Fixing Plastic Rivets on Resin Cars
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Nelson Moyer
I posted this question on the resin freight car group and got zero input, so I’m broadening the scope by reposting here.
I just finished applying rivets to the ends of the sides of four flat cars. I cut the heads from 0.020 in. Tichy rivets and used CA to glue them to the cars. Some fell off during subsequent handling, and I had to reapply. This is the first time I’ve applied large numbers of rivets (OK, maybe just moderate numbers), and I’d like to know how the experts apply and fix rivets on resin. I’ve heard that some modelers use MEK to soften plastic rivet heads to get them to stick to resin, while others use CA as I did. What is the best way to insure that the rivets don’t detach during subsequent handling? I’ve considered brush painting or spraying a thin coat of acrylic clear coat of some kind, but I don’t want the rivets to get brushed off or blown away. Please tell me how to do it right.
Nelson Moyer
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Nelson. I've given up on Tichy and harvesting athearn rivets and just use Archer decals now. Others may have better luck. I just never got good results with Tichy. Brian J. Carlson On Jan 25, 2017, at 10:44 PM, Nelson Moyer npmoyer@... [STMFC] <STMFC@...> wrote:
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Nelson,
Here's an easy solution....stop driving yourself nuts and use Archer rivet decals!
Regards Bruce Smith Auburn, AL From: STMFC@... on behalf of Nelson Moyer npmoyer@... [STMFC] <STMFC@...>
Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 9:44 PM To: STMFC@... Subject: [STMFC] Fixing Plastic Rivets on Resin Cars I posted this question on the resin freight car group and got zero input, so I’m broadening the scope by reposting here.
I just finished applying rivets to the ends of the sides of four flat cars. I cut the heads from 0.020 in. Tichy rivets and used CA to glue them to the cars. Some fell off during subsequent handling, and I had to reapply. This is the first time I’ve applied large numbers of rivets (OK, maybe just moderate numbers), and I’d like to know how the experts apply and fix rivets on resin. I’ve heard that some modelers use MEK to soften plastic rivet heads to get them to stick to resin, while others use CA as I did. What is the best way to insure that the rivets don’t detach during subsequent handling? I’ve considered brush painting or spraying a thin coat of acrylic clear coat of some kind, but I don’t want the rivets to get brushed off or blown away. Please tell me how to do it right.
Nelson Moyer
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Schuyler Larrabee
Realizing that it would be pretty difficult in a lot of places, have you
tried sanding the resin surface (probably 600 grit or finer) where the rivets are to go? You might get better adhesion with a less slick surface. Schuyler From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...] Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2017 10:45 PM To: STMFC@... Subject: [STMFC] Fixing Plastic Rivets on Resin Cars I posted this question on the resin freight car group and got zero input, so I'm broadening the scope by reposting here. I just finished applying rivets to the ends of the sides of four flat cars. I cut the heads from 0.020 in. Tichy rivets and used CA to glue them to the cars. Some fell off during subsequent handling, and I had to reapply. This is the first time I've applied large numbers of rivets (OK, maybe just moderate numbers), and I'd like to know how the experts apply and fix rivets on resin. I've heard that some modelers use MEK to soften plastic rivet heads to get them to stick to resin, while others use CA as I did. What is the best way to insure that the rivets don't detach during subsequent handling? I've considered brush painting or spraying a thin coat of acrylic clear coat of some kind, but I don't want the rivets to get brushed off or blown away. Please tell me how to do it right. Nelson Moyer |
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Fred Jansz
Assuming you speak about rivets -not nbw's- Archer makes life easy. Many sizes available. Apply rivet strip (any lenght), apply decal softener, coat of primer, paint & lettering, dullcoat. Nothing falls off. Easy does it.
