warning to polystyrene users!!!!

[rustynath]

Ok so i decided to use polystyrene as the shaping to a small rock face. On my already grassy hill I tried to PVA glue my polystyrene cuttings down. When this did not work, I tried my airfix glue, little did I realise the polystyrene literally melts when in contact with airfix glue. So after 2 hours of cutting, gluing and painting, I added the airfix glue and had to watch as my work fizzled away....

...the moral of the story: DO NOT MIX POLYSTYRENE AND AIRFIX GLUE

Hope this saves someone else from this problem,
regards rustynath.

[southern]

have you tried no more nails or styrene glue ?

[rustynath]

Its okay, I managed to glue down a second lot - I'll have to post a picture later to see if anyone has some tips for better effect :)

[klown]

I used to make millitary dioramas, and would use airfix glue on poly' to make some exellent bomb crators!

[travellingmatt]

The problems that people have with 'polystyrene cement' or 'Airfix glue' are based on the fact that it is labelled incorrectly. It is not glue, it is solvent. It dissolves both surfaces of your plastic and they weld themselves together. Obviously, if you put it onto expanded polystyrene, which has very little actual plastic in it, a small amount of solvent dissolves a large area.

Other things that dissolve polystyrene include some paints, thinners, contact adhesives, (Evostik, Bostik and the like) petrol etc. Chloroform is used as a plastic welding material too, (though you REALLY have to have good ventilation for that one!)

Matt