So: After emptying several tubes of model kit glue, with various results, I got back on trying to find the raw chemical, Ethyl Acetate, to glue together my droid.
You can find the actual chemical, the only issue is you need to buy it in bulk!
So, after emailing, calling and finding out ore about it, I stumbled across something.
Seems my girlfriends nail polish remover consists mainly of … you guessed it: Ethyl Acetate!
I have called the company to see how much concentration of this it’s actually in the bottle, but a competing brand (no pic, sorry) (Gripen Remover for you Swedes) consists of 80-90% of Ethyl Acetate.
So, silly as it may sound, I tried gluing a few pieces of styrene together with nail polish remover… and it actually works!
I’ve used the “other” brand, since I know the concentration in that one, until I get word from the company about the concentration in the bottle pictures above.
I also cut out all my pieces for the center foot, and started gluing it together. Not with glue, though. I glued it with nail polish remover.
My initial thoughts is that it is very volatile, you need to work FAST, and you need to soak a bit into the plastic, then keep it hard pressed together for some time, and most importantly: leave it over night to harden. The joint doesn’t get stiff and firm until after 24 hours.
So far, so good!
Oh, apart from that, I’ve got a few hours worth of sanding ahead of me. Got to sand both motor holders, parts of the center foot, the second leg, and chamfer like mad for the foot shells!
Good thing it’s a long weekend coming along!
//Micke
