Hey Everyone, Whats the difference? cause in the sig kadet manuel they use CA glue and I have epoxy.. Is it the same thing? and one more question. For the epoxy.. i'm mixing 50/50 resin and hardner correct? also, if you have 12 minute epoxy.. does that mean I only have 12 minutes to glue everything before the glue starts drying out? Sorry if this is a stupid question just a lil confused.

CA is completely different from Epoxy. It seems like many ARFs are not calling for use of CA (Super Glue). CA can come in three types, thick, medium and thin and are used for different applications. CA is instant so your parts need to be positioned exactly right. Epoxy gives you time to work.

Yes 50/50 is just fine. That's why the bottles are the same size.

Yes 12 minutes is the theoretical time it takes to set... i would recommend you get it in position and secured within much less time than that. I would say 5 minutes max so make sure you dry fit everything first. Remember that you don't have to mix like you're beating eggs... this will definitely shorten the curing time.

CA glue is pretty much instaneous glue. It effectively fuses two pieces of wood together. Its pretty strong stuff, and if you get any of it on your fingers, you're in trouble! This glue was first used to join skin together, so be extremely careful with it. It's used in construction of fuselages, wing ribs etc in kit planes. In ARF its used pretty much for CA hinges, hardening of holes for screws. But, and this is a big but, it is NOT used for joining wings together. Use expoxy on any wing joining you do. Epoxy is mixed 50/50 as you said, it takes varying times to go off, there is 5min, 12min, 30min expoxies. The longer it takes to cure the stronger the join. Hence, use 30min expoxy for joining wings together.
Hope that helps.

Oh yeah... is the fumes when CA meets epoxy toxic? Cuz I've been smelling lots of it!!!

One of the big things about using epoxy is that epoxy adds a lot more weight then ca. use ca to join parts together for small assemblies like joining spars to ribs or making control surfaces but when joining major assemblies like wings together use 15 minute epoxy because it cures stronger and slower and it has to take a lot more concentrated stresses

If you have CA hinges with that kit, be sure to use thin CA glue for them as the instructions specify... do not use medium or thick CA, and definitely do not use epoxy for CA hinges! The thin CA wicks all throughout the hinge, and gets inside the wood slot to form a good bond. Thick CA or epoxy will not wick into the slots and you'll get no bonding. If you've ever seen a plane flying when it looses some of it's control surfaces (especially an elevator), it's not a pretty site!

CA's and epoxy is quite different. Most model epoxies use a 50/50 mix but there are many others where the mix is different--less activator per unit volume. note that all epoxies, even the 5 minute type still require 24 hours under normal temperatures to reach full strength, it is just that the faster rated epoxies become tack free sooner (and make poor connections sooner if you let it start to set up before using it). The slower epoxies do form longer polymore chains and are thus stronger than the faster setting ones. And yes, CA's can cause health problems. Unfortunately they are cumulative and can sneak up on you after extended use. For most modeling work, especially for fastening wood, carpenters glues perform as well or better than either CA or epoxies with joints stronger than the wood you are joining together. I've put together many 1/4 scale planes with no use of either epoxy or CA with no problems, yes, even the firewalls using only carpenters glue, usually Titebond.

Some uses for epoxy: Firewalls, landing gear blocks and triangle stock that go in behind firewall and gear blocks. Also gluing center sections together, spar stiffeners, tail surfaces on, wing bolt blocks and things like that.

CA use" just about everything else. Ribs to spars, bulkheads to sides, side doublers on to sides, longerons, sheeting, shear webs, cap strips, gluing tail surfaces together and such. I build just about the entire airplane with thick and thin CA. I go over all joints with carpenters wood glue before I close it up. The CA is strong enough, but I prefer to add the wood glue to all joints. Don't use a ton. I use either dental syringe to put it where I want it or a dental metal spatula tool, about 1/4 inch wide. It works great. Doesn't take a ton, just adds strength.

Just one point of view on it.

What are the health problems with using Epoxy and CA? I have recently had a problem with eye lids puffed up and red after repairing an airplane with epoxy... All suggestions?

I bought a couple boxes of disposable latex gloves at Sam's Club... I wear them whenever I use epoxy. This is mainly to just keep the stuff off of my hands, making clean up easier, but if you're concerned about health risks these should help. I also use a respirator (made to filter out paint fumes, pesticides, toxic dusts, etc.) when I cut or "Dremel" anything that's going to kick up lots of dust. If you're concerned about epoxy fumes, a respirator with the proper filter should help. I never tried mine with epoxy, but I wore it when I was mixing up some Bondo, which has very strong fumes, and I couldn't smell a thing...

Find a way to keep fresh air in the area. A fan blowing a a real slow speed can keep the fumes out of your eyes and lungs usually although a respirator and safety glasses is better/safer. Different people have different reactions to these things, best to be safe until you know your tolerances. [:@]