Many moons ago, I received some FSE troops epoxied to 1" flatwashers.
Wonderful, except I hate 1" washers (I use pennies). So I needed to remove the
washers. Brake Fluid (the wonderful detergent) removed the paint on the
figures super easily, but the washers were on there to stay.
So, a couple of days ago, I bought a small can of acetone. Nasty stuff, so
follow all handling instructions and learn about it before
getting any - it isn't nice. I got a small can, poured some into an
old spaghetti jar with a lid, and tossed my FSE troops in.
A couple of days later, the FSE troops' washers had FALLEN OFF. They didn't
even need to be pried apart. And there was virtually NO sign of the epoxy at
all. Also, just to show you how nasty acetone is, it ate the sealer rim right
out of the can lid! (Many of these sealers are made with synthetics that
acetone will eat).
So: 1) If you need to remove epoxy from metal figs, a good bath in acetone
does the job. 2) be careful how you store the acetone, make sure it is
ventilated and the container you use is sealed and of a variety not subject to
destruction by acetone.
Just in case anyone else has this kind of problem - I'm very happy
with the results.
> On Thu, 25 Jul 2002 11:03:52 -0400, kaladorn@magma.ca wrote:
> Wonderful, except I hate 1" washers (I use pennies).
And you call 6mm lovers heretics! I, personally, much prefer washers. Washers
stick to magnets, pennies don't.
Thanks for the information on epoxy. I've gone almost entirely to super glues
(since you can now get them in three thicknesses), but I have some old figures
that should probably have the epoxy removed. This is good advice.
On or about Thu, Jul 25, 2002 at 10:14:50AM -0500, Allan Goodall typed:
> Thanks for the information on epoxy. I've gone almost entirely to super
Acetone will dissolve super glue quite effectively as well. (Personally, I'm
shifting from SG to epoxies, because I've become seriously unimpressed with
the strength of the SGs.)
On Thu, 25 Jul 2002 10:14:50 -0500, Allan Goodall <agoodall@att.net>
wrote:
> On Thu, 25 Jul 2002 11:03:52 -0400, kaladorn@magma.ca wrote:
Washers
> stick to magnets, pennies don't.
Agreed. Also, I hate seeing Lincoln's face staring up at me, reminding me that
my troopers are all dead. Again.
> Thanks for the information on epoxy. I've gone almost entirely to
Also agreed -- and I still use Epoxy, for when I want those superstrong
bonds.
I use white glue so that I can pop the washer off if Tomb is around and glue
them down to a penny. <G>
Bob Makowsky
> --- Roger Burton West <roger@firedrake.org> wrote:
As an art project, I painted some of Old Glory's 15mm ACW casualties and
based them on unpainted US coins. The bloodstain on the coin may have been a
bit much, but my mother (artist in watercolor and engravings, and
a peace activist) approved and that's all I needed to hear.
If we can just talk Old Glory into doing science fiction minis in 15mm we'd be
all set.
> John Crimmins wrote:
> Agreed. Also, I hate seeing Lincoln's face staring up at me, reminding
On Thu, 25 Jul 2002 12:28:15 -0400 (EDT), "John Crimmins"
> <johncrim@voicenet.com> wrote:
> Also, I hate seeing Lincoln's face staring up at me, reminding me that
In TomB's case, it would be the queen! Or a bunch of maple leaves.
> Also agreed -- and I still use Epoxy, for when I want those superstrong
The problem with epoxy is that it deteriorates with age rather badly (though
if you paint a model it seems to "lock it in" better and it doesn't
deteriorate quite so quickly).
I haven't found a problem with the strength of super glue. I don't use the
regular strength stuff, though. I use either Zap Gap filler (the green bottle)
or Flash medium strength (gap filling) glue (also in a green bottle). For
really super bonds I use Flash gel (yellow bottle). I haven't found it better
or worse than epoxy. Certainly it isn't as stinky as epoxy, or messy, nor do
you have to worry about that "sweet spot" in epoxy when it's just starting to
set and is at it's best for easy of use.
The other thing I like about super glue is the super glue accelerator. It
works particularly good with the gel. I glue my figures to washers, then glue
gel onto the washer around the figure's base. Before the glue sets (actually,
before it runs off the base!) I spray it with accelerator. It's the best stuff
I've found for filling in the area between the base and the washer.
> The problem with epoxy is that it deteriorates with age rather badly
For
> really super bonds I use Flash gel (yellow bottle). I haven't found it
I think that super glue has lots of strength if you try to pull the part
apart. However, it break if you twist the part.
Do you found the gel behave differently than normal super glue? I was under
the impression it was just the same stuff but with different thickness.
> The other thing I like about super glue is the super glue accelerator.
It
> works particularly good with the gel. I glue my figures to washers,
Accelerator is good. I just tried it with normal super glue but I might try
with the gel type if it's better. For sure, it will be less messy than epoxy!
> On Fri, 2002-07-26 at 12:44, Yves Lefebvre wrote:
Super glue works best on semi-smooth surfaces that mate together well.
If you have to fill gaps with it, cyanoacrylate tends to be too brittle.
Twisting puts stress on the bond at the weakest points of a
super-glue bond - the raised imperfections.
> Do you found the gel behave differently than normal super glue? I was
I have found that most of the gels I've used tend to be weaker. One
exception is the "Zap-A-Gap" stuff... Though not technically a gel, the
thick gap-filling stuff is very good.
> Accelerator is good. I just tried it with normal super glue but I
Another trick with most accelerators is that it still works even if you've let
it dry. Which means that you can spray the washer and let it dry, put a bit of
glue on your fig and as soon as you touch the fig to the washer, the glue will
"bite" and hold. This works best on liquid
superglues, because the thickeners in the gap-filling and gel glues slow
down the accelerator.
Pretty handy for "tacking on" little fiddly bits.
On Fri, 26 Jul 2002 09:08:29 -0500, Allan Goodall <agoodall@att.net>
wrote:
> On Thu, 25 Jul 2002 12:28:15 -0400 (EDT), "John Crimmins"
That's little better, I fear.
"Yes, they're pushing up daisies. I mean maple leaves."
> >Also agreed -- and I still use Epoxy, for when I want those
bottle)
> or Flash medium strength (gap filling) glue (also in a green bottle
I've got a number of painted Ogres, and I've found that the guns that I've
Epoxied into place are a lot less likely to come loose than the Superglued
ones. And if you can pin the joint as well, the epoxy and pin make for a
darned near unbreakable joint. I still use superglue for joining things that
aren't likely to be under a lot of stress, though.
> The other thing I like about super glue is the super glue accelerator.
It
> works particularly good with the gel. I glue my figures to washers,
I get overly elaborate, myself. I put a piece of tape across the top of
the washer, and then flip it over and fill the hole with white glue. Let it
dry overnight, and the result is nice and strong. I then put the glue on the
washer, spreay accelerator on the miniature's base, and then bring the two
together. Darned near instant bond.
And then I texture it with Acryllic Gel Medium, and paint the sucker.
> On 26-Jul-02 at 21:16, John Crimmins (johncrim@voicenet.com) wrote:
> I get overly elaborate, myself. I put a piece of tape across the top
Let
> it dry overnight, and the result is nice and strong. I then put the
That brings up something that amazes me others haven't noticed. An OK mini on
a nice base looks good. A great mini on a bare base looks really lame. It
seems odd to see people go to great lengths to make a beautiful painted mini
but they can't take 5 minutes to flock the base.
> Allan Goodall wrote:
> On Thu, 25 Jul 2002 11:03:52 -0400, kaladorn@magma.ca wrote:
Washers
> stick to magnets, pennies don't.