Garden Railway Forum

I will soon be embarking on building an SM32 crossover from Peco parts for outdoor use, but in the past I have had difficulty in finding a bonding agent of some sort that will stick a Peco chair to a Peco sleeper with any sort of strength. Can anybody recommend anything?

I have used mek pak in the past. I don't know if PECO have changed the plastic they use but it always worked for me.

OK Jim, many thanks, I'll give it a try

I used plastic magic, from delux materials. It's worked outdoors for two years so far!

EMA Plas Weld (basically the same as MekPak) works for the Peco throw over point lever kits and I would imagine they are the same type of plastic. But this stuff welds most plastics.

http://www.ema-models.co.uk/index.php/m ... ?limit=all

Best to get (especially larger) sizes from a shop or exhibition as shipping can be expensive due to the chemicals involved.

Beware, MEK Pak / Plas Weld are not user friendly chemicals, so use carefully.

http://www.plastruct.com/picat/MSDS_PPC_2.pdf

Chris

Cheers for all the replies. Chris, that data sheet makes it sound horrendous, but as with most things its really a case of common sense when handling and using such stuff. Thanks again.

I've been using it on and off for more than 50 years and I'm still standing !

No Health & Safety when I were a lad !

I can remember being at a model railway show (York 1968 I think) and seeing old Slater of Plasticard fame, demonstrating the wonders of MEKPAK on his stand. If I recall correctly, one of the problems with MEK is that when the fumes pass through a cigarette, a certain amount of Phosgene is produced. The old chap had a lighted cigarette dangling from his lip through the whole demonstration!.

Mind you , he's dead now.........

Regards

Rob

He would be 150 at least if he weren't !

Mek Pack & cigarettes did me no harm when I was 13+, but then maybe the large G&Ts washed away the toxins .

Mr Slater, what a gent, I too saw him chain smoking while demonstrating his wares. One of the few people who smoked more than me.

robc_wa:114293 wrote: If I recall correctly, one of the problems with MEK is that when the fumes pass through a cigarette, a certain amount of Phosgene is produced.

Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK) is a flammable solvent. No chlorine in it, so it can't form phosgene, but incineration is a possibility if the vapour builds up to high enough levels.

I think at one time Slaters MEKPAK was actually a chlorinated solvent, Perchlorethylene, or similar, and any chlorinated solvent can form phosgene as the vapour passes through a lit fag.

Mind you, the Benzo(a)pyrene in cigarette smoke is more likely get a chain smoker in the long term.

Graeme

I use liquid solvent I think the bottle label says Plasweld or something like that. It's too cold this evening to go out to the shed to check the bottle.

Just to make sure chairs will not come loose in the future, I press a small brass pin with a flat head into each fixing hole using a hot soldering iron. The brass pins are short enough not to project below the sleepers. They came from Brandbright.