BSI’s CA Tops are Clog Free
Bob Smith Industrie’ CA tops are acknowledged to be the best available. To achieve the best clog-free results, modelers should follow some basic procedures. Initially, the top should be loosened and then re-tightened to relieve any pressure inside the bottle. Then the most important step is to use a sharp hobby knife of razor blade to cleanly cut off the tip of the top. A rough edge here invites clogging. Squeezing the upright bottle after use will blow air through the top and assures a clear nozzle. If the top is allowed to touch the surface on which accelerator has been applied, a hardening of the glue at the tip will usually occur. Flexing the tip and using your fingernail to remove the hardened CA usually gets the CA flowing again. If a top is abused to the point it cannot be unclogged, soaking it overnight in acetone will return it to as good as new condition.

Introducing IC-2000™ - Rubber Toughened CA
IC-2000™, Bob Smith Industries latest addition to its full line of hobby adhesives, is a rubber-toughened cyanoacrylate that forms superior shock resistant bonds on non-porous surfaces. The black colored CA has added flexibility for bonding of metals, fiberglass, rubber, carbon-fiber and other advanced materials. For model use, IC-2000™ is ideal for the bonding of bulkheads, formers and servo rails to the inside of fiberglass hulls and fuselages. Set-up time is 20-40 seconds, which can be accelerated with INSTA-SET™. When cured, IC-2000™ is pliable enough to be carved with a hobby knife and will withstand temperatures ranging from -40 to 250 degrees F. Modelers have found it is the best adhesive for R/C car tires.

Why Use Fiberglass?
FINISH-CURE™ provides a perfect balsa surface preparation that is ready for primer and paint. It can be used by itself, which at first glance would appear the simplest procedure; however, when used with lightweight fiberglass cloth, the modeler actually saves time and weight. The cloth assures that a uniform, minimum amount of FINISH-CURE™ is applied that requires the least amount of sanding. When FINISH-CURE™ is applied by itself and then sanded smooth, you won’t know what the minimum thickness is until you sand through to the wood in spots, which then requires a second coat.

After FINISH-CURE™ is brushed onto the cloth, warm it with a heat gun, then squeegee off all the excess epoxy until there are no glossy areas on the surface. Use acetone to clean your brush and, to make the finishing process a more pleasant experience, always wear disposable surgical gloves for almost instant clean-up.

Working With Balsa & Foam
Are you looking for the best process for sheeting foam core wings? FINISH-CURE™ 20 Minute Epoxy provides a strong and lightweight interface between balsa and foam. After the foam cores are properly prepared by sanding and cleaning them, a thin coat of FINISH-CURE™ is brushed on the bottom balsa wing sheeting. A heat gun is then used to heat the epoxy so that any excess can be squeegeed off. The surface should have a semi-gloss appearance with a little of the wood grain showing through. With the foam core resting in the block it was cut from, the balsa sheeting is then lined up with the trailing edge and pressed down with your hand moving back and forth spanwise, working toward the leading edge. Turn this assembly over into the opposite foam block and repeat the procedure for the top sheeting. Don’t worry about the lack of adhesion toward the leading edge. Now place the entire assembly onto a hard, flat surface (during winter, this may have to be the bathroom floor) and place a large sheet of a hard, flat material on top (the leaf from a table works great). This will evenly distribute the weight of all the heavy items you will now stack on top to compress the sheeting against the foam. After 6 to 8 hrs. in a 72 degree F+ environment the FINISH-CURE™ will give you a fully sheeted wing that has the maximum balsa to foam adhesion and rigidity that can’t be matched by using contact-type cements.

Some foam cores come with the two panels cut from the same block. If this is the case, follow the above procedure, doing both panels at once. When spread into a thin layer, FINISH-CURE™ gives you a little over one hour to work with it. To avoid confusion, mark the inside surface of the balsa sheets with a felt pen to designate their position (top left, etc,). Also, before starting, stack the foam cores in their blocks and tape them together in perfect alignment. With a straightedge and felt pen, draw several vertical lines on each side of the block. These lines will simplify the alignment of the cores in the foam blocks when the weights are stacked on top.

The excess balsa is now trimmed flush with the foam cores. Use a large sanding block to insure that the leading and trailing edges are straight. SUPER-GOLD+™ is then used to glue on the balsa L.E., T.E., and wing tips. For all sanding of the wing, use a sanding block with a hard, flat backing. This results in the glue joints being sanded down at the same rate as the balsa.