I bought the last bottle of Tenax 7R that my LHS had last week - vague story on the issues of why its not in stock - does anyone know for real is this stuff done for? Its all that I ever used. I tried searching for answers, but got none, other than no one has it.
From what I could find Hebco was bought out and the new owner has not stated what their plans are regarding Tenax 7r. Most places on line are listing it as discontinued. However, the active ingredient in Tenax (and other manufacturer's solvents that "weld" polystyrene) is methyethylketone or MEK. You can but MEK in pint, quart, or gallon quantities at Ace Hardware, Lowes, Home Depot, etc in the paint department. Make sure that what you buy is MEK with no other additives. You should also strain it through a coffee filter before using.
According to three different distributors that we got it from, Tenax is officially dead. Each has their own preference for a replacement product but the one I like the best is also on the unknown list right now, Ambroids Pro-Weld. My new favorite is Tamiya liquid cement, if for no other reason but the applicator that comes in the bottle. You can actually use it to build with unlike the others which required a good fine paintbrush.
Interesting news. It was not possible to obtain Tenax here in Germany since years, due to shipping restrictions. So I have one last bottle which I keep to build my remaining Intermountain kits, but if I don't start soon it will be evaporated. Has anyone experiences hoew to build Intermountain kits with other plastic cements? The standard brands here in Germany all have some liquid styrene in them, as a filler, it leaves ugly stains when glueing the Intermountain kits (e.g. glue the small parts to the painted body). MEK could be a solution, but I have not yet tried it, and don't know where to get it here. I will check for Tamiya cement, too.
I've tried the Tenax and never really liked it much due to it's rapid rate of evaporation and have had the ocassional weld not hold. The Ambroid ProWeld is my goto for a fast drying plastic weld and I believe to be superior to the Tenax in that it is a little slower on the evaporation rate. Same good capillary action. One with good capillary action and good welding is the Plastruct Bondene (white label) although a lot slower drying than both the former. The last is the Plastruct Plastic Weld (orange label) slower acting that gives some time to do an adjustement if needed.
Ambroid Pro-Weld was hard to come by for a while out in my neck of the woods, but it's been in stock here lately. Is it unavailable elsewhere? I'd heard that there was a fairly widespread shortage of it for some time.
I use this one as a replacement for Tenax 7R. MEK is pretty mean stuff. Bonds styrene instantly and I mean instantly. Evaporates quickly. It is very inexpensive, though...at least compared to the small bottles we are purchasing. Doesn't MEK have a pretty bad odor?
I add 10-15% Toluol (toluene) to the MEK. Adds a little bit of tack and slows drying, which I happen to like. Some stores sell a "A Substitute for MEK," which forbodes its withdrawal from the market in the future (or now with Tenax).
I just use plain old lacquer thinner in an old oil bottle with a really fine nozzle,or a paintbrush if I'm using it inside a structure..Has MEK and Tolulol in it,15 bucks a gallon,LOL!!
So - this sounds bad - probably some dumb-head poured tenax on his hand then sued the company i suppose. Or some other ding dong trying to say it was bad for us, even though it was around for years - i hate that kind of garbage. This was my favorite glue - a miracle glue. I tried Faller - didnt like it, mostly due to the nozzle clogs, same with the Testors 'black bottle' (different stuff than the clear glass bottle, which I only use for window glass gluing). As for the evaporation issue - you have to fully tighten the lid every time - then it has a longer save time.
Seem to remember Micro-Mark selling a tenax duplicate in their catalog. That might be a good substitute.
Micro Mark sells " Same Stuff " it is Pro Weld. I had the same problem getting Pro-Weld. Micro-Mark sells it 2 bottles with a Glass Tube applicator.
I am in complete agreement here... Tamiya 'Extra Thin' liquid cement...very thin, very fast bond...great, USEABLE bottle cap applicator brush! Respectfully, Bruce
I love MEK, it's not got an odor, that I can smell, and I love it on plastic. We had a plastic model club and the kids forgot to tighten the lids on the testors liquid glue, so we started using MEK, and could refill the testors bottles for pennies, instead of the parents having to buy new bottles. I've had nothing but good luck with the MEK and I personally have 8-10 quarts as I also have about 1200 plastic model kits above and beyond my train stuff. I don't intend to ever run out. Home Depot was selling it for about $10.00 a quart and said they planned on disconuing it, so I've stocked up. I have quite a few bottles of testors glue with the brush under the lid, and plan on refilling my bottles as needed.
I've always used Ambroid over Tenax, and then use the Plastrct stuff when I can't get my Ambroid. (Like now.) My experience with Tenax has been best summed up with "Spit and water holds together better than that".
Ambroid sells out fairly fast and my only LHS left has a hard time keeping its inventory restocked. That said I just bought a new bottle about three weeks ago. So unless the EPA has banned it and similar to protect the fools that can't tell this stuff from thier mouthwash I think it will still be around. Sort of like the Chameleon paint stripper, great stuff but the supply side seems to be slow getting it to the dealers.
One of the distributors I talked to said Ambroid hadn't returned a phone call in almost a year. We sell all of the Ambroid product line when we can get it. There are certain RC plane guys that won't build a plane without their glues. We have been out for over 6 months.
