I'm surprised I don't know this. What glue do you suggest for gluing the coupler into the bottom of a clear payload tube? Most glues won't adhere to most smooth plastics.
Glue for Payload Tube
- Thread starter jqavins
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I just did this a few nights ago and tried CA. In hindsight, I probably should have roughed up the inside of the clear tube, but it seems to be holding reasonably well. It passes my gentle tug test.
Plastic coupler? Either Pacer Formula 560 (water based, takes 24 hours to cure, sold as "canopy glue" for model airplanes) or Beacon Foam-Tac or Fabri-Tac (solvent-based, much quicker). Neither will fog the clear tube like CA sometimes does.
Actually these adhesives will also work well with a balsa payload coupler.
The kit instructions will probably suggest plastic model cement. But the payload tubes themselves aren't typically styrene, so that's not really a reliable option. It will hold for a little while....but as you know things around ejection are sometimes kind of bumpy.
Actually these adhesives will also work well with a balsa payload coupler.
The kit instructions will probably suggest plastic model cement. But the payload tubes themselves aren't typically styrene, so that's not really a reliable option. It will hold for a little while....but as you know things around ejection are sometimes kind of bumpy.
dr wogz
Fly caster
roughen up the inside of the tube,m then use a polyurethane glue..
Paper, with wood bulkheads in the ends.
Ah, that sounds pretty good.
Keep'm coming.
Which is why I mentioned it in my post. I don't have any direct experience with Fabri-Tac but I do with the others I suggested.
Gotcha. I'm curious to see how Foam-Tac and Fabri-Tac differ in this sort of application, but not curious enough yet (at least so far) to order some Fabri-Tac. I've looked at a few local stores (HL, Joann's Fabrics) but haven't found any yet.
I got the Foam-Tac originally to put the wraps on my #2157 Saturn-V (for which it worked VERY well) and have been using it for these paper-to-plastic joints and plastic-to-plastic joints since then.
I got the Foam-Tac originally to put the wraps on my #2157 Saturn-V (for which it worked VERY well) and have been using it for these paper-to-plastic joints and plastic-to-plastic joints since then.
caveduck
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You could try the Plastic-Weld epoxy too. Also Plasti-Zap (a modified CA) works great for nearly all plastic-to-something-else bonds, but that will haze up the clear tubes. Original Gorilla Glue might also work but it's kinda hard to use in really small amounts and tends to expand, but it will stick to anything including even polyethylene. I'm going to grab some Fabri-Tac at Michael's too; I'm very curious about its properties.
Looks like.
CA will attack some plastics.
Yup, I think so. And those are the two Joann's stores closest to me as well. Obviously I wasn't looking in the right spot last time I was in the Federal Way store....or they've been well restocked since then. It's been several weeks.
I just used some Foam-Tac to glue the threaded portion of an Estes 18mm motor retainer to a section of BT-20 that I've installed as part of rebuilding my Fat Boy that was taken out by a C5-3 CATO last time I had it out....we shall see how that works out as the next flight will be on a C12-4 Q-Jet.
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Self adhesive paper stickers applied to the inside of the clear tube, then a ring of epoxy or white glue applied to the inside of the tube works for me for LPR kits.
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Oh, I like that one. I actually have masking tape on the outside right now and that's sticking fine.
I don't really care about hazing where the glue is in contact, because I intend to paint that area anyhow, to hide the coupler and make it the same color as the tube below. (Which is why I have masking tape on it.)
I don't really care about hazing where the glue is in contact, because I intend to paint that area anyhow, to hide the coupler and make it the same color as the tube below. (Which is why I have masking tape on it.)
I love this idea... as long as it's OK for the color under the clear tube to be white (i.e. the color of the label paper). To make it a different color... I'm not sure. Paint the inside of the clear before applying the label paper?
I was already planning to paint the outside of the tube. Rough it up and use a plastic primer.
I just paint the outside of the payload tube directly, with no special preparation, and the paint (Rustoleum 2x) has held up very well.
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That's how I've done it.
Ahhh... found it, I thought that there was a photo somewhere. The surface texture of the clear payload bay tube shows through, but the paint bonds well. This payload bay tube has a bunch of flights on it:
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/quick-build-apogee-29mm-electronics-bay.152991/#post-1889088
https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/quick-build-apogee-29mm-electronics-bay.152991/#post-1889088
Everything old is new again (based on some of the reactions to this idea, not Jim's post).
This approach, though using the same self-adhesive tape strips that were used to attach shroud lines to the canopy on Estes 'chutes "back in the day", has been around since at least the release of the Astron Streak (goes back at least to the 1966 Estes catalog).
caveduck
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The issue with the PSA tape strips (at least the kind Estes used - Avery or similar) is that the adhesive was not great and would age out and fail after a few years. I suspect that back in the 1960s it was one of the only feasible ways to make this bond though - classic model airplane cement would seriously damage the plastic tube.
Quite true...and of course regular cellulose model airplane cement wouldn't stick to the Mylar BT-10 tube of the Streak at all....
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And that's what I did. Last night I applied painter's tape inside the tube and glued the coupler in. Yes, yes, I know, painter's tape is not as permanent as label paper. The thickness of the tape means that its glue is very well compressed. And being meant to come off cleanly even after a long time means that the glue and the paper shouldn't turn brittle. And if it begins to slide out I can try again. And I had the tape, so it didn't mean spending any time or money acquiring a new rocketry material. (Some people use lots of label paper and always have it on hand, but I am not one of those people.)
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My trick for painting the concealing bands of paint on a clear body tube... Measure how much of the clear tube I want to remain clear, then cut a piece of paper (such as office paper) to that length, wrap it tight around the body tube, and tape it to itself. I take care not to spray under the paper. Before the paint fully dries, I carefully remove the paper and I can gently scratch off any paint that creeped under the paint with the tip of an Xacto after the paint is fully dry.
