JB Weld and Other Glues

[GreenJello]

Does anybody have experience using JB Weld or glues other than CA/super glue?

I'm thinking that JB Weld might be a better solution for times when I don't need an instant bond when working with a metal model.

[pariah3j]

Never thought of it to be honest, My guess is it would probably work as well as green stuff being a 2 part epoxy but I've never used it for modeling so I'm only hazarding a guess there

[GreenJello]

Never thought of it to be honest, My guess is it would probably work as well as green stuff being a 2 part epoxy but I've never used it for modeling so I'm only hazarding a guess there

The tubes I have right now I got because my brother advised me to use it to fix a oil crank case. He's a mechanic, so I think it's pretty good stuff, but I never hear much about it on here.

[PG_Feeple]

JB Weld is great. It is truly made for when you want a thing to stick to a thing and NEVER COME APART.

That being said, I'm afraid to use it on models.

[Ashcans]

I have heard of people using it on metal miniatures before, but it has always struck me as being a pretty extreme solution. JB Weld is not really comparable to glue. Comparing it to greenstuff (or another two-part epoxy) is more accurate, but possibly still misleading. I've used it to repair a motorcycle engine and patch the chasis, and as a way to cold-weld steel together. This is an industrial product, not a hobbyist one.

By all means, you can use it to put your miniature together, but be aware that 1) you should plan to never get it apart again and 2) you have to be very careful because if you mess up and end up with a big fat trickle on your miniature, it will be hell to fix.

[PPS_Meg]

When I first started painting, the boyfriend I had at the time, used JB Weld religiously. I will say that while in theory it sounds like it would be a great thing to use, stick with super glue. I had so many problems with JB weld, including that if you don't mix it correctly it stays soft and spongey and your models come apart really easily. Not to mention it's a pain in the @$$ to apply to models without it getting everywhere. Honestly, a super glue bottle with some sort of small applicator such as a piece of brass rod, has worked the best.

The P3 super glue has worked really well for me. Once it sets, my models are not coming apart.

[GreenJello]

Just to be clear, in this case I'm attempting to get the Trollblood Runeshaper's rising stones to stick together at the joint midway up, and also to the base.



Super glue is probably better for a lot of smaller detail work, but in this case the bond needs to be able to support a large chunk of metal, high in the air, in an area that's like to be bumped.

PPS_Meg - I believe that all super glue uses the same active ingredients with some tweaks here and there. Having used a number of different brands over the years the only differences I've seen have been in the viscosity of the glue. How is the P3 product different?

[SchnauzerFace]

PPS_Meg ... How is the P3 product different?

It pays the rent

I haven't used the P3 glue, but I'm a big fan of the Loctite super glue. It bonds crazy strong and has a really nice long nozzle that helps with precision placement. The biggest plus, though, is that it's available at the grocery store so it's really convenient to find.

[Saladin]

Gorilla Super Glue is good because it's rubberised, so it isn't brittle. But when you melt it it'll go just like any other glue.

I use it especially because I leave my models in the car, which tends to freeze rather frequently, and that tends to do Hell to traditional CA joins.

On the note of epoxy glues, I use it for "unpinnable" points, like the top shell of a Spriggan. When I re-do Lich Lord Terminus I'll use JB Weld on the wings.

[Murkhadh]

I've yet to have anything come apart I used p3 glue on as well. And the bottle is the best part, the cap keeps it from getting clogged. Something else i've noticed, the stinkier the glue, the stronger is seems to be, and man does the p3 glue stink.

[Invaderzahn]

The only thing I've used JB Weld on (as far as minis go) is the smokestacks on Feora2... oh how I hate those things...

[Ashcans]

Just to be clear, in this case I'm attempting to get the Trollblood Runeshaper's rising stones to stick together at the joint midway up, and also to the base.

Honestly, for that sort of thing I would just drill and pin it. It's certainly an awkward join and I can see how it would break, but the pieces being held are not that big and a decent pin should do the job. On the other hand, the rocks are going to be a lot more forgiving if you end up with any spill from the weld, too.

[darkscion0]

I've heard good stuff about Gorilla Superglue as well.

[skarreslave2]

back when I first started modeling years ago I used JB weld. It works, but takes awhile to cure and it never comes apart plus its messy. Super glue or GS is better

[PPS_Meg]

Just to be clear, in this case I'm attempting to get the Trollblood Runeshaper's rising stones to stick together at the joint midway up, and also to the base.



Super glue is probably better for a lot of smaller detail work, but in this case the bond needs to be able to support a large chunk of metal, high in the air, in an area that's like to be bumped.

PPS_Meg - I believe that all super glue uses the same active ingredients with some tweaks here and there. Having used a number of different brands over the years the only differences I've seen have been in the viscosity of the glue. How is the P3 product different?

