Laminating template to cardboard

[Gil]

Hi Leif, Shrike,

Shrike is right about thinking large. Aircraft Spruce has it for $13.10 Quart. I loaded up when a local hobby shop went out of business (Sheldon's in San Jose) and purchased the last four quarts of nitrate dope for around $28.00 out the door...,

+Gil

[Leif Ohlsson]

I'll pursue the ethanol-based line of inquiry for the time being. Progress report:

1. The artists' shop has only one really good ethanol-based matt/semi-matt varnish, and that's the Gouache Varnish (Matt):



They stock brown shellac flakes, and may get dissolved shellac as well, but it is likely to be brownish too. If I want to go the shellac route, I will have to send for pale flakes. As long as Gouach Varnish is stocked, I will stick to that.

But shellac certainly would be a good (and cheap) alternative for anyone who can get the pale (almost colourless) flakes.

2. I have started making my own alcohol-based glue (for laminating on to thick card), following Gil's recipy:



Progress is slow, but I have good hopes. Six hours after starting, and after some vigorous shaking and flaking, it looks like this:



Will wait until tomorrow to make the first test-glueing.

Leif

[Gil]

Leif,

Being impatient, I put the glue stick in a small stainless steel mixing bowl with the alcohol the mixture is amalgamated together using a kitchen whisk. Putting it into a small jar and smashing it up a bit followed by vigorous shaking also works but you'll still have bits of whole glue left floating around. A small "L" shaped stirring rod that attaches to a modeling tool also is a good way to hasten the process...,

+Gil

[Leif Ohlsson]

After 24 hours and much shaking & stirring the glue stick finally was evenly dissolved. A better name than "solution" would probably be "suspension", since the mixture tends to gelify. A bit of shaking, however, makes the honey-like and very even structure reappear.

Additonal de-naturated alcohol was added during the dissolving process. The little jar is now completely full, and I might add some more over time.



Very pleasing to apply with a brush. And I am much pleased with the result so far. Final evaluation will follow after I try cutting the sheet.

Leif

PS. Anybody trying out Gil's tip about an L-shaped wire tool in a Dremel-type machine should have a rpm-regulator allowing really slow rpm's. Near disaster and grave risk of bodily harm resulted from my using a too soft wire, too much out of balance for the minimum 5000 rpms in my machine. Never realized how powerful this little machine is!

[rlwhitt]

Hi Leif,

Thanks for taking the time to illustrate this. I too would like to move away from 77 spray if I find something that works as well/better.

When you wrap up your evaluation, could you (or Gil) summarize what you think the ideal recipe is - what volume of alcohol for what size/weight glue stick?

Thanks!

[Leif Ohlsson]

First test was a little bit of a disappointment. I laminated two 1mm sheets of card, and then 1 sheet of ordinary printing paper.

First the printing paper came away rather easily. Solution: reglue with thicker layer of glue. Remember that the glue-stick is fairly much diluted. Seemed to stick fairly well after that.

When cutting out parts, it soon was evident that the two 1mm layers now came lose:



So I separated those layers with some force, and reglued. This time I applied a layer of glue to both surfaces and then pressed together. I think and hope that this procedure will be enough.

Clearly, however, Gil's warning that the adhesion is not as good as with '77 is correct. What remains to be seen is if it is good enough. Will not make a pronouncement yet.

As for proportions, have a look at my first photo: A small pickle jar, about the size of the glue-stick but double diameter. First half-filled with de-naturated alcohol, progressively filled to the top. Seems to be about right.

You should probably aim for a sort of liquid honey, or light syrupy structure after 24 hours. And you will be surprised how much alcohol you will have to add after the glue-stick seemingly has dissolved. It quickly turns into a rather thick gel with time, so much so that shaking the jar won't nudge the blob inside without more alcohol being added.

Leif

[Leif Ohlsson]

I didn't want to leave you hanging, so here's the result of the first preliminary testing:



All parts were succesfully cut out. No parts came apart at layers between the two 1 mm sheets, and no top layer of ordinary paper came off, after re-glueing with more liberal doses of glue.

I am satisfied with the result, and will use this glue instead of spray-glue in the future.

The little trick seems to be to apply fairly liberal doses of glue when glueing ordinary paper to 1 mm card, and to apply glue to both surfaces when laminating two sheets of 1 mm.

Gil should have all the credit for this recipe, and I hope someone else will try it out and relate their experiences.

Leif

[Gil]

Leif,

Nice post showing the method and technique. Applying heat from a hot iron will activate the glue and can be used to "tack" down any areas that might not have bonded well. Liberal application is a key element of this process though...,

+Gil

[Leif Ohlsson]

Very good. Forgot about the heating detail. Never tried that, but will be sure to, if and when problems arise.

Many thanks again.

Leif

[FredZ KSAC]

Just a comment for future reference. Ordinary PVA (Elmer's or equal) can also be heat bonded. Apply a layer to each surface and allow to dry completely. Lay the two sheets glue side to glue side and run over one surface with a warm iron. I use a heat sealing iron used for covering film for R/C models. The glue stick slurry looks interesting.
Later,
Fred Z.