What is the strongest glue for 3d resin printed models?

[hd3]

There are quite a few resin HH models I want to add as proxies and some 3d printed models that will also be resin I was hoping to add to my army. But I've only ever used plastic cement because I've only made plastic models so far. What's the best glue to use for resin models?

[Mithrilforge]

First off - wash the models in warm soapy water...or all your painting will be for naught... 

 

Any Cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) will suffice, some are thin and some are thicker consistency. don't buy the dollar store one, go for a mid range priced glue. 

 

Cheers, Mithril

[hd3]

33 minutes ago, Mithrilforge said:

First off - wash the models in warm soapy water...or all your painting will be for naught... 

 

Any Cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) will suffice, some are thin and some are thicker consistency. don't buy the dollar store one, go for a mid range priced glue. 

 

Cheers, Mithril

Like gorilla glue?

[AutumnEffect]

I use this after I saw some tests that showed Loctite was the strongest super glue (at least in that test) and I love the squeeze bottle. Makes things muuuuch more convenient.

 

I've never looked back.

[Khulu]

Gorilla Glue gel(blue cap, clear liquid) works very well for me, at long asthe model is washed. I use it for 3d prints and FW resin. It's on the thick side, though, so I have other glues for whenit needs to be thinner.

[NovemberIX]

I used to use loctite before switching to Cyapro medium viscosity, I'd say both are pretty good, though these days I do prefer Cyapro for the price.

[Grotsmasha]

Any super glue works well, but the real secret to a really secure bond on resin, whether it's cast or printed, is sanding both sides of the join (sanding stick, nail file etc).

[hd3]

33 minutes ago, Grotsmasha said:

Any super glue works well, but the real secret to a really secure bond on resin, whether it's cast or printed, is sanding both sides of the join (sanding stick, nail file etc).

 

I thought sanding resin was supposed to be toxic to something? Or is that just a scurrilous rumour to trick me into buying GW plastic?

[Grotsmasha]

*Technically* yes. HOWEVER, that warning is meant for commercial volume. At consumer volume of dust there's no more risk vs. sanding GWs regular plastic. Best practice for both is eye protection and a mask for BOTH

[hd3]

2 minutes ago, Grotsmasha said:

*Technically* yes. HOWEVER, that warning is meant for commercial volume. At consumer volume of dust there's no more risk vs. sanding GWs regular plastic. Best practice for both is eye protection and a mask for BOTH

 

Regular cheap flu face mask ok? Also do glasses count as eye protection? 

 

For the join, how smooth so I need to make the join? Should I use my metal Tamiya file I use on plastic or a cheap disposable nail file?

[Grotsmasha]

I use a regular flu mask, and I have those hardware-style wrap-around protective glasses.

Rough, you want it rough vs smooth, it gives the glue more surface area, and a deeper hold in the pieces. I use the rough side of one of those foam nail files.

 

edit: I also have a pedestal fan, and when I'm sanding, I turn it around with its back to me, this sucks any of the smallest particles away and out my door.

Edited Friday at 06:43 AM by Grotsmasha

[sbarnby71]

For me cheap super glue works great. Make sure you only apply to one surface/part you're bonding and keep the layer of glue thin. Also I never apply directly to model, I have a scrap piece of plastic I put the glue on, then use a steel dental pick to dip into the glue and apply it with more accuracy.

[Xenith]

Superglue for FW and 3d print resin as said, great tips from grot about sanding, something I'm guilty of not doing. If you paint in sub assemblies, you might want to scrape the paint away from the join as otherwise you'll be gluing paint to paint, and the paint-paint bond will be stronger than the paint-model bond, and they will come apart - best to stick model to model, and with a slightly roughened surface so the glue can 'key' in. 

Edited Sunday at 09:22 AM by Xenith

[Firedrake Cordova]

5 hours ago, hd3 said:

I thought sanding resin was supposed to be toxic to something?

It's supposed to be quite nasty for the lungs (it's pretty fine and an irritant at least). Any of the (K)N95/FFP2 masks should filter it out.

 

Obviously, there are significantly less risks if you're assembling one infantry model, as opposed to a Warlord titan, so proportionate measures and all that.

 

++EDIT: You could also try wet-sanding. The wet file/glass paper should "capture" the majority of the dust (you will likely end up with a smoother surface as the water will reduce the "cut" of the abrasive a bit).

Edited Friday at 11:30 AM by Firedrake Cordova

[Evil Eye]

One other thing you CAN do is a trick called "resin welding". Decant a very, very small amount of 3D resin (preferably the same you used to print the model) and using an old brush spread it onto the surface as you would with glue. Join the parts, then blast it with a UV curing lamp, and it'll set the resin solid. Depending on the joint it might be best to superglue it first and then fill any gaps with resin-welding, to avoid any chance of pockets of uncured resin (which can offgas and crack the joint open again) but for gap-filling it's pretty great.

[hd3]

On 1/3/2025 at 1:45 PM, AutumnEffect said:

I use this after I saw some tests that showed Loctite was the strongest super glue (at least in that test) and I love the squeeze bottle. Makes things muuuuch more convenient.

 

I've never looked back.

 

Autumn has sold me on giving loctite a try. Im so sick of opening a new super glue and it immediately drying up and gunking. I've also had a lot of bad luck with gorilla glue frosting.

[Grotsmasha]

I use dollar bottles with brush applicator for infantry sized models, and have done so for years

[Arikel]

11 hours ago, hd3 said:

 

Autumn has sold me on giving loctite a try. Im so sick of opening a new super glue and it immediately drying up and gunking. I've also had a lot of bad luck with gorilla glue frosting.

Gorilla glue gel for sure will frost plastic, but it is very easy to work with. Generally use gorilla glue liquid instead now for plastic, no issues.

 

The liquid glue worked for the resin chaplain I worked on, haven’t tried the gel with resin yet.