What kind of glue to use?

[veetwelve]

This my first post, so go easy on me!

Recently I brought my 2 ten-wheelers out of storage for their annual Christmas tree duty, and the pilot beam on one of them was cracked just behind the cowcatcher.  I tried gluing it with Testor's liquid styrene cement, and when that didn't work, I tried Duco CA glue.  That didn't work either.

The pilot beam is obviously not polystyrene because a) it is flexible instead of brittle, and b) the liquid styrene cement did not "melt" the material at all (which is why the repair didn't work).

I also tried repairing a stripped-out screw post on the chassis, and again, neither type of glue worked on this either.  I've seen countless articles about making repairs and modifications to the ten-wheeler, and many of them call for gluing this or that... so what type of glue will "melt" this plastic, or at least adhere to it?  I've heard mention of using MEK, but I'm also hearing that's essentially what the liquid styrene cement is.

Any input would be appreciated!
Jay

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Can yiu send a photo of the damaged pilot.  The type of glue used may depend on the damage.

I have used the small end of a toothpick or a thin sliver of wood down in a stripped out post with some success.  Depending on the position of the crack in the pilot and the cosmetic aspect of things I have used 2 part epoxy, or epoxy putty with some success. 

Hope this helps a little.

[NarrowMinded]

A Picture would help as Bill mentioned, depending on where its cracked you may need to add a thin piece of plastic to back it up.

You may be able to find the piece on Ebay, I don't have any now but I often Piece out garage sell finds that are only good for parts.

BTW have you contacted Bachmann to see if they have this part, it may be inexpensive if they do.

NM-Jeff

[veetwelve]

Thank you for the responses gentlemen.  I didn't think to take a photo of the cracked pilot beam when I had it off of the chassis, but then my digital camera doesn't do that well with macro shots anyway, especially on a dark subject like the black pilot beam and chassis.

To get the loco in service for Christmas tree duty, I drilled through the front of the chassis and fastened the pilot beam, crack and all, back to the chassis with small machine screws.  The damage to the pilot beam included one of the two screw posts being broken off, so without any glue that would work, the drill-through seemed like my only option.  A little black paint on the plated screw-heads, and it doesn't look too jicky unless you look really closely.

And since glue wouldn't work to repair the stripped-out screw post on the chassis, I effected a temporary repair by sticking a thin piece of plastic down the hole before starting the screw.

I would like to proceed with other mods to the loco, like fastening shims inboard of the drive wheels to prevent the lateral slop that causes the electrical pickups to disengage.  It sure would be nice to be able to do that using glue... surely somebody on this forum has found a glue that works with these plastics.  I'm still open to suggestions!

Thanks,
Jay

[Jimbo]

The plastics used by Bachmann vary and occasionlly styrene is used. Often, the plastic used seem to be a type of ABS or PVC blend, depending on the item, part or even the different production year of the item. I have had good results using black ABS glue or purple primer / PVC pipe cement, the same as used on putting together a sprinkler system.
Like MEK or any other solvent, be safe and use in a well ventilated area, away from flames.

[Barry BBT]

Jimbo,

I have the best luck with Weldon's #16, it is for acrylics, but works well with most types of plastic on the Bachmann Big Haulers.

Barry - BBT

[Jimbo]

Hmmm. Thanks Barry. I'll give that a try the next (and always inevitable) time something like that breaks. Does that work more like an epoxy or solvent?

[Barry BBT]

Probably some combination of both.  As a solvent it is evident, but the bonding is more like an adhesive.  It is effective.  But I always clamp (when possible) and give it 24 hrs (or so) to set.

Barry - BBT

[veetwelve]

Thanks again for the replies gentlemen!

I already have some PVC pipe cement on hand; the ABS glue sounds promising and I'm sure our local Home Depot carries that.  I'd not heard of the Weld-on's #16 before, but if it's used for acrylics hopefully I can find a local source for that as well.

Over the course of the recent Christmas-tree duty, the Big Hauler with the repaired pilot beam started making expensive noises from the drive mechanism (it's a 3rd generation drive that I've already had to fix once), so the plan is to send that back to Bachmann for repair.  I'll be holding off on any more gluing projects until I see what I get back from Bachmann.

Thanks again!
Jay

[Barry BBT]

Jay,

There is a Banding process/fix for the Gen 3.  email me at [email protected] and I will send yoi a copy of the instructions.  What it does is hold the motor in place firmly.  Bachmann's effort was to use hot glue to fix the motor in place.

I am working on a metal motor mount for the Gen3.

Barry - BBT