UHU POR?

[Terence Lynock]

A lot of people pay out for UHU POR for sticking foam etc together but tonight I tried UHU Universal that smells a lot like Balsa cement and because of this I thought it was solvent based but it isnt, I coated a piece of blue foam and a bit of Depron and left them 5 minutes then stuck them together.

Got a pretty good join so did another one and after pressing together left it for an hour, when I tried to pull it apart the Depron gave way first, you can get a big 125ml tube for a quid from Poundland and UHU Universal is far more common and cheaper thean POR, try it out and see wot you think,

regards,   Terry

[Mowerman]

Try this also.

Pritt Power Gel.

May not be much cheaper than UHU POR but can be found at Office World, Staples,Asda,Smiths etc.

[Terence Lynock]

Found out this morning after buying some more UHU that in English it is 'all purpose' but the Spanish/Italian description is 'universal' so look for both descriptions, Poundland do it at £1 for a 240g tube,

           regards,     Terry

[Phil Winks]

UHU universal / all purpose is fine for blue foam and depron maybe but be warned some foams do react adversly to it  follow the simple rule of trying on a scrap / test piece 1st

[Terence Lynock]

Hi Phil,

               that is the best way as I know for fact it will etch hard Polystyrene so not for use on canopies unless you are very careful, I have also found that Coverloc is excellent for a number of jobs not just sticking covering down.

I think Coverloc is actually a PVA base with some sort of chemical driers in, I have used PVA and it will actually heat seal but not quite as effectively as Coverloc,

regards,        Terry

[Phil Winks]

must admit I find balsaloc the better of the heat activated glues just don't buy more than you need as it has a shortish shelf life watch out for the heat given off by 5 min Z poxy too that took me by suprise "ouch"

[Barrie Dav 2]

I 'm just about to build my first foam model and I searched the forum for glues. 

 

I understand of course that foam safe Zap is ok for the main construction but some foam doublers are required and POR is recommended. POR is expensive and reading some old posts regarding gluing of depron etc I was wondering if a water based contact adhesive,  for instance Copydex , would be suitable or would there be a weight problem even if thinly applied.  I've used this for many years when skinning foam wings but weight was not a problem there.

 

Also what paints do most foam builders use?  I'd like to airbrush the finished model and would think that acrylics would be ok but searching on line found that very small bottles of acrylic paint/dyescost a fortune.   Any suggestions please?

[Cpt Biggles]

Hi Barrie,

 I have used evostick solvent free to stick doublers the only problem I found was that the glue is white and the foam is white! the trick is to add a drop of food colour to the pot of glue then you can see how much glue you are putting on.

As for painting I have used trial pots of emulsion from diy stores and also used acrilic paint made for children aprox £0.68p per tube watered down to spray both have given good results. if you use sticky tape to hold parts together it may pull the surface of the foam off.

Then to spray it is wise to give a light coat of acrilic primer as sold in DIY stores again watered down to spray on.

It is more important to keep the paint coats thin, light coats is the order of the day to keep the weight down.

[Romeo Whisky]

Well of course there are many types of "foam" and some are much more impervious to solvents than others.  You can use ordinary CA and kicker on Elapor or EPO, but epoxy does not make a good bond.  Epoxy is great for styrene foams (EPS) however, and to mend breaks in EPS a good quality PVA wood glue is great and will leave an invisible join, but does take 24hrs to bond so will need clamping so not ideal for a build as it would be too slow.  EPS is especially susceptible to melting when alcohol-based solvents get close!

Also remember that some glues bond instantly on contact and others give you some working time which you need to properly align large components.  There are so  many glues and ashesives out there it is a world of its own. 

[Tony Smith 7]

Just to chip in here, is any sort of Epoxy safe on foam, or only certain sorts?   I have some West System 105 resin with the 205 hardener (quick cure by wood working standard, slow by modelling!).

 

Thanks,

[Barrie Dav 2]

Thank you for your advice gentlemen.

 

C.B. I've tried using artists' acrylic paints watered down and using an acrylic flow improver but found that the paint didn't adhere to the foam too well. It dried but it looked 'bitty' if you can understand what I mean.  (I sprayed a bit of waste foam from the Gnosis model that I am 'building').  I've not used primer as you have suggested but that looks like the answer. 

 

How do you use the children's paints, just water or with some type of  additive?

