Jump to content

breaking down super glue bonds


Recommended Posts

Ok, so when I started this hobby back up I decided to use ebay and friends to supplement buying an army straight up.

 

One of my friends gave me his Vindicator he got for his chaos army he never played. The eight pointed star from the front popped off just fine, but the Chaos icon he put over the Aquila is proving quite a bit more difficult, and as I don't want to damage the Symbol of our glorious Imperium I was hoping you guys might have tips on how to break it down with out damaging the plastic. I've broken a few of the bonds on the body and so just started giving it an LA's Totally Awesome bath, but some superglue bonds don't break down in it, and so I'm hoping you guys might have tips on how to purge the rest of the traitorous stigma from my Glorious Vindicator

Link to comment
https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/262399-breaking-down-super-glue-bonds/
Share on other sites

Thats a tough one. Superglue, once cured, is pretty resilient and everything I can think of would probably damage the plastic before it damaged the superglue. That being said super glue and plastic aren't terribly great bed fellows and nine out of ten times a part that is attached to plastic via super glue can simply be popped off with minimal damage to the plastic part.

 

Couple ideas:

 

1) Try using Acetone nail polish remover IN VERY SMALL QUANTITIES!!!!! Do not submerge the kit in the stuff. The acetone will break down the plastic given sufficient time. I would take a small quantity of the polish remover and using an eye dropper or perhaps even the head of a pin put 2-3 drops of remover on top of the glue you're trying to break at a time. Let it sit for about an hour and see if the bond has weakened enough to pop the part off. If not, repeat. Obviously this is going to be extremely tedious, but such is the price for 2nd hand models.

 

2) you can try prying the chaos star up using the edge of a hobby blade. Work the edge of the blade in under the edge of the star and slowing work the blade back and forth along the long axis of the blade in a perpendicular direction to the part. Go slowly and be very careful. Don't try to take the entire star off in one go.

 

Good luck with it.

If he's used superglue to attach stuff like that, chances are he didn't clean the plastic. This gives you an opportunity; submerge the model in an all-pupose cleaner with a high proportion of non-ionic surfactants (most 'concentrated' floor cleaners, like 'Flash' or 'Simple Green'). Let it soak for some time (a few days) and agitate it where possible. The cleaner should attack the grease between the bonds and work its way through, weakening the bond significantly. I believe BioStrip works well too if I remember rightly (not used it myself). Acetone and other chemicals that attack the superglue itself will also attack the plastic.

 

 

Freezing the model will make the glue brittle, but also the plastic. Chance of snapping something goes right up. Works well for metals though.

If he's used superglue to attach stuff like that, chances are he didn't clean the plastic. This gives you an opportunity; submerge the model in an all-pupose cleaner with a high proportion of non-ionic surfactants (most 'concentrated' floor cleaners, like 'Flash' or 'Simple Green'). Let it soak for some time (a few days) and agitate it where possible. The cleaner should attack the grease between the bonds and work its way through, weakening the bond significantly. I believe BioStrip works well too if I remember rightly (not used it myself). Acetone and other chemicals that attack the superglue itself will also attack the plastic.

 

 

Freezing the model will make the glue brittle, but also the plastic. Chance of snapping something goes right up. Works well for metals though.

 

I once purchased a block of Space Marines on ebay that had been immorally treated (both with paint and glue) but I submerged them in Simple Green for a month (I may have forgotten about them once or twice) and them feel to pieces with the glue off and the paint a sludge that washed off perfectly. Sure it took time but it worked without other flaws.

I find some of the paint strippers I use make a mess of SG bonds. Simple green and sometimes fairy power spray.

But in fairness, just scrape it off and pop on something else there and forget about the eagle. Its probably the easiest way without risking damage to the rest of the model. Id reccoment about heating the plastic, it might warp as it expands. And there is a possibility that none of the above might work.

like pueriexdeus stated there are super glue debonders. I've used several over the years, they take a bit of time to work but they turn the super glue soft and gummy sorta and allows you to pick the glue off with minimal damage to the model. just be sure to test the one you use on a spair part before slathing the area in it, not all chemicals are created equal.
Not sure which side of the pond you're on, but I've noticed that when I give a Mean Green bath to minis that are still glued, the bath sems to weaken the hold a little, just enough to pop it off without damage. Worth a thought, man.
i'll back biohazard and heathens. I normally give ebay models a mean green bath then put them in the freezer for a bit. with using the two havent had any plastic breakage and the superglue normal becomes brittle making for easy removal.

freezer definately helps. managed to pop apart most of a bike that was liberally glued.

 

not sue on the effectivenes of powerspray - admitedly i only left it around an hour. a couple of parts came apart however it could just be that i put a bit more force in. i scrubbbed the areas that had 'mounds' of glue with a toothbrush and it may have helped a bit. will try a longer bath another time, i had bought this to do some paint stripping - yet to try it for that though.

 

note on the powerspray - read the instructions. its not a plesant set of chemicals so be careful if you try it out and rinse the models very well afterwards

Only an hour? No sir. I keep mine in for at least 24 hours, minimum.

 

 

what can i say - i'm impatient :)

 

i have a load more to resurect so will try for longer with these if i get a chance. furioso-prime, ta for that link, may give it a go!

 

at some point, if i can visit my mums, i'll digg out my 2nd edition chaos army and strip them down for repainting

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.