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How do I mix paint and glue?


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I need to install a tiny antenna on a model and I wanted to simulate the bright red insulator at the bottom. It's way too small to fashion a separate plastic part, and its position would make it very difficult to paint by brush. I thought the obvious solution would be to mix a paint and a glue and put a drop at the base of the antenna. So I did some tests on some scrap to see what worked best. The problem is, none of it worked at all. I've tried various types of paints mixed with many different glues and all of them destroyed the glue's strength. Acrylic gels mix fine with paint but they dry extremely flat ruining the look and making a poor bond. Heavy body artist paint by itself wasn't strong enough.

 

Is there some other kind of glue or material that might work here? Or maybe some other way of coloring it?

 

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Maybe try tinting Future with some acrylic paint and use that as the glue?

 

Maybe use artists acrylic gloss medium and tint  that?

 

Can you paint the insulator first, with the antenna off the model? Then use future as your glue?

 

Bob

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This video shows how to successfully tint super glue:

 

Here's a link to a vendor selling sets of the pigments:

https://www.easycomposites.co.uk/#!/resin-gel-silicone-adhesive/pigments-and-dyes/translucent-tinting-pigments

 

I don't know where else they may be available. There are a number of other companies selling pigments for tinting epoxy, which is what these pigments are intended for. Whether they all will work with super glue I don't know. I personally have never tried any of this. I will say that it looks like the pigments are very dense in color and if making a small amount for mounting the antenna, you will probably only need a tiny amount of pigment. I would think some experimenting would be a good idea if you go down this path. If you do use this method, please do let us know how it works out.

 

Mark

 

 

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It is very easy to tint clear epoxy to any color you desire. No need for expensive specialized pigments (although they do work very nicely). Use any enamel or acrylic lacquer modeling paint that you desire, by putting in a drop or two of paint to get the color you need (not much paint is needed), mix it in with the uncured epoxy, shape to desired and let cure. Note: water based acrylic paints do not work very well as they do not mix well with epoxy. 

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Don’t know what scale you’re working with but I’ve used those glass / acrylic beads used in bead art for 1/32 and 1/48. If you cut them in half, they also make nifty anti collision lights in 1/72. Just a thought.

afoxbat

A3A9CE32-4046-4006-B63C-F0CBFB4CAAA8.jpeg

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Another possibility is the appropriate gloss paint color mixed into Gator's Grip Acrylic Glue.  This stuff dries dead flat but the gloss paint should change that.  Since it's first and formost a glue, you can use the colored glue to attach the antenna.  You can order Gator's Grip here.

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We've all made a number of suggestions. I think it would be a good idea for the OP to tell us what he has already tried and failed with. Frankly, if presented with this problem, my first reaction would be to try something like Gator glue and an acrylic paint mixed. Or, Testors canopy glue which is kinda like Microscale Krystal Klear. It is more viscous than Gator glue and bonds stronger. If the OP has tried these and failed, then that's where super glue or epoxy come in.

So, spejic, what have you actually tried that didn't work?

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On 3/2/2020 at 9:03 AM, Mstor said:

I think it would be a good idea for the OP to tell us what he has already tried and failed with.

 

I think so too. I tested all the glues and similar substances I have with the pigments I have. I dropped them onto the test surface as a single bead to see what kind of shape they retain when the dry. Here are the results:

PVA
    CONTROL            smooth and rounded
    arcylic            does not mix
    enamel             really does not mix
    watercolor tube    dries smooth and round, but noticibly weaker
    pastel dust        almost works. dries flat and lumpy but strong

two-part epoxy
    CONTROL            smooth and slightly rounded
    arcylic            does not mix
    enamel             almost works. slightly weaker, dries flatter
    watercolor tube    does not mix
    pastel dust        works. similar shape and strength

Acrylic gloss medium
    CONTROL            smooth and rounded
    arcylic            works, but much flatter in shape
    enamel             does not mix
    watercolor tube    does not mix
    pastel dust        does not mix well, dries lumpy

Future
    CONTROL            smooth and totally flat
    arcylic            works, a little gummy
    enamel             does not mix
    watercolor tube    does not mix
    pastel dust        does not mix well

Testors non-toxic tube glue
    CONTROL            smooth and very flat
    arcylic            does not mix
    enamel             mixes, but looses lots of its adhesion to plastic
    watercolor tube    does not mix at all
    pastel dust        mixes, but looses lots of its adhesion to plastic

cyanoacrylate
    CONTROL            dries dusty and slightly rounded
    arcylic            does not mix at all
    enamel             does not mix at all
    watercolor tube    they violently repell each other
    pastel dust        does not mix at all

 

I think two-part epoxy and pastel dust will work for what I need. I just have to figure out how to hold the antenna in place for half an hour while it dries.

 

 

 

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24 minutes ago, spejic said:

I think two-part epoxy and pastel dust will work for what I need. I just have to figure out how to hold the antenna in place for half an hour while it dries.

 

Why don't you get some 5-minute epoxy? If that's not enough time, I think there is also 15-minute available (not sure on that though).

 

Edit: Just did a little Googling and 15 minute epoxy is available.

https://www.amazon.com/PT35-Zap-Z-Poxy-Minute-Adhesives/dp/B007TUDALA

 

P.S. Also, great work on the glue comparisons above. :thumbsup:

Edited by Mstor
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7 hours ago, Hajo L. said:

Jumping in late, I can really recommend white glue/wood glue. Mixed perfect with acrylics, and I never had any trouble concerning the final hold.

 

 

HAJO

 

The OP stated that he tested white glue (PVA) and that acrylic paint didn't mix. I found this kind of strange. Spejic, what type of acrylics are you using and what brand of PVA glue? Hajo, what type of acrylics have you used to do this?

I have heard of people mixing acrylics with white glue before, that's why I found spejic's results strange.

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