More on issues with resin - anyone seen this?

That cat died, didn't it?

Well, maybe yes, maybe no. It's like one of those TV quiz shows.  Do you want to open the box?

I've made this repair a few times. Borrowing Harv's photo for a moment, I remove the least affected part of the molding:

Residual adhesive can be removed from the molding using an X-Acto blade (#11). I use a toothpick for any on the painted surface. Be careful.

I've successfully re-attached moldings like this one using Elmer's Clear School Glue:

Note that it's "Washable". This means that you can be a little sloppy (channel your inner 5 year old!). Apply the Elmer's with a toothpick. It's OK to use your fingers to hold the molding in place until it lays flat by itself. Any Elmer's that seeps or smears can be cleaned with a slightly damp (with water) Q-Tip swab before it sets. Have plenty of Q-Tips on hand. Stroke carefully only in the direction of the molding. Any water stains can be wiped away later. After the Elmer's sets completely. I'll wait until the next day.

Ed's point about not gluing to a painted surface is a valid one. It's a hard core rule in model building. I just find that the Elmer's Clear works just fine in this instance with these surfaces.

My preferred building scales are 1/24 and 1/25 so I have a few extra tools:

If I need to trim photo-etch, Tamiya offers specific scissors (74068). Xuron (brand) cutters (with the blue handles) are excellent as they have a shearing action - while scissors have a compression action.

Tamiya offers triangular-shaped cotton swabs in several sizes. Above is the smallest size.

For bending photo-etch, Tamiya offers specific tweezers (74117) and bending pliers in two sizes. I use the smaller "Mini" size (74084). 

I also have the Tamiya diamond file (74066) which is specifically for photo-etch.

Hope this helps!

@john-sharisky Thanks John. I will see if the trim can be gently prodded loose.We actually have some school glue around here.

@jkuvakas the trim doesn't expand and the resin doesn't shrink. The adhesive is the culprit and it happens only with PE parts. All the older GLM models with chrome foil don't have this problem. It also happened on the Goldvarg 63 Riviera.

@john-sharisky 

Thanks for the very informative tutorial.

@nickies 

I tend to agree with you about the adhesive. I just looked at my two oldest resin models, both purchased new in 2013. They are a Spark 1958 Edsel convertible and a 1938 Automodello 1938 Packard convertible. Lots of small plated parts, and everyone still attached as the day I received them. I wonder what the adhesive is.

@nickies If that were true I could simply push the part back in place and glue it. But it will not fit like it did 7 years ago. The model has not had extremes of cold, heat, or light. Still puzzling.

@mg-harv This has nothing to do with storage conditions as far as we are talking about our models. The chemical bonding properties are lost over time depending of the adhesive purpose and medias they have to keep together. Also some of these PE parts are notched to simulate the space between the body panels as doors and fender lines. This create a break in the tensile linear strength of the strip and over reach the performance capability of the adhesive.

Also, I doubt that any of these adhesives are solvent based because when the strips pop out, there is no residue on the surface they are attached. The only way to make them permanent is using an underlayer of nail polish using an Xacto blade. No mess and no more problem.

@graeme-ogg Interesting Graeme.....I had the same thoughts. 😉

I had a similar problem with the Triumph Herald Coupé by Silas. Glued it and now it's OK.

@jkuvakas very strange.  I guess I need to take a look at the models I have in resin.  How odd this is, I never heard of such.

Posted by: @jack-dodds

Interesting Graeme.....I had the same thoughts.

Not entirely sure whether you are talking about the expansion coefficients of metal and resin, the inadequate use of industrial adhesives or my profound intellectual grasp of the theoretical underpinnings of the universe, but anyway, I'm glad we are of the same mind.

@graeme-ogg With apologies to Harvey's original post...

Posted by: @graeme-ogg

Posted by: @jack-dodds

Interesting Graeme.....I had the same thoughts.

Not entirely sure whether you are talking about the expansion coefficients of metal and resin, the inadequate use of industrial adhesives or my profound intellectual grasp of the theoretical underpinnings of the universe, but anyway, I'm glad we are of the same mind.

I'm not entirely sure either but I suspect it's the latter.  Not that I understand it better but that there are a lot of big words in its description.