Best glue to fix a split foam wing ???

While you are correct about "hot melt not being light" ....but...Strong..it is... LOW TEMPERATURE hot melt glue will not come apart before the underlying foam pulls out. Trust me, I've used many, many sticks during this learning period.

Amazing, most of the planes fly again, and again... It is an ideal "fix-it" glue for an amateur who has little patience; little money..and wants to get fly again as soon as possible. I've glued some up and had them back in the air in far less time than it takes to drive to the field, a mile or so away.

I am still trying to figure out a good way to bring the 110 v Low Temp. glue gun with me to the field. Then, It would be mere minutes to get a foam plane back in the air. I own a 110 v/12 v inverter...but I'll be darned if I can figure out where I put it....

regards, Rich

The wing thickness does not allow, yet, I have 1/8 inch fiberglass struts on both sides of the break, these are attached with epoxy, and I will also reinforce the break with 2 inch Mylar packing tape before I fly.

Expanded polystyrene is not strong, and it melts

Perhaps you had better tell GWS, DH.

They appear to be making their models out of something even weaker than hot glue..

FWIW I have some flying buddies who fly (and crash) literally dozens of foam models :That is in fact their business.

They always repair them with hot glue.

I will also try this on my Styrofoam coffee cup testing. I already have a hot glue gun somewhere. I does not matter if it is relatively heavy because if the bond is good enough the quantity can be reduced to more than offset the extra weight. Our local expert scratch built foam flyer uses hot glue all the time. One of his best creations is a scratch build flying wing that looks as good (or better) than kit built, and flies 100 miles an hour including unlimited vertical climb. He only uses Hobby motors.

My foam glue test involves attaching brand new wooden pencils to the inside and outside of Styrofoam cups. I let them cure or dry for a suitable time, and then try and break the pencil from the cup using the most effective leverage angle. I use my bare hands for the test, and judge the relative force by intuitive estimation. The most recent silicone test did not do very well, but the previous one did. It may be that the second test did not have enough drying time.

It is definitely worth the Styrofoam cup test, our local expert uses hot glue all the time too.

Whoooaa...! You'd better go to Hobby Lobby or some similar place and get a LOW TEMPERATURE GLUE GUN and some LOW TEMPERATURE GLUE.

Many glues will work with either high or low...but the gun had best not be the high temp one...( Don't ask me how I know this)..Ha Ha The first time I tried it, with a HIGH TEMP GUN...I MELTED THE CRAP OUT OF MY WING.

Low temp WORKS GREAT, The gun that own.. is a dual temperature gun....Cost was about ten bucks. regards, Rich

"Six_O'Clock_High"

But won't the wing fall off on a very hot sunny day?

It did not harm the foam, and in one of two tests the bond seemed quite strong. I am trying the test again because the second test failed. I will give it 48 hours of cure time this time. I am guessing that with enough cure time this may prove ideal.

2/. That hapens all by itself with foamies IME. No need for glue, or sun..

Acrylic is a better sort of thing to use. I use it a fair bit for filling balsa models..over here its called 'decorators caulk'

In fact there is a nice EPS fairing made with a sculpted bit of blue foam and covered in tissue, PVA, decorators caulk and latex house paint covering an overflow pipe in the bathroom....

Well, I used it in Houston, TX during the summer. If it won't fall off there, it won't fall off in many places. Ha ha.....

Seriously, the glue leaking from a low-melt gun tip is just enough to burn your skin. From a true Hot-melt...it'll make you jump five feet. Both stiffen up in a minute or less, with a tiny bit of flexibility, and are secure in any kind of normal summer heat. I never lived in Arizona, so that might be an exception.

It was in the low 90's here the other day, and while I had a wing come off, ....it was operator error, ....not glue, that made it separate. Rich

I use tape to attach the Slow Stick leading and trailing edge rods. Either transparent electrical tape or lately that Derma-Tape or whatever its called that DuBro now sells as hinge tape. Works great for both. Never a failure.

Man, what kind of sunny days you get where you live??? I thought it got hot here in So Cal but never had hot glue of any temp type come apart due to weather.