I ask this because the powders use for artists' paints are usually ground much finer and therefore more expensive than childrens' paints.  I will be using an airbrush.

 

 

Edited By Barrie Dav 2 on 31/08/2010 08:52:06

[Cpt Biggles]

Hi

The childrens acrilic pain that I used was from Wilkinsons hardwear but I have seen the same type in the pound shops it is a tube ready mixed and I thined it down with just water the trick with it is to spray very thin coats and let it dry. Gental heat from a heat gun used a long way away from the model so there is just a slightly warm air flow over the model will help the drying times put only just enough paint on to get the finnish that you want.

It will not be like solafilm or a car spray finnish but you will get a good looking model.

 

Just remember that foam models tend not to have a long life due to "handeling rash or Wear&Tear" so do not be to fussy nice but not concorse.

 

regards

Peter

[Barrie Dav 2]

Thanks C.B. I'll follow your advice.  Huh!  I was hoping that the Gnosis would last me for at least 150 years.  I guess that I'll have to kick the bucket earlier than I had planned..........

[Cpt Biggles]

No just make two Gnosis!!!

[Barrie Dav 2]

Good idea. I could go on forever perhaps.  I'll try it out and let you know.  But of course if you didn't have one you would be gone before I got the answer.

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Epoxy in usually safe on most foams......

 

One glue that is really good on all foam is PU glue....best known as Gorilla Glue but available much cheaper elsewhere (often from builders merchants). This stuff foams up slightly & "grows" into the foam matrix. It is very strong once set.

 

Parts need to be clamped however as the foaming action can move components if you are not careful....

[Simon Chaddock]

I found this alternative to UHU POR in a pound shop.

Lock Stick Bond 70g for £1 against £2.25 for 40g of POR - 1/4 the price!

It smells and works exactly the same. The only difference I have found is that over time it sets hard whereas POR always remains slightly elastic.

.

Edited By Simon Chaddock on 20/01/2011 22:37:43

[ADRIAN BURGE]

I know this is an old topic, but tried today to find Lockstick Bond Clear Glue in 4 different Pound type stores without any luck. Did a google search and came up empty. It would seem that this adhesive is no longer available. Has anyone found another alternative to UHU Por at an affordable price?

[Dave Hopkin]

On Depron, I have tried using normal UHU and found that it does bond BUT it also melts the Depron quite a bit

So now I stick to UHU POR (brought from Ebay in packs of 10 MUCH cheaper) I also use Evostick spray carpet glue

As for paints

Household emulsion! B&Q will match any colour sample you take to them and mix it - in Tester port size or 1Lt size and above

[Jim Mchugh]

Dave,

I agree! Homebase colour match paints are great. They'll do a tester pot size for about £3.50.

Water it down. It goes further and weights less.

I took a "hideous" sample of torquoise into Homebase on a rudder for my Edge 540 and that got an *EXACT* match.

I used it to paint the carrier I built for the plane, and also touch up some paint cowl / canopy areas that had got scratched. Paint on, allow to dry, rub back with very fine wet and dry, fine spray of satin varnish and you can't see the join!

Jim

 

Edited By Jim Mchugh on 01/07/2015 19:47:42

Edited By Jim Mchugh on 01/07/2015 19:53:02

[Stephen Jones]

Hi ,

Glu & Fix works very well but is slower than UHU Por and you can get it from many places , like Tesco , B&Q ,Be careful to get the right one ( All purose Clear ) , as there are also Glu & Fix Super Glue , Glu & Fix Leather and more,

Also if you can get to craft shops Then UHU Creative Styro Por , UHU Moosgumm is the same but renamed ,

Steve

 

Edited By Stephen Jones on 01/07/2015 19:54:23

[kevin lane]

Hi guys surprised no one has mentioned Lumberjack PVA adhesive for both timber and foam very similar to gorilla glue but sets in 5 minutes with only a little foaming, problem is you have to by a litre for around £10 from Toolstation.

[ken anderson.]

saw this on the tv yesterday-looks the biz for lots of modelling app's.....

ken Anderson...ne...1 tech dept.

[TigerOC]

For anyone working with depron I have discovered a superglue that bonds without dissolving the foam. I get my sundry general purpose glues from a local little haberdashery. They recently switched to Green Jem superglue. It is quite thick so I thought I would give it a try on some spare depron and it works great. Excellent price too if you buy in bulk.

**LINK**

Rob