Foam tape instead of glue.

[matt black]

Hello all. I am waiting for my AP kit to arrive and have been doing all the reasearch that this wonderful site has to offer and getting all the tools ready for the build. This will be my first armour build and I am quite worried about messing it up but my main worry is when I come to glue the parts together. Whenever I have to use glue I always use too much and end up getting in a mess and the last thing I want is to have glue all over the parts. Has anyone ever tried using double sided car foam tape on the finishing strips. They use this stuff to mount alot of trim on cars but mainly for number plates. I've used this alot in the past as I used to work on cars and it is VERY strong. The only down side would be that I would have a 1mm gap in between the armour and the finishing strip. Do you think this would be worth a try or should I just use the tried and tested E6000 method.

Any opinions would be appreciated.

 

Rob.

[Billhag]

Rob

I wouldn’t use it for a permanent solution to put your armour together mate if you want to troop in it,

it would prise apart eventually because of the stresses and strains of moving around. I think you could

get away with it on a mannequin, although you would have the 1mm profile gap as you mentioned.

A couple of people I know do use similar tape (No Nails Heavy Duty) when building armour as aid to

the finale build. Basically they make up back and front finishing strips for the forearms, biceps, thighs

and shins. They tape the back / inside finishing strip in place on all the pieces and then use the normal

method of E6000 the strips to the fronts / outsides. In a strange way it can speed things up if you go

down the double strip route as you only have the drying time for the outside ones so you can move

on with the build.

When gluing mate you really don’t need a hell of a lot, just a nice smear will do it. Get your self a few of

those plastic craft glue spreaders like the ones you used to in school . Make sure you’ve sanded down

the surface areas that are going to be stuck together. Then spread a layer over each of the areas and

let them sit for a few minutes because you want to use the glue in the same way you would with any

other contact adhesive. Once you have them in place then just clamp / earth magnet / tape them down

and wait for them to dry (12 hours to handle, 24 hours to fully cure)

Give it a go mate, start off with the small parts and work your way up so that you get a feel of things and

your confidence will grow.

When your armour arrives give me a shout and I’ll help with anything that you’re not sure about, or even

better, if you’re near London you could bring it to one of our armour parties and we could tear into it one

weekend.

 

 

 

[NoVATie[Admin]]

E6000 dries clear and you can cut off any excess, so I wouldn't worry about it. You can always practice gluing two pieces to get an idea of the squish/ooze of the glue so you don't use too much.

[ZOn]

I had the exact same concerns when I got my AP. Take your time and try gluing some scraps together first so you know what to expect. The best advice I got was to take it one piece at a time and if you start to get frustrated (which will happen) walk away and come back the next day.

[matt black]

Thank you Billhag and NoVATie for the advice. You are right. I will go about things the proper way and stop being a wimp about it. Thanks so much for the offer of help during the build Billy. If you don't mind I will probably ask you a couple of questions along the way . I would love to come to one of your armour parties some time. Where are you in London? I moved out to the sticks from Wimbledon a couple of years ago.

[matt black]

I had the exact same concerns when I got my AP. Take your time and try gluing some scraps together first so you know what to expect. The best advice I got was to take it one piece at a time and if you start to get frustrated (which will happen) walk away and come back the next day.

 

Thanks Zon. Thats my problem. I try to do things too quickly and then mess them up. It's only because I'm enthusiastic and I've been waiting 25 years for a stormtrooper and I can't waits no more

Edited September 30, 2010 by matt black

[EGSouthSky]

I have a question, Im planning to start gluing soon but want to make sure of something. I was testing my clamps out on the front of my thigh armor to see how they would be placed when gluing the cover strips when a thought came to mind when Im ready to close the whole thigh armor with the glue, how can I apply pressure in the middle area if my clamps cant reach the middle section of the cover strips? I dont own any earth magnets either so was hoping is there another way in doing this?

[EGSouthSky]

I have a question, Im planning to start gluing soon but want to make sure of something. I was testing my clamps out on the front of my thigh armor to see how they would be placed when gluing the cover strips when a thought came to mind when Im ready to close the whole thigh armor with the glue, how can I apply pressure in the middle area if my clamps cant reach the middle section of the cover strips? I dont own any earth magnets either so was hoping is there another way in doing this?

Also I wanted to know if ABS glue is a suggested type? Since I have that already in hand I was wondering if I should use that? Just wondering because I hear most of you using E6000 ( never even heard of that type of glue till now). Also is both glues removable?

[NoVATie[Admin]]

You have to cut both glues off, I think E6000 is easier to remove. I would use E6000. You can either buy c-clamps with long jaws or use magnets to hold the pieces closed. There are threads that list the sites that sell magnets.

[tkrestonva[TK]]

1. Use rare earth magnets to hold the long seams closed (thighs, shins, forearms, and biceps). You won't regret it. I got mine from ---- they have a wide selection and have consistently delivered my product orders within 2 working days. However, I understand that ---- is cheaper and have an equally wide assortment to choose from.

 

2. E6000 is the hands-down preferred choice. It's easy to work with, dries clear and flexible, and if you make a mistake (even if you don't discover it until after the glue has dried), you can gently pry apart the parts, remove the glue residue, and start over with a clean seam. It's also readily available - you can find it in the Crafts section at WalMart. ABS cement, being specifically engineered for ABS plastic, forms a chemical bond between the two parts to be joined and is (at least in theory) stronger, but it's also a lot less forgiving. If you make a mistake, you are for the most part stuck (no pun intended), as in my experience you won't be able to separate the parts without damaging one or both.

 

My personal technique is to use ABS cement for the internal snap plates (where I want maximum strength and can hide any mistakes), and use E6000 for the seams, joins, and any other areas that are either externally visible or where I want some flexibility in the seam.

 

FYI - both of these issues have already been addressed in other threads:

 

----

Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[EGSouthSky]

On 11/4/2010 at 10:56 PM, tkrestonva said:

1. Use rare earth magnets to hold the long seams closed (thighs, shins, forearms, and biceps). You won't regret it. I got mine from , they have a wide selection and have consistently delivered my product orders within 2 working days. However, I understand that  is cheaper and have an equally wide assortment to choose from.

 

2. E6000 is the hands-down preferred choice. It's easy to work with, dries clear and flexible, and if you make a mistake (even if you don't discover it until after the glue has dried), you can gently pry apart the parts, remove the glue residue, and start over with a clean seam. It's also readily available - you can find it in the Crafts section at WalMart. ABS cement, being specifically engineered for ABS plastic, forms a chemical bond between the two parts to be joined and is (at least in theory) stronger, but it's also a lot less forgiving. If you make a mistake, you are for the most part stuck (no pun intended), as in my experience you won't be able to separate the parts without damaging one or both.

 

My personal technique is to use ABS cement for the internal snap plates (where I want maximum strength and can hide any mistakes), and use E6000 for the seams, joins, and any other areas that are either externally visible or where I want some flexibility in the seam.

 

FYI - both of these issues have already been addressed in other threads:

 

----

 

Ok thanks a lot guys, yeah I had a feeling this was already posted before just had trouble looking for it

Edited December 5, 2020 by gmrhodes13
link not working, removed gmrhodes13 2020

[Femtrooper Julie[501st]]

Can get by with regular magnets stacked up, but not as good as rare earth. Those things are AMAZING!