There are/were a number of clear liquid cements that work on styrene plastic.
Testors is widely available and works well on styrene. Just don’t use the brush in the cap, it applies to much cement. And their tube cement is too thick for most applications.
Tenax R7 is probably what you had. Came in a tall bottle with a yellow label. It has been discontinued. But worked great.
Plastruct Plastic Weld is good for ABS plastic.
Ambroid Pro-Weld
Tamiya's Extra Thin Cement is praised by many modelers.
MEK (methyl ethyl ketone) works very well but is hard to find. There is a MEK substitute (Dichloromethane ie Methylene Chloride) now sold. You can get a quart at any big box home center in the paint department. While some do not like it as well, I find it works on styrene very well. I fill an old Testor’s bottle
Acetone will work, though it is very aggressive at dissolving plastic. Same with lacquer thinner.
I use a Touch N Flow applicator from Flex -i-file https://flex-i-file.com/products/711-touch-n-flow-applicator
If I’m just doing a simple project use a micro brush for an applicator. https://www.micromark.com/Microbrushes
I’ve read some use a cheap student type draftsman’s inking pen with the adjustable tip.
And, as always, each of these products is a chemical that can cause health issues, so use with caution and good ventilation.
From: CBQ@groups.io <CBQ@groups.io> On Behalf Of Gene Tacey
Sent: Saturday, October 1, 2022 8:16 AM
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: Re: [CBQ] Clear Liquid Cement
There used to be a great clear cement that is no longer made that worked great. Micro Mark now carries an adhesive called Same Stuff that uses the same formula and works great.
Gene T
My feeling is that most of the guys on this list are also into model railroading. So I don’t feel out of place asking about asking a modeling question:
I know that the recommended way of binding polystyrene plastic pieces is with Testors liquid cement. However I, myself, encountered something I liked better a few years ago. It was loaned to me by a fellow modeler. It was a clear liquid in a small glass bottle. One applied it with a small, fine- hair brush. One dipped the brush into the clear liquid then simply touched the seam between the two polystyrene pieces to be bonded. When one did that one could actually see the minute amount of liquid flow, capillary style, down the seam. Then, set it aside for a couple of hours and one would have a very strong, very NEAT bond. Now, I want to know wat that liquid was because I found it much easier and neater to use than the Testors liquid cement. The man who supplied me with that clear liquid was much younger so I thought I had a lot of time to ultimately learn the name of it. Well, as usual, God just laughed. The fellow is now deceased and I don’t know who else to ask what this liquid was. The only tip I can give beside how to use it is this: it had a very toxic, noxious smell to it. The only time I I have smelled anything like it was when new carpet was being laid at my place of work in Kansas City back in 1976. The smell was very similar. In fact, it was so noxious one felt certain that it was a health hazard to breathe it. Well, I survived that place of work and I survived using the entire amount of the clear liquid supplied to me by that fellow modeler. My thinking is that this stuff was designed for a use other than model railroading. Can anyone on this list answer this?
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