# Removing unwanted cement from buildings.



## Slickrick214 (Sep 1, 2010)

So I'm building a station for model railroad. Its a Pola G Idaho Springs station. I'm using Pola G cement. As I was doing the windows I got glue on them. Now the windows has spots and smudges and it just looks horrible. Is there any solvent for this type of cement that will get glue off the windows. At this point they're dry I don't know if that matters. I wasn't sure if acetone will work or if I need some type of industrial solvent. Thanks for the help.


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## Slickrick214 (Sep 1, 2010)

I tried nail polish remover with acetone, it didn't so much. Any help please.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

As a 'former' 1:35 scale plastic modeler I'm very common with this problem and I'm sorry to say there is no solvent to remove these spots and smudges... 
The only good way to get clear windows is the hard way; cut out the clear plastic and replace it with new. 

The Pola buildings are made out of styrene like those plastic military, car or plane modelkits or H0 scale buildings, only thicker. The Pola cement is ordinary plastic modeling glue. This means the glue softens the plastic so the pieces that are put together are melted to each other. This is why some people also use pure MEK for it, this melts the plastic very good (I believe MEK is also a substantial part of the glue). Sometimes plastic modelers refer this also as "welding" the pieces together, and perhaps that is the right description of it. So, it's not the glue that holds the plastic together (like for instance with paperglue holds paper together) but the welded plastic itself. 

This means also that the spots on your windows are melted plastic. Not on, but _in_ the plastic. 
You could remove the "drip"of glue, but the plastic will always show a damage (like a haze). 

_Sometimes_ there is method that _might_ work to get the windows clearer, specially if the damages are on the inside of the building. You could try to go over it with some clear gloss paint. The damages will remain but get less visible. It's a method that has no guaranteed result however, just give it a try before you remove the clear plastic. 

Another 'danger' with plastic glues is that over the years it can give the glued plastic parts a white or yellow haze on the places where it is spilt and/or wiped away. This counts for all plastic parts (so also the non-clear parts). The Pola cement is UV proof, this could mean the problem should not occur. However, when you notice the parts whiten over the years you can just paint them over and that problem is solved. 

Hope this helped. 

Paul


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## Slickrick214 (Sep 1, 2010)

Well thanks anyway. I was afraid of that. I didn't realize that Pola G was so powerful. That is that it is the type of glue that "welds" the plasic together. I was always under the impression that i was more like caulk and just was a layer of glue that held the two pieces together. So I guess getting glue on the windows and not having perfect windows is a common problem for large scale buildings. It pretty hard I guess not to get a little glue on the windows or sometimes in unwanted places.


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## Slickrick214 (Sep 1, 2010)

BTW if it does turn yellowish after time what kind of paint can you use to cover over the spots? Just regular modeling paint?


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

There are plenty of plastic "lens cleaners" designed for the automotive market. These have a mild abrasive to polish out surface scratches/imperfections/blemishes. You may be able to use one to polish out the surface where the blemishes appear.

In lieu of a real plastic polish, you can often use toothpaste with almost as good results.


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Posted By Slickrick214 on 02 Sep 2010 10:45 AM 
BTW if it does turn yellowish after time what kind of paint can you use to cover over the spots? Just regular modeling paint?

I would recommend acrylic modeling paint, like those from Tamiya. These hold very well on the Pola plastic and acrylic paint is often more UV resistant than enamel model paints. Also you can find acrylic paints for outside usage in most DIY stores, they work well if not too sticky or thick. Sometimes they sell little bottles of waterproof acrylic paint for decorative use. 

Toddalin's suggestion sounds like a good option too, you could give it a try with toothpaste. 

Paul


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## takevin (Apr 25, 2010)

You could use a product called 3m plastic polish, or use 2000 grit automotive wet/dry sandpaper and then buff out with a polishing compound too. It would easier thou to just replace with some clear plastic for the windows depending on how many windows have cement on them.


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## Dr G (Jan 16, 2008)

Here is an idea, not sure if it will work, but worth a try. Polish the "glass" with the very fine grit emery paper and then coat the plastic with Future floor polish. Yes, I said Future floor polish. It is used to help remove the scratches in model airplane cockpit canopies. I have not used it for this purpose, but I do use it as a gloss finish on my models. The secret, as I understand it to making plastic clear again is to "dip" the plastic in the Future.

Let me know if it helps.

Matt


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## Paulus (May 31, 2008)

Matt, The Future Floor polish could work, but the only thing is that you have to paint it over the windows because the glass is already glued in the building so the glass parts can not be dropped in the Future. 
I also did not mention it because it's more for little scratches than for glue stains/damages. Personally I found _painting_ Future always tricky (the surface layer is not equal than and stripes or more matt/less gloss spot may occur, but this would not be such a problem for G scale windows). 
But it is worth a try for sure!!!

For more information about the use of Future Floor polish in modeling, see this site: The Complete Future

Paul 



http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Wonder if that 3m stuff would work for polycarbonate glasses.


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

Remove the Clear Styrene windows and replace them with acrylic. The styrene will turn yellow and become opaque soon when exposed to the UV light from the sun. It takes a little work but they can be removed even though they are glued in. 
Russ


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

When building factory buildings, glue smudges make the windows look old. stringy glue looks like a cracked window. 
I would leave some of these alone as they look better with some damage on an old building.


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## Slickrick214 (Sep 1, 2010)

Well like you guys said the glue is the type that "melts" the plastic so there's no way to get it off the windows. I took Dr G's idea and made my own. I took a toothbrush and squirted some liquid Lava brand soap on it. Then I used the the toothbrush with the soap to buff the windows. Lava soap has pumice rock in it. It is usually used by mechanics because the pumice helps remove grease and oil from the hands. The pumice rock is corse so it scratched up the windows a little and made the glue spot less noticable.


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## hawkeye2 (Jan 6, 2008)

There are special glues for attaching clear parts like model airplane canopies that won't damage the clear plastic. Check the Squadron Shop:



http://www.squadron.com/Index.htm


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## Slickrick214 (Sep 1, 2010)

O well the buildings done now but now I know for next time. It doesn't look so bad after I buffed the windows with the soap and toothbrush. I did take a look at some of the buildings I made back in the early 90's and I noticed the windows and spots where glue leaked out had turned yellow.Now I wish I had used a different type of glue.


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## bvdrr (Jan 3, 2008)

I have had the same problem, best solution I found is to use real single strength glass, glued on with Goop.If it is a window that you want to look old and dusty then use the plastic and after awhile it will look like you want it to look.
Fred


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## Slickrick214 (Sep 1, 2010)

Thats a good idea but how do you get the glass to the exact size you need? One building can have a bunch of different types of windows. My station I just built has has atleast 3 or 4 different window sizes.


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Somehow, all I can think of is:

*"Sledgamatic! Tool of the 21st century!"*


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