[F-FT] Warning - a glue thread

Apr 03, 2005 9 Replies

I have a Maxi-Alpha that broke one of the fin retaining tabs on the back of a fin, leaving it loose enough that it will come off on the next flight. No big deal, I'll just glue it down.



So, I put on a little bit of gap-filling CA in that area, but... The next day, it's still icky and not hardened. Doesn't appear to have done anything. Probably the glue was past its shelf life, or something.



So my next step is either to a) go out and buy a new bottle of CA and try again, or b) clean off the remaining gunk and use some epoxy.



I have epoxy sitting on my desk, so it's tempting to go with plan b). My concern is that if there's any CA left on there, will anything go wrong if I put epoxy on it?



David Erbas-White


As I recall, the Maxi-Alpha has wood fins; use a knife to scrape it down to clean wood before applying the epoxy, so it has something to adhere to. It's not going to adhere to your goopy CA.

-Kevin

snip

You need some CA accelerator. Sells for about $1.00 at Wal-Mart, located in the plastic models section next to the CA. Apply a drop of CA then use a drop of accelerator and it's instantly set, EVERY time.

Since I found the accelerator, I use it quite a bit, especially for hardening & flame proofing Estes tubes, fins, etc.

Randy

adhere

apply baking powder ..it does the same thing as accelerator and makes a great gap filler as well..actually accelerator it great for static models but for ultimate strength in flying models...I personally avoid it.

Do you mean the Maxi-Alpha III with the red plastic fins? I have some replacment fins if you could put it on somehow.

I appreciate the offer, but a little glue will fix it fine (and yes, it's the Max-Alpha III with the red plastic fins).

David Erbas-White

BAH! just replace the plastic with some nice 1/8" basswood.

or, use the wide clear packing tape.

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