failing to get chrome and/or paint removed before gluing.

But with the Lucky 7, I definitely had the surfaces prepped well and still had the faux motor nozzles popping loose. What works well that won't melt the plastic?

(Could the Lucky 7 plastic be part of the problem? It doesn't have quite the same feel as the styrene of model cars.)

Doug


.

[Shreadvector]

Are any of Testor's glues any good anymore? Their paints are fine, especilly the Boyd's line, but danged if I can get much use from their plastic model cement. My Lucky 7 sure came apart on its first flight. Is it the anti-abuse measures which have made the glue impotent?

When I was a kid, the glue for sure was more potent - you could smell it across the room. Granted, even then, the mirrors and gear shifts ended up in the trunks of the cars, but that was always attributed to inadequate surface prep - failing to get chrome and/or paint removed before gluing.

But with the Lucky 7, I definitely had the surfaces prepped well and still had the faux motor nozzles popping loose. What works well that won't melt the plastic?

(Could the Lucky 7 plastic be part of the problem? It doesn't have quite the same feel as the styrene of model cars.)

Doug


.

I have heard from others that the plastic used in some of the kits is not like the plastic of the good old days and it will not melt/cement properly. I think the classic tube type plastic cement is relatively unchanged, so look at the plastic as the problem. This has been discussed on r.m.r. (now useless) and TRF, so you might find info after some searching.

[ghrocketman]

Actually, the amount of Toluene and Oil of Mustard (Allyl Isothiocyanate) has been reduced in Testors tube-type cement over the years.
When I use the stuff, I squeeze out the tube completely into a 1oz airbrush jar and thin 2 parts cement to 1 part Toluene (Toluol). Apply sparingly with a small brush.
The stuff works then like it used to.
I think Testors reduced the Toluene to reduce the hazard of sniffing the glue by the idiots that engage in that sort of lunacy.

Quite frankly, if you are joining close-fitting plastic pieces to each other, Tenax 7R or Ambroid Pro-weld liquid cements work MUCH better...those joints will not come apart !
The only place tube-type is better is when joining plastic to porous surfaces, & even that it is not that good at.
I in those cases use either Epoxy or CA as I hate re-gluing busted/loose parts.

[Mark II]

But with the Lucky 7, I definitely had the surfaces prepped well and still had the faux motor nozzles popping loose. What works well that won't melt the plastic?

(Could the Lucky 7 plastic be part of the problem? It doesn't have quite the same feel as the styrene of model cars.)

Doug


.
I used 5 min. epoxy for the motor nozzles on my Lucky Seven, and they have stayed put. I did clean the areas with alcohol first, just making sure that there was no more mold release on either the nozzles or the back plate. I used regular Testor's red tube model cement to glue the two halves of the cone together, and it held together until the second ballistic recovery (due both times to inadequate chute prep by the owner). :o The halves are intact but the glue seam is broken - I'll probably just reglue it, but maybe I'll use Tenax 7R this time, which I didn't have before (... so that it can survive >2 ballistic recoveries? :eek: ). And yes, the epoxied nozzles are all still there. :D

I may try someday to build a clone or an upscale of the Lucky Seven using lightweight parts (balsa, paper, etc.). I'd like to see how high an exact clone goes that has a balsa nose cone, balsa fins and a paper airframe when it is launched on mini motors. ;)

Mark

[Mark II]

I also have a small jar of red label Testor's cement. I read somewhere that it worked better than the tube type, but I haven't tried it yet.

Mark

[mrhemi1971]

I know I had problems with the fins and nozzles on my Rubicon. I washed and prepped the plastic like I've done on thousands of models, even scuffed the surface to give it more bite, but on its maiden voyage all but 2 of the fins popped off clean. I sanded off the old glue, and reglued them on again. this time I gave them a flick with my finger and it popped off with ease. I dont know what the chinese are using in thier plastic formula, but it doesnt take testors cement well at all. I had to switch up to industrial aerospace adhesive to get the fins to hold, and they'll NEVER come off again. So it's not the glue's fault, its definitely the plastic.

[Mark II]

Are any of Testor's glues any good anymore?

When I was a kid, the glue for sure was more potent - you could smell it across the room.

Doug


.
Back when we were all kids, we could still smell things - our senses hadn't been dulled by age yet. :(

Plus, the first time, or the first few times, that you encounter a new smell, it always seems to be more intense than it does later on, after you have acquired some more experience with it.

(An extreme example: I have trouble detecting the odor of fiberglass resin now, even though I have only had two brief experiences with it. :eek: )

Mark