I’ve found a spray adhesive that sticks polystyrene with an instant grab – this is worth shouting about! Its in the 3M range, and is called Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive. I’m amused by this graphic on the US site:

because there is a humourous appreciation there of the beauty and godsend of finding the right glue for the job, but also because it reminds me of my Darcy Venus from Pemberley days.

Just about all glues eat polystyrene. White PVA glue and epoxy resins like Araldite are the exceptions, but they take time to dry, and the work has to be clamped meanwhile. One or two of the liquid-nails-type adhesives can be used, depending on the job, but they melt polystyrene to a certain extent, and are lumpy.

The can of Multi-Purpose Spray Adhesive that I bought here in Canberra doesn’t have the ‘Super 77’ tag on it, and is half-green-half-black rather than red. I’m assuming that its just different packaging, and the content is the same, but it might be worth checking. It’s a 467g can, boasts