Toy repair - Gluing vinyl to vinyl - HOW?

Discussion in 'Custom Toys and Fan Art' started by toothaction, Jul 6, 2011.

  1. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

    I'm looking for some advice on gluing vinyl to vinyl.

    A piece of one of my figures came off while in storage. It seems as if gluing was the method originally used, as the piece aligns perfectly in place along the edge of what I initially thought was a break, and the corresponding piece has a raised nub that fits perfectly inside the loose piece.

    I hope these pictures effectively illustrate what I've just tried to say:

    [​IMG][​IMG]
    [​IMG][​IMG]

    I'm not in any way an experienced modeller, but I'd guess I just need to apply the right glue, in the correct small amount, along the edge of one of the pieces; and then I'd need to use some sort of soft clamp to hold the pieces in place while the glue dries, or sets, or bonds, or whatever it does.

    So...

    I'm not sure if any of my above assumption are right

    I don't know what sort of clamp I should use.

    I have no idea what kind of glue is best for bonding soft vinyl to soft vinyl - I'm just imagining watching my toy melt like the head at the end of Raiders.

    I don't know much.

    Any advice?
     
  2. Prometheum5

    Prometheum5 Post Pimp

    I can tell you that you should not go out and grab some of that gnarly glue from the hardware store designed to repair rips in vinyl tarps. From experience, that's the shit that'll help you reenact the Raiders scene.

    I think your best bet is just some five or ten-minute two-part epoxy if you want it really rugged. It looks like the fit is not keyed quite enough for liquid superglue to make a good join, so the extra viscosity of epoxy will help you fill the gap a bit.
     
  3. ungawa222

    ungawa222 Mini Boss

    Hey David,

    What I would advise for reattachment of the scepter-head would be some “Medium” CA glue from a hobby shop (they will have thin, medium and thick).
    Try a test application, even on a piece of cardboard, so you get the hang of how fast it flows (if it’s too fast right out of the bottle, you can squeeze some out onto, say, a yogurt container lid, and then use a junk paintbrush to brush onto the joining edge of the piece. Either way, concentrate your application toward the inner edge of the hole; try not to get any on an area that will be exposed to view, because it may slightly frost the vinyl. With medium CA, it will only take about 30 seconds of holding together to make sure the join is set. Prometheum wasn’t wrong to advise using an epoxy, but they can be trickier to work with, and it would really be more power than you need for this (I assume you won’t be playing “monster war” with him in a dirtpile behind your house).

    Hope this helped!

    Cheers,
    Mike
     
  4. D-Lux

    D-Lux Line of Credit

    I've repaired vinyl with Elbers brand Super Glue gel. thick enough to hold it in place, and never got a white halo from it...

    Gorilla Glue 5 min 2 part epoxy works well too, but will make your whole house smell like burnt hair!
     

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