I’m about to use my first aftermarket add on made from resin and have a couple questions. I read you should use a razor saw to remove the parts from the block they are on and not a nippers or exacto. How many teeth per inch? I saw the micro mark that were I think 72 tpi inch but do not seem available anymore. Others are like 45 tpi.
Do you use 'superglue"? Also what tips for brush painting? These are just two small M60 door guns with microscopic PE.
I typically use Xuron’s or similar to snip the base of the plug away from reasonable sized resin parts.
For clean up, I wear gloves and wet sand in a small tray of water to ensure the resin dust is trapped.
CMK’s or similar razor saw is useful too.
I like Starbond Black CA as it allows working time to position part and is stronger shear wise. Excess is easy to see and remove with a little debonder on a paint brush.
Have done a fair bit of resin but hopefully others will chime in and reply with more thoughts.
What Wade says is pretty much right on. I have and continue to use resin often. I don’t bother with the water bath for sanding though and have had no issues. My advice is to dry-fit parts often to ensure you don’t remove too much resin and don’t add glue until you are satisfied with the fit. Superglues are not forgiving when parts are placed incorrectly.
Thanks. I’m gonna check out that cmk site.
Fretsaw:
Many different types/brands. Some have saw blades that will fit through a 1/16 inch hole or even smaller. Many different teeth sizes and types (metal, wood, plastic) to chose from.
Tutorials can be found on YouTube.
Cut a little bit wide and sand down the last bit, sand wet or sand dry with a vacuum cleaner to collect the dust.
Glueing: Super glue as @HeavyArty and @Armor_Buff write or epoxy. Super glue is faster so positioning can become an issue. Epoxy is slower setting (5 minutes) which means the parts must be held in place the whole time.
Sneaky workaround: Use super glue or epoxy to glue the part to a thin styrene sheet, sand of the excess (trim around the edges) when the glue has set, then use your favourite styrene glue/cement to glue the part in place on the model.
This requires sanding down the mating surfaces to make space for that styrene sheet,
sheets down to .020 can be used, thinner styrene could “melt” completely when glue/cement is applied (been there, done that, said all the naughty words …)
Ah, keyhole saw I have. I’ll just have to find blades with less tpi than I probably have.
I wear a P100 respirator when I wet sand resin. P100 means just that…it filters out 100% of the fumes and particulates. Replace the filter cartridges with P100s. I don’t use P95s (95% filtration).
I use wet/dry sandpaper because it has a plastic backing and won’t disintegrate when wet.
I have been using Gorilla Glue for resin bonding. NOTE: Gorilla Glue has no debonder so once it’s on and the parts together, there’s no way it will come off.
I use a toothpick to apply the Gorilla Glue from an index card.
Why Gorilla Glue? I used to use Zap-a-Gap and CA superglue from a hobby shop, but the local hobby shops closed. CA superglue leaves crystals that can expand and mess up the bond. Also after years, CA superglue crystalizes so much that the bond breaks and the pieces fall off as if they have never been glued. Gorilla Glue does not do that and has no crystallization, but Gorilla Glue will not forgive any mistakes once set. One bottle lasts a long time as it gets thicker as it ages. CA superglue dries in the bottle way too fast that I have to throw it away. (I don’t put superglue in the refrigerator for longer shelf life). I always wear gloves and a respirator when I superglue.
I use an Xacto razor saw for cutting and then sand the piece smooth. I don’t cut too close as to damage the part. Remember, you can always sand closer to the part than to cut it so close as to damage it.
I use Perfect Plastic Putty for gap filling. It works fine with resin and smooths and cleans up with water.
I wash the resin after assembly and prime with Tamiya Fine primer that comes in white, grays, or pink.
All these products can be found on Amazon.com.
This is resin glued with Gorilla Glue. It has still stayed glued and strong since 2021.
FWIW - Peter, great points and information.
Not all CA is same quality for example Hobby Shop brand Bob Smith Industries? Worst I’ve used ever. Never had a bottle of Zap-a-Gap or BSI CA last six months. Definitely low quality CA in my experience.
My bottle of StarBond Black CA is over 4 years old and still works great. It has thickened slightly due to age but it’s probably going to last 5+ years. Had to replace bottle and cap due to use etc. I do keep it in the fridge when away from the hobby desk for more than a few days. In anycase StarBond guarantee is for ~18 months IIRC
HTH
Gorilla Glue can be found at hardware, drug, and some grocery stores. Amazon.com carries it. It’s more readily available than CA superglue.
The problem I had with CA superglue besides it drying so fast in the bottle is that it crystalizes at the stem, blocking the tiny hole opening. I had to use a toothpick to ream the hole open again. Gorilla Glue has no crystallization so it’s much better for resin work. It’s the crystallization that will separate the bond over time and break the pieces apart if you touch them years later. I learned that from Planetfigure forum and from personal experience.
It doesn’t have to be so involved nor hard.
Resin dust is not caustic or anything like that. It can be an problem if you have issues with dust or if you inhale a lot of it. It is an irritant at best.
I find the cheap (Duro?) superglue in the 4-in-1 pack at Wal-Mart to be the best. It only cost about $3 for a 4 pack and the smaller tubes get used up way before they dry up. I have never had an issue with the joints coming apart over time either. I have models 20+ years old with solid superglue resin joints.
I never prime either. To me that is just another layer of paint to soften details.
I mainly build large-scale resin figures so priming for me is necessary because they’re larger than 1/35 scale.
It’s not so much the resin dust, but the resin fumes. Solid resin figures, not 3-D printed figures, are made of resin chemicals and some resin makers don’t allow them to fully cure or dry before shipping as they’re freshly cast and then packaged. The resin fumes can be harmful.
One needs to air out these not fully cured and dried resin kits outside in the sun to have the fumes dissipate. I learned that the hard way when I opened up a plastic container full of stored resin kits…the fumes were stored inside for a long time and UGH! The fumes were a lung irritant because I didn’t wear my respirator, only gloves.
As for priming, it’s necessary for resin figures or else the paint might flake off because the resin might still be off-gassing and oozing chemicals a bit. One needs to seal the resin with primer and give the paint something to bite because the figure’s resin can be so smooth. Resin AFV kits might not have this problem.
That may explain some things. I used to love opening up my Legend delivery every month. Nothing like the smell of not quite cured resin,
Some of these original manufacturer resin figure makers have Limited Edition of 100 kits only. If one doesn’t preorder, it’s all OOP and out-of-stock. They’ll never make and release it again.
When it comes time to deliver, some vendors deliver without the solid resin being fully cured.
3-D printing doesn’t have this problem and there’s hardly any resin smell because the large scale resin figures are mostly hollow inside.
OK good info. So that resin is not too porous for liquid superglue I’m guessing. Right now I only have the gel if it’s still even good.
Just a word of advice some CMK kits can be a bit hard to assemble, for a first kit, with some very fragile parts that won’t take weight, which resin is.
Liquid super glue is all I use with resin. I recommend some Legend update set for vehicles or gear sets. Legend is probably the best resin company on the market.
Definitely agree with @HeavyArty, liquid CA instead of gel for resin.
FWIW - Regarding CA durability, have models built 35+ years ago with parts bonded with CA that are still together. Have had zero long term issues with CA bond durability. These are on a sealed display shelf in a room that stays betwee ~68F To ~76F year round.
