Tip for debonding super glue.

Friend told me about this tip and it works really well.Try putting the model in the freezer for a few hours.I don't knowhow it works but the super glue becomes fragile and the part separates easily.You still need to be careful though.I tried this the other day and it actually works.

The glue melts the plastic together through heat which makes it contract after expanding. I would guess that the cold makes it contract then expand thus breaking the bond the glue had between the pieces. Very useful tip though. Thanks.

I know this works with styrene cement (which melts the plastic) but I didn't know that it works with CA glue too. Thanks 4 the tip.
stevenski

"The glue melts the plastic together through heat which makes it contract after expanding."

Uhhh, no.

CA bonds by mechanical adhesion, no heat, no solvent. Heat is sometimes generated by the application of accelerator, but that heat is not bonding by melting the plastic. No contracting and expanding.

Solvent cements bond by chemically melting the plastic together, no heat. No contracting and expanding here either, except long term shrinkage due to solvent evaporation.

Soaking in water then freezing for a few hours (minimum) allows the water (ice) to expand within the joints, slowly prying some pieces apart. Ever forgot to take a beer or soda out of the freezer? Expansion.

Seems to work best on old solvent built models, but can work in some cases with any type cement... - Mark

He didn't mention this initially, but do you have to dip in water before you freeze it? It seamed as though you could just pop it in the freezer.

yes you have to dip it use water. As scale master said it's the "freeze/thaw" principle that "pops" the joints. The water gets between the joined parts, freezes, expands and "pushes" the pieces apart which will break or weaken the join.

It sometimes takes several applications to achieve the full result or weaken the join sufficiently to allow you to gently finish the job by hand.

I recently bought several Italeri Ferrari GTO completed models for a couple of bucks and used this technique to break them back to sprue level before stripping the paint.

I ran the model thouroughly under the tap, put it in a plastic bag, added a little water, tied i up and put it into the freezer. It only needs to freeze fully - in my case a couple of hours - take it out, run it under tap again to melt the ice and then check the joints. Carefully remove parts that are ready to be seperated and then repeat the process as necessary.

IMPORTANT: don't try to force by hand, let the water do the job for you. Remember this is the exact process that is called erosion in geology and breaks up mountains!! it's just quicker in the case of plastic models
HTH
stevenski

Actually I just through the model in the freezer over night.Didn,t think of putting the model in water,and didn't need to.I pried the glass out of the model no hassles.

I just tried the technique last night using my Ferrari 250 GTO engine as an experiment and it worked! :bigthumb: Great tip!!! :bananasmi

My question is... how would you remove the excess superglue?