Metal Foil Rip Off

[Dazzled]

Maybe I should have put this in the Finishing Tips section but I wanted as many people on this forum to be as aware of this scam as possible.

I've just had a delivery of Microscale's Micro Metal Foil Adhesive as I've got a few models I'd like to finish in natural aluminium and, after reading the recent articles in SAM, foil seems the way to go. I paid £5.35 for a 1 fluid ounce bottle of this stuff so for that price I expected some sort of exotic adhesive but, when I opened it and had a good look and a sniff I recognised the familiar aroma of PVA, ordinary white wood glue. So I paid £5.35 for 1 fluid ounce of PVA. In any big DIY store PVA costs about £7 for 5 litres. Worse still, I've got a couple of gallons in my workshop.

Man, do I feel ripped off

Don't anyone else get fooled by this.

[JamesPerrin]

There seem to be a lot of specialist glues for modellers that are all basically PVA, Gator Grip, Glue'n'glaze etc. They may be good quality PVA but worth the price they cost?

[flakmonkey]

Might be worth a side by side comparison with plain ordinary PVA before writing it off completely. Not all PVAs are created equal.

[ShaunW]

I've also been reading those articles in SAMI with interest and thought to myself "I wouldn't mind having a go at that but will need to get hold of some of that "proper" adhesive". Reading this, I'm glad I didn't order straight away. That said though Dazzled, it will probably be worth trying a comparison as Flak suggests and I for one would be interested to see the results.

[Stamford]

I´d almost given up on using pva to attach canopies untill I tried formula 560 - as the flakman says there be pva and pva - I likes the good stuff but I dunno what the difference is, its usually the price unfortunately!

[Dazzled]

Looking at the packaging, I'm not actually sure that it's a genuine Microscale product. The label is a bad, faded photocopy that's creased and misaligned on the bottle.

I've e-mailed Microscale about this and am waiting for an answer. I'll report back on their reply.

I'm going to try an experiment with this on an old model and compare it with the DIY PVA I have. I'll post some results when I'm done.

This thread makes me think that a useful idea for a forum would be one where we share knowledge of cheaper alternatives for overpriced "specialist" modelling products.

[AndrewR]

If you want an accelerator for CA glue, a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda over here!) in half a cup of water will do. Any alkaline solution speeds up the CA curing reaction.

As Brews says, distilled vinegar (acetic acid) will soften up decals.

Cheers

Andrew

[Dazzled]

If you want an accelerator for CA glue, a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda over here!) in half a cup of water will do. Any alkaline solution speeds up the CA curing reaction.

As Brews says, distilled vinegar (acetic acid) will soften up decals.

Cheers

Andrew

Accelerator-£5.30 a can. Great tip Andrew. Any saving leaves more for kits and paint.

[Edgar Brooks]

If you want foil adhesive, try Little-Cars, or The Aviation Hobby Shop; both stock an adhesive, which can be brushed, or airbrushed, and is around £2 for a Badger-sized bottle. It's water-based, easily-cleaned, and is definitely not based on PVA (I know this, because I make it.)
Edgar

[splash]

If you want foil adhesive, try Little-Cars, or The Aviation Hobby Shop; both stock an adhesive, which can be brushed, or airbrushed, and is around £2 for a Badger-sized bottle. It's water-based, easily-cleaned, and is definitely not based on PVA (I know this, because I make it.)
Edgar

What size Badger? I saw a dead one on the road today and it was quite big

[MerlinJones]

Funny you should mention that, Splash...one of the reasons I don't airbrush is that, having tried a badger, I didn't like where I had to put my thumb.

[MerlinJones]

If I recall, Brock wasn't too keen, either!

[splash]

Regards Splash

[Edgar Brooks]

Excuse me for trying to help.

[MerlinJones]

A rather sad 'in-joke' re badgers, Edgar. Apologies and no offence intended.

Well impressed by your glue manufacture...do you have large vats of the stuff bubbling away bits from the abattoir, or is it more clinical chemist, perhaps with lightning bolts in the background. I'm sure your ingredients should remain private, but I am still intrigued. Little Carsd are a reputable business, so your product must be good.

Regards,
Bruce