I would still suggest super glue to be honest. If you are concerned about weight bearing then you may want to pin the pieces together. Even with JB Weld things can fall apart. I tried to glue dragon wings onto the body of a dragon with JB weld and it turned into a big mess. Not to mention it doesn't dry as fast as super glue so you'll need to make sure you can hold the parts together while the JB weld cures and that can be 5 minutes, 15 minutes, maybe even an hour or so.

I have no idea how the P3 glue would differ in chemical composition to other super glues but I've had a lot of luck with it and I've tried many a superglue over the years. It may take a couple seconds more to bond metal but I've had minis that I've tried breaking apart later and even with super glue debonder P3 was really tough to get apart.

[GreenJello]

Honestly, for that sort of thing I would just drill and pin it. It's certainly an awkward join and I can see how it would break, but the pieces being held are not that big and a decent pin should do the job. On the other hand, the rocks are going to be a lot more forgiving if you end up with any spill from the weld, too.

I was figuring on a pin at the base, but the middle part worries me, since it's a portionally large amount of weight on a small area. Further the pin couldn't do much, do to the nature of the sculpt.

And yeah, the rocks mean that any messiness from the JB Weld should be relatively easy to hide. Not something I'd want to mess with for very small points!

Not to mention it doesn't dry as fast as super glue so you'll need to make sure you can hold the parts together while the JB weld cures and that can be 5 minutes, 15 minutes, maybe even an hour or so.

Very true, which is why I usually use super glue. In this case, the nature of the bits makes it fairly easy to support with a few random bits.

I have no idea how the P3 glue would differ in chemical composition to other super glues but I've had a lot of luck with it and I've tried many a superglue over the years. It may take a couple seconds more to bond metal but I've had minis that I've tried breaking apart later and even with super glue debonder P3 was really tough to get apart.

Okay cool, I'll give it a try when my current bottle runs dry.

[Undead Saboteur]

A buddy of mine introduced me to the JB weld technique. I use it to assemble almost all my metal models. It makes them very durable but they can still come apart if they take a big fall. When you're using JB weld find an old CD or some plastic to mix the compound on. I always drill and pin using the weld to strengthen the bond. Drill, put pin in one hole, apply jbweld over the other, dab superglue on the pin and assemble. I recommend using a toothpick to mix and apply the weld and remove the excess. You can also use zipkicker to make the drying time faster. Also make sure you're in a pretty well ventilated area.

[dracphelan]

For what you are wanting to do, I would not use regular JB Weld. I recommend using another product of theirs, JB Weld Steel Stik. It is a 2 part epoxy putty that comes in a single stick (one part as the core and the other part wrapped around it), and sets in about 5 minutes. I have had great success in using it for joining parts.

[ChristopherY]

I use a 1 minute 2 part liquid epoxy to join larger parts and have been able to forego pinning altogether... it only works if there is a large bonding area, but I have found it to be MUCH stronger than any CA glue I have used. The 2 part epoxy has a much higher shear strength than even Gorilla Glue. I used to pin and super glue everything until I used the 2 part liquid epoxy to repair a handle on my microwave oven. That microwave gets yanked open dozens of times of day by my two children and it hasn't broken for over a year now(a few months when I decided to try on models), so I figured if it can stand up to that much abuse it can hold a model together and even without pins nothing has broken even after taking some serious spills.

[GreenJello]

I use a 1 minute 2 part liquid epoxy to join larger parts and have been able to forego pinning altogether...

Sounds pretty cool, do you remember the manufacturer?

[ChristopherY]

Sounds pretty cool, do you remember the manufacturer?

Loctite 1-Minute Epoxy. They make longer curing versions if you can become a human vise and hold things for that long; for me a minute is long enough. The longer curing stuff might be stronger, but the 1-Minute is unbelievably strong already.

[Kalamadea]

For what you are wanting to do, I would not use regular JB Weld. I recommend using another product of theirs, JB Weld Steel Stik. It is a 2 part epoxy putty that comes in a single stick (one part as the core and the other part wrapped around it), and sets in about 5 minutes. I have had great success in using it for joining parts.

That stuff is great, but I'm not sure if that would work as well in this case. I use plumbers putty all the time (basically the exact same thing, it's meant for sealing metal pipe joins), but it works best on large areas to be joined like gluing a warbeast torso to the legs or a tail/arm or on the base for feet that aren't flat. Basically you mix it up like green stuff, put a blob of it between the two pieces to be joined and smoosh them together, getting rid of the excess that squeezes out the sides. It hardens in about 5 minutes, and fully cures rock hard in about an hour. It holds really well by itself, but often I break it apart after it hardens, before it cures, and superglue it to be sure. It forms a completely flush join for maximum contact area and the glue grips to it extremely well, it saves me from a LOT of pinning and it fills the large gaps on top of it all, it's fantastic. You could do the same thing with greenstuff, but GS doesn't hold very well at all and it takes a lot longer to cure. It's like $4~6 USD for a foot long tube of it at pretty much any hardware store.