Gluing LGB plastics

PhilP

PhilP

G Scale, 7/8th's, Electronics
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All,

After the collected wisdom of the Forum here..

I have an LGB Mogul to repair, which fell from a shelf..
Many of the detail parts are broken / have come away from the body. LGB plastics seems to be quite 'oily/waxy' in nature..

With this in mind, what glues have you all had success with, and which would you steer clear of please?

Thanks,
PhilP.
 
It depends on the break and the plastic involved (LGB seem to use a couple of different plastics) but I've had quite a bit of success with EMA models Plastic Weld, it seems to weld successfully quite a variety of plastics. If the cross section that can be glued is small its probably better to use a metal pin fixed with a decent superglue. Hope this helps.
Paul
 
Thanks Paul..

I would tend to 'pin' the joints on small items, if I can..

Having now had it on the bench..
The main body appears fine. - The electronics are totally fried, as in molten components and connectors. :(
I will search for the relevant exploded diagrams (this is the Colorado & Southern flavoured one) for all the 'plumbing'. Some brackets are broken. The glazing from the front-half of the cab is missing. The tender appears intact, but the plug which connects to it is also partially melted, so will need to check out the circuit board under the tender in case the tracks have gone as well. There are reeds fitted under the motor-block, so will have to work out which should do what (whistle/bell). The XLS has also had a melt-down.

Looks like a shopping list is in order.. someone is in for a big bill!
 
Try this; http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/4/2/sg_plstc/overview/Loctite-Plastics-Bonding-System.htm
 
Fell from a shelf ? Electrics fried ? Now what's the real story ? I think we should be told, in best Private Eye tradition.
Lord Gnome, aka Max.
 
I do not know the full story.. I just get 'em post disaster..
Not much (hardly any) wear to the wheels, so it might have had an electric 'fry-up', and then become a 'shelf queen'??
It has had an XLS fitted (also nuked), but I got it as a 'kit of parts' ??? :(

Original cab is No.9 and the replacement is No.6 - So that makes for an interesting puzzle for a start. guess it is what was available as a spare??
Came with a plow, for the front-end. has had reeds hot-melted to the underside. Cab / back-head has come adrift, and ripped the wiring apart. tender does not look to have fallen, but handrails are broken at three corners. Have the 'bottom' section of the weird spark-arrester, but the top silver section is missing. I have a bag of 'plumbing' which needs fettling / fixing back to the outside of the boiler, and the ?generator? from just in front of the cab has also gone AWOL.

Like I say, by the time I have sorted a list of parts, fitted new XLS, put it all back together, and done a bit of testing ;) it will not be cheap fix.

It coming as a 'kit' of bits does not help in working out 'what goes where'.. Luckily, I have found a number of versions of exploded diagrams, so have managed to work it out. ::) :D ;)
 
nothing like a nice easy puzzle to keep you ocupied matey.. ???
 
Good practice for the other Mogul I have (the one with the ?Westinghouse? pumps in front of the smoke-box).. I have to fit a pulsed smoke unit to that one! 8) :o :D

Just wish they were mine.. :D
 
Off-topic, but of interest, and showing how not to do it!
Looks like when the wires et al were crammed into the back-head it possibly caused the boards to short onto the aluminium plate they were mounted on. - No insulation used..

DSC00238-1.jpg

Top of  original LGB board.. When I opened the resealable plastic bag the electronics were in, I could smell it was terminal!

DSC00240-1.jpg

Apologies for the quality of this shot.. underside of XLS. blown chips. I bet the large chip with the bit blown out (literally) made a `nice` pop!! :o

DSC00242-1.jpg
 
LGB made a lot of their models from a polycarbonate Lexan.

This needs a solvent adhesive to join it and some of those are quite nasty.

Chloroform can be used, but for an ordinary Joe, this is difficult to obtain....
 
playmofire said:
It sounds like you should get payment before the work is done if it's going to be such a major rebuild.
Click to expand...

I may well ask for an advance for materials..

At this rate, I will have to learn German, and get an account at Modell Land! ??? ;)
 
Gizzy said:
LGB made a lot of their models from a polycarbonate Lexan.

This needs a solvent adhesive to join it and some of those are quite nasty.

Chloroform can be used, but for an ordinary Joe, this is difficult to obtain....
Click to expand...

Main parts that are bust, handrails, pipework, and the ancillaries that 'stick out'. The vulnerable bits really..
Might be better to see if replacements are available??
These bits are a softer plastics than the body, which I think is what you are referring to??
 
I had to do a lot of gluing to LGB plastics when building my Mogul. The stuff they use behaves like a cross between PTFE and Norwegian cheese. I had no joy with any solvents at all - no strength. Please don't use chloroform - it's a horrible liver toxin and anyway it doesn't work - I've tried it so you don't have to. :) (I'm a professional analytical chemist and I tried it with appropriate PPE in a fume hood.) The only things that really work are cyanoacrylates (superglue) and epoxy resin, preferably Araldite full-strength 24 hour stuff. And if you can, pin it or screw it. The Mogul was so difficult in this respect that I vowed never to use LGB as a starting point again - but I didn't last long and I have another one on the go which is just as bad to stick !

Phil
 
Hello all,
Had a LGB Rugen 0-8-0 that fell and have to agree with Phil; best solution was superglue; especially the "thick" variety. The front of the buffer, the red part, sheared off the corner. Fortunately, that was the worst of it. The thinner consistency SA glues work, but seem to not have the staying power the thicker ones do. I repaired this over a year ago and still going strong.
Hope this helps.
John
 
philg said:
I had to do a lot of gluing to LGB plastics when building my Mogul. The stuff they use behaves like a cross between PTFE and Norwegian cheese. I had no joy with any solvents at all - no strength. Please don't use chloroform - it's a horrible liver toxin and anyway it doesn't work - I've tried it so you don't have to. :) (I'm a professional analytical chemist and I tried it with appropriate PPE in a fume hood.) The only things that really work are cyanoacrylates (superglue) and epoxy resin, preferably Araldite full-strength 24 hour stuff. And if you can, pin it or screw it. The Mogul was so difficult in this respect that I vowed never to use LGB as a starting point again - but I didn't last long and I have another one on the go which is just as bad to stick !

Phil
Click to expand...

Phil,
Many thanks for the warning(s) and advice.. I do not have access to chloroform, but have had an interest in, all things chemistry, since spraying the living room ceiling with hot logwood-chip liquor in my youth!
??? ;) :(
Try decorating over that.. It bled through for years..

Though I graduated to anything pyrotechnic very quickly. ;) :D :D :D

Good description of the softer plastics used on LGD loco's..

PhilP
 
I have a 'thick' superglue, and hoe to go to the 'glue stall' at one of the up and coming shows.. I am sure there was a SG or Epoxy with a 'rubber' filler.. A thick bond comes out flexible.
Believe there is a thick SG which can be used as a 'gap filling adhesive as well..

Thanks all.
PhilP.
 
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