Got Gas????

No, not that kind...

If you are a regular user of Cyano Acrylate glues, otherwise known CA as Super Glue, it's likely that you do.

"Gassing" is the white residue that appears around your glue joints, especially on dark surfaces, clear surfaces, or on shiny metal. It makes an otherwise perfect joint, look, not so perfect. Sometimes it's an indication that too much glue has been used. At other times, especially with gels, you may not have a choice but to use an amount of glue that makes gassing unavoidable.

One of the biggest problems involving gassing is that it might not show up until a day or two after you've made your joint. This can be fixed if you can get to the joint. I avoid using CA to close up cabin spaces on boats or airplanes, because gassing may not appear for quite some time and it may be amplified in small enclosed spaces, possibly frosting windows to an extent that blocks vision. This can be "visually fatal" to an otherwise impressive interior space.



If I used CA glue to close this up, Happie would have been miserable
and I would have been devastated.




In those situations I use non-gassing glues, such as type II carpenter's glue, epoxy or watch crystal cement, depending upon the specific situation. Of course, each glue has its own pluses and minuses.


Using a non-gassing glue made Happie happy.

If your gassing is in an accesible spot...

...relief from gas can be found on your grocery store shelf...

 

I am a believer in the concept that model makers can benefit from learning to see and use common things outside of their common context. Here is an excellent example. I found this method by accident years ago and it's helped me many times since:  Olive oil applied directly to gassing seems to make it disappear. There are cases where it doesn't do the job completely, but those are rare. I haven't found anything that works as well. What you have to bear in mind is that it is an oil, which could affect other nearby items in your model, especially unsealed wood or the adhesive of graphics tapes. I usually dedicate a very small artist's brush to the job which allows me to apply it precisely and sparingly. After it sits for a minute, or when I can see that the gassing is gone, I lightly dab the excess oil away with a corner of a paper towel. Give it a try!