I am putting together a pair of plastic floats made of ABS. I need to glue some parts. I dont know, what to use to hold them together.

I plan to use them in water and in snow. I think I need something other than epoxy. Help will be very much appreciated.

Thanks and regards.

Zafer

Go to any hobby shop that sells plastic models, and get a tube of "plastic glue."

Hi Bob,

I have tried PVC Glue ( Glue for hard PVCs ) ( and first I have cleaned the parts with Acetone) but didnt work. ( Well it sticks the parts together, but when you apply a bit of force they brake apart. )

I will see my LHS if I can find anything strong enough.

Thanks.

Zafer

Plumbing pipe is ABS in the USA. I get a can of Pipe cement (ABS, PVC, or CPVC) from the plumbing store (Hardware, discount store, etc). It has a fiber swab fastened under the lid. This works perfect for glueing the ABS model parts.

In Addition, it is easy to reinforce the plastic with fiberglass cloth. Cut the cloth to shape and paint it down with the swap on the lid. The glass will stay attached forever. It will not come loose later like epoxy does.

Enjoy,

Jim

Thanks for the fast replies...

Zafer

I don't know what kind of ABS floats you are using but I have the ones from " ARC " ( falcon trading in the US ) and I use CA and epoxy. In fact I just did a small repair on my Beaver with CA. Make SURE the area is clean and if possible scuff the area to be glued. I tried pipe glue but didn't like it and it didn't hold in my case. On the repair I made today, I pressed everything togeather then glued it, while it was drying I used a hobby knife and SCRAPED along the repair leting the scrapings stick in the repair. Then when it was dry I buff (lightly ) sanded it. It seems to be plenty strong. ENJOY !!! RED

If the plastic is clean, CA works better than anything else you will find.

Jim

Read Head,

I have the same ABS floats made by ARC.

I am glad to hear that I can use CA. Another Question thou..... What kind of paint you are using with them?

Thanks and regards.

Zafer

Any enamel based paint. Fuel proof if you are using glow power. I don't know about lacquer based paint. It might attack the plastic, but I haven't tried it.

Again, the plastic needs to be clean.

Jim

I can't say about lacquer but I've used about everything else on the plastic planes. As long as it's fuel proof. I don't remember for sure but I think I may have even tried lacquer on one. Try it on an out of the way place or on some scrape. The best paint job I had was on a Jupiter that was painted with 1994 Corvette yellow. At $35.00 a pint I sure won't do that again, but it worked SUPER.

I've stated this a number of times in different post but I'll do it again. When glueing plastics always SCORE glue joints if possible to give a better joint. Especially so on the pegs that are used for the float mounts and they should be EPOXYED in with plenty of glue forced into the hole. These floats are great but if not done right that can be a weak point. ENJOY !!! RED

RED HEAD !!!!

I'm surprised no one uses "Seal-All" for ABS! It works for PVC pipe joints, as well.

I just run across some glue in the Hobby Lobby catalog made for Graupner that is for ABS plastic. I've never used it but who knows? The stock # is GR 9534 UHU - HART, 1 oz. Page 125 in the catalog. ENJOY !!! RED

Hi again,

I have just finished assembling it. It was my first float model, so I used a trainer.
( I have to paint the floats thou )

Regards.

Zafer

Looks real sharpe.

Enjoy,

Jim

When painting the floats, don't paint the whole float, just paint a wide trim line from one end to the other. That will be a reference line when landing. A long time ago someone told me that when landing a float plane to watch / land the float and the plane will follow right along, so far it works every time. ENJOY !!! RED

Thanks for the tips.

Regards.

Zafer