Elmers alternative to Uhu gluestick?

[elkhart]

Uhu gluesticks are just not sold in my area, I've looked everywhere. I don't want to mail order and incur shipping costs. Elmers seems to be the only brand offered around Pittsburgh, do any of the Elmer's versions compare favorably to Uhu? I've never tried Uhu so I have no basis of comparison. I tried the Elmer's school version gluesticks, not impressed.

[WIDDOG]

I started building all my kits with only building supplies I could buy from Wal Mart. I understand your question is about glue sticks. I don't use glue sticks. However, I was wondering if you ever tried white glue and water to attach tissue? The older Guillow's catalog used to recommend white glue and water to Modeler's that could not find model Dope. I tried it and now I use white glue and water all the time to attach and seal tissue.

[NcGunny]

I tried Elmers School Stix and it worked okay,just seemed to dry fast. I waited until I placed a order on Amazon and bought 5 UHU that had free shipping. Went into Wal Mart and found UHU in a weird spot..think it was in Hardware near the glue section. I think you want to avoid the stuff that says water washable on it maybe. My wife found UHU brand in a Michaels but it was only in the scrapbook section.

[zoomie]

I tried Elmers School Stix and it worked okay,just seemed to dry fast.

Sometimes glue sticks are halfway dried out when new. They can be re-humidified by wetting a small piece of wadded-up paper towel and putting it in the cap. Keep the stick in an empty jar with a screw top lid when not in use. Leave a pre-1982 penny or two in the jar to prevent mildew.

You might try Ace Hardware or Jo-Ann fabrics and crafts for UHU.

Elmer's does make an All Purpose glue stick, believe I saw some in a craft section somewhere. Glue sticks that have non-toxic on the label are water washable, it's nothing to be concerned about unless you're flying in the rain or landing in ponds regularly .

+1 what WIDDOG said about diluted white glue for tissue stickum.

Regardless of the brand of glue stick you use, the important thing is that it has a kind of gooey, paste-like consistency. Store them in a damp place (the jar) and they'll stay that way. As soon as they start to dry out they don't work very well.


zoomie

[dirk gently]

Dried-out sticks can be revived with a drop or two of rubbing alcohol.

[NcGunny]

I didnt have a problem with the sticks drying out, the problem was it drying to fast after being applied to tissue. I would love to use the Elmers and water but never got it to work that good. We got off track, original poster wanted UHU sticks. If not availavle in your area, I would hold off until you place a order with someone and add the UHU to it. I was at a hobby show once and remember somebody handing out UHU sticks for free samples,but they were like the size of a chapstick tube. Who knows exactly how much difference there is in different brands,except I notice anything with "school" on it doesnt seem the best to use.

[zoomie]

Dried-out sticks can be revived with a drop or two of rubbing alcohol.

I might try that sometime but find that water works as well. Every GS I've seen for sale in the US contains no alcohol.

I didnt have a problem with the sticks drying out, the problem was it drying to fast after being applied to tissue.

When GS are just starting to dry out they will still have enough tack to stick tissue to balsa. Problem is they are too dry to penetrate beyond the balsa surface and into the weave of the tissue. The contact is only surface deep and even if the tissue appears to be fastened it will often loosen during the dope application.

I would love to use the Elmers and water but never got it to work that good.

I used to have problems with it too when I thinned it a little too much. Sometimes it would soak into the balsa before I could apply the tissue. An older modeller suggested I use 2 parts glue to 1 part water and that worked fine.


zoomie

[elkhart]

Thanks for the replies. Seems like the non-water soluble glues like uhu are preferred , but hard to get here in the US. I like the convenience of the glue stick, but the water based sticks just didn't seem to hold as well as thinned Elmer's. I'm fairly new to the hobby, so I'll probably keep using the diluted Elmer's and work on refining my technique.

[scigs30]

Personally I am not a glue stick fan, been using thinned Elmer's glue for over 30 years with great results. When I started modeling you only had two choices, dope or thinned Elmer's to apply tissue. Well I was not allowed to apply dope inside my parents house so thinned Elmer's it was. Once the plane was covered I would take the plane outside and brush on 2 coats of dope. The glue stick works ok but it is not as strong as Elmer's but we can work around that. I never teach applying tissue with thinned Elmer's because it is tough to master. Try covering a round fuselage with wet domestic tissue and a thinned Elmer's mixture to attach the tissue, I guarantee you will be cursing. I posted a picture below of me covering a Bf109 kit from Sterling with wet Peck Polymers domestic tissue. I covered the fuselage with 2 pieces of tissue, one for the right and one for the left. You only have a matter of seconds to position the tissue before it falls apart from the mixture, or let the mixture get tacky then apply the wet tissue and reactivate the mixture with water, still pretty tough. This is how I teach how to cover with a glue stick..... Apply the glue stick to the perimeter then attach the tissue, wet or dry. After a few minutes trim the tissue and go over the attached edges with thinned Elmer's glue mixture to hold down the tissue this prevents the glue stick from letting go of the tissue. Like I said I am not a big fan of glue sticks for myself but they do work as long as you secure the tissue. So UHU, personally I did not like that glue stick, used to be able to buy them at Michaels. The best glue stick I have ever used is made by OfficeMax, of course they no longer make it but you can still buy it. I have used numerous glue sticks and this beats them all IMO, dries clear and holds up to water.
http://www.amazon.com/OfficeMax-Permane ... lue+Sticks

[elkhart]

Beautiful work scigs! Flawless

[Steve Blanchard]

I have used UHU glue sticks for over 12 years. I still have the remaining tubes from a purchase I made of a case of them close to twelve years ago. They are still fine with no need to do any voodoo to use them. I have covered more than a hundred planes in that time and have NEVER had a problem with the tissue letting go. I have never needed to do anything additional to keep the tissue from coming loose. It worked out to be the absolute easiest way to cover models for me. I have tried Elmer's and Scigs right, it takes some work to get good at it. Keep in mind that any good covering job requires techniques acquired over time. I used to use dope to cover with and that was fine too. I truly prefer the glue stick method.
If you want to buy the UHU glue sticks they can be ordered easily on line. Just do a search for them. I believe Volare Products carries them as well as many other great modeling supplies. Google it!

Hope this helps.

Steve

[Coloradoken]

On the topic of sticky things, thought i might as well as share.
1) For balsa to balsa,i prefer Sig-Bond, an aliphatic resin made special for model builders. Think yellow carpenters glue. It can be applied drop by drop, is non-toxic and stays where you put it. It has no odor which is good when you are building indoors like during a Colorado winter. Found it at Hobby Lobby.
2) For plastic to balsa I like Elmers Pro Bond Advanced. It is also odorless, is easily placed drop by drop and works on many other materials as we. Can be found in most DIY stores.
Both of these products are easy to clean up and is sandable.

For a finish coat on balsa I use a thinned Elmers white glue or a thinned Sig clear dope depending on the ventilation. Same for applying tissue. Have an UHU stick to continue to practice with. Tough to do well.

glues.jpg

[NcGunny]

Elk
We had drove to Harrisburg today and stopped at 5 different AC Moore on the way. They all had UHU sticks both purple and the clear one. They are located in the sections with all CA's and Elmers and hot glue sticks. The guy setting some display looked it up and UHU is carried by every AC Moore in Pa. due to it being a mandatory plan o gram item.