Originally Posted by
go_hercules
I was wondering what type of glue to use on the EZ Arfs to join the plastic pieces to each other, like the cowling, and also to join the plastic pieces to the laminated skin. I tried wicking superglue, with and without accelerator, and the plastic to plastic was okay but not great, and the plastic to skin wouldn't stay stuck. I am at a loss what to try. By the way, I tried some generic super glue as well as some Plasti Zap. Neither did the trick.
Had a few in the 80's and early 90's and from what I remember - first and foremost - even though it is an ARF, it is of paramount importance that the plastic parts be trimmed to fit (dry) without any gaps and unnecessary force or stress applied to get them to seat against the laminate skin in all places. Since
fresh, thin variety cyanoacrylate adhesives depend on capillary action to bond, in this instance it requires tight fitting parts to get decent results.
I used to mask the plastic parts with masking tape and then mask the laminate skin with 1/16" gap exposed to achieve a uniform and straight glue line that was blemish free when applying CA. More tape is used to strap or hold the part in place. No accelerator was ever used and would result in a weak bond. You can see the CA being pulled right into the seam as you're applying. Application is one smooth motion along the seam without stopping while squeezing the bottle. Note: It is absolutely essential that you ensure the tape is down - especially on the plastic parts otherwise if glue goes under the masking tape on that plastic part you're all done, game over, complete failure, might as well just throw the whole airplane away... The plastic parts will not tolerate acetone either however IIRC, the exterior of the laminate skin will. You can start unmasking as soon as you're done gluing. The masking tape must be pulled back on itself slowly to remove and occasionally an edge next to the glue line will have to be coaxed to keep from tearing the masking tape.
You mention Plasti Zap. I remember using a Pacer product called Plastizap + or something like that and I believe it stated on the label "especially formulated for EZ models". It had a very short shelf life once opened but bonded the plastic to plastic parts with great results such as typical with the cowlings in many of the EZ models.