cheers, Fred Jansz |
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Bill Welch
Good morning Nelson
I saw you message via email on the Resin Builders Group but for some reason I could not log onto Yahoo Groups to respond from my Laptop—I was out of town. So here goes: I have only done this once. I used rivets harvested from an Athearn steel boxcar on the F&C Illinois Central SS boxcar to fill in where they were missing on the model when compared to photos. I used Testor's because it takes longer to work whereas from what I have been told MEK flames off quickly. I applied the Testors 3-4 times. The rivets are in a non-textured area, the steel plate along the bottom of the side. I am not sure it is strong bond but the rivets did survive media blasting w/baking soda and a light scrubing with a tooth brush. Why do this instead of Archers? The Athearn rivets are a better match to those on the casting. I disagree somewhat w/the suggestion of using #600 grit sandpaper as I think it is too fine. I think 320 or 400 would be better to rough up the surface but not in an obvious way. Bill Welch |
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gtws00
Nelson,
I have been experimenting using Future (Pledge) as a method to attach resin rivets to styrene on a new project. I have also tried the Future as a glue for thin styrene (.005) in some situations. Seems to be working well so far in my tests. Not sure if it would work on Styrene Rivets to attach to resin. I keep the Future in a small bottle and apply with a paint brush. I put a small puddle of Future down and place the rivet in it. When dry i apply a top coat. George Toman |
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Bill Welch
Excellent George, I be this would work with styrene rivets onto resin. I have a current project to try this with.
Bill Welch |
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George
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Future does adhere very well but it's not an adhesive - it does not literally melt polystyrene as other adhesives (besides CA) do. But acrylic is tough so I can understand that it holds up to mild grit. Also I suspect it would work just as well on clean resin (free of any mold release) and especially well if the resin has been grit prepped. Tim Nelson, |
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Nelson Moyer
Thanks for all of the suggestions. I know about Archer rivets, but I don’t have any, so I used the Tichy rivets I had. After this experience, I’ll definitely stock some Archer rivets for the next adventure. I’ve harvested rivets from Athearn bodies for the bolt heads needed for the second grab iron on car kits that come with bolt heads for only one left side grab iron, but I haven’t needed to add more than a few rivets until now. The flat cars I’m modifying require 20 rivets per car, and I have four cars.
As stated earlier, I used CA to stick the rivets to the resin. The body castings were washed with Dawn, and I had scrapped and sanded off the unwanted detail, so the resin was clean and had tooth. Also as stated earlier, some rivets got knocked off during subsequent handling, so the CA didn’t provide a very good bond on such a small surface area. I tried two methods for fixing the rivets. I used a soft ¼ in. flat brush to apply Micro Satin to all the rivets on one side of the bodies, and I sprayed Testors Lusterless Flat from a rattle car on the other side. I lost six rivets by brushing and two rivets during spraying. Spraying or airbrushing appears to be safer than brushing, so I’ll go back and respray both sides after replacing the lost rivets.
CA was difficult to work with on such small rivets, so I’m going to try Future if I have to apply styrene rivets on resin again. Meanwhile, I’ll look for some Archer rivets to add to my arsenal.
Nelson Moyer
From: STMFC@... [mailto:STMFC@...]
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2017 6:58 AM To: STMFC@... Subject: [STMFC] Re: Fixing Plastic Rivets on Resin Cars
Nelson, |
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Schuyler Larrabee
Good point, Tim, grit prep would work better than my idea of sanding with
600 grit paper, which would be plenty rough enough - all you're trying to do is scuff up the shiny finish on a lot of resin. A more coarse paper would be too likely to leave lines which would show through the paint. Schuyler George Future does adhere very well but it's not an adhesive - it does not literally melt polystyrene as other adhesives (besides CA) do. But acrylic is tough so I can understand that it holds up to mild grit. Also I suspect it would work just as well on clean resin (free of any mold release) and especially well if the resin has been grit prepped. Tim Nelson,rivets to styrene on a new project. I have also tried the Future as a glue for thin styrene (.005) in some situations. Seems to be working well so far in my tests. Not sure if it would work on Styrene Rivets to attach to resin. I keep the Future in a small bottle and apply with a paint brush. I put a small puddle of Future down and place the rivet in it. When dry i apply a top coat. George Toman |
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