Estes PSII Nike Smoke Fin Adhesive?

[John Kemker]

I'm looking at my Nike Smoke that just arrived yesterday and the instructions say use CA to glue the fins together. Since they're plastic, should Dubro Duco Plastic Cement work? I'm thinking it might be a better weld, since it would actually melt the two pieces together, as opposed to CA. Thoughts?

 

[prfesser]

I think that most Estes molded plastic parts are polystyrene; if so, cement used for model airplanes should work at least as well, if not better. Test it on scraps, if there are any from the kit.

 

[John Kemker]

I think that most Estes molded plastic parts are polystyrene; if so, cement used for model airplanes should work at least as well, if not better. Test it on scraps, if there are any from the kit.

No scraps, but I was thinking of testing on the inside, away from mating surfaces. If it melts, it's good to go.

 

[John Kemker]

So, here's the test:
(So, it's "Duco" not "Dubro." Doh!)
Here's what it looks like after letting it melt a bit:



Looks like it passes.

 

[Art Upton]

I'm looking at my Nike Smoke that just arrived yesterday and the instructions say use CA to glue the fins together. Since they're plastic, should Dubro Plastic Cement work? I'm thinking it might be a better weld, since it would actually melt the two pieces together, as opposed to CA. Thoughts?

John, this is how I do all the Estes Plasic Fin sets in the PSII series and what I did with my two Smokes.

I use lots of CA glue and clamp them together with Binder Clips. When they are fully dry the next day, check to make sure no cracks are in the edges of the fins. If so seal up with thin CA. When Dry again, I wet sand them with 400 grit sand paper in the kitchen sink. Then they are ready for paint or primer if you wish to use that.

I have sent the Estes Asender on a H135 with those type of fines with no fillets at all, just glue to the motor mount and mount rings. I did use a lite clear sealer to seal the body tube slots so air would not get inside.

I have a few pics on this site of that technique. I will search for them.

 

[Art Upton]

Lots of posts there I have talked about this like this one that also has the video of the Asender on the H motor

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/psii-nike-smoke.180476/#post-2447492

Here is where I was use both binder clips and very HD wood pin clips. I have now used only binder clips.
Also it shows if you move down the post of my painting everything before gluing fins to rockets which is pretty much all I do now on anything BT-60 and above. Also shown is my Kevlar Shock cord method on the motor mount that allows replacing it should it get very dirty or crisp.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/pro-series-ii-e2x-power-build.132757/#post-1561505

Here is my Smoke being fitted for fins after painting.

 

[John Kemker]

Okay, so I'm doing a test. I'm using the same Zwilling vacuum bags that I vac-bag fiberglass lamination over plywood fins as clamps to keep the parts together. I'm using Duco Plastic Model Cement to "weld" the parts together. After applying the cement, I wiped down the part and popped it in the vac bag and applied vacuum. Later today, I'll pull it out and see how I did.

 

[David_Stack]

When I built mine I used "Same Stuff" from Micro Mark. Essentially a clone of Tenax 7R that is no longer available.

Only issue I had is that it is so 'hot' and evaporates so quickly that applying it to all the bonding areas and joining the two pieces before it flashes off was a challenge. I eventually resorted to making sketches of the bond areas on a piece of glass (on the underside), 'painting' the Same Stuff onto the glass, then floating the fin half on the adhesive, lift it off and join the two halves.

Needed to work quickly; not only to not have the adhesive evaporate but also because if you leave the fin in the 'puddle' of "Same Stuff" too long, it can actually start to melt the fin plastic too much.

 

[John Kemker]

After-action report:

Looks good. There's a bit of melting on the edges, where the Duco bled out, but that can be handled with a bit of sanding. I'm going to do the other three the same way.

 

[Art Upton]

After-action report:

Looks good. There's a bit of melting on the edges, where the Duco bled out, but that can be handled with a bit of sanding. I'm going to do the other three the same way.

Sounds like a great way to do it if you have Vac bagging

 

[John Kemker]

Sounds like a great way to do it if you have Vac bagging

Hey, the Zwilling system was relatively cheap. The bags are reusable and not expensive, either.

 

[Zman1961]

I believe the fin material for these is actually ABS. When I built my Nike Smoke fins I used a good 30 minute epoxy, after roughing up the surfaces inside. I covered the entire outside of each fin half with blue painters tape first. I laid out all the pieces on the kitchen table, mixed the epoxy, put the halves together, and used binder clamps around the perimeters (6 clamps on each fin). I then set them on waxed paper to dry over-night. It was a bit messy, but it worked well. The thin "wire edge" of epoxy that oozed out around the edges peeled off easily. Then remove the tape and you have it. they are still intact after many flights. And I did substute kevlar cord for the elastic, using an eye bolt in the front centering ring. It's a great flier!

 

[Mward]

I'm looking at my Nike Smoke that just arrived yesterday and the instructions say use CA to glue the fins together. Since they're plastic, should Dubro Duco Plastic Cement work? I'm thinking it might be a better weld, since it would actually melt the two pieces together, as opposed to CA. Thoughts?

Where did you get a Nike Smoke Pro Series II from in 2024?

Also, Testors model cement worked fine with 24 hours of soft clamping (just 2 sheets of wax paper, two old foam mousepads, 2 scraps of MDF, and a couple of quick clamps).

- Matt

 

[Leo]

I used Epoxy / Plastruct Plastic Weld thinking I did a smart move. On the fourth flight all fins disintegrated at lift-off (H-Motor).
Inspecting the broken fin parts I realized that the glues did nothing to the plastic, and I was lucky that the flights before were successful.

The replacement fins were glued with CA glue. Fins are still in one piece.

 

[John Kemker]

Where did you get a Nike Smoke Pro Series II from in 2024?

Also, Testors model cement worked fine with 24 hours of soft clamping (just 2 sheets of wax paper, two old foam mousepads, 2 scraps of MDF, and a couple of quick clamps).

- Matt

Bought from a fellow TRF member.

 

[SolarYellow]

I have a WIP build using the PSII Booster fin can set. I started with two boosters, sorted the fins into straight ones for the rocket and warped ones for R&D. Tried multiple methods of gluing. Testor's red tube su-hucked. Settled on JB Weld Plastic Bonder epoxy for the webbing in the core, followed by Plastruct Plastic Weld and binder clips over popsicle sticks to keep the edges straight around the perimeter. Will add a strip of aluminum tape over the leading edges. I figure if the Aerobee did that with the fin skins welded, it's legit for me. Haven't flown it yet; will do a build thread when I get it all together. Will be making room for an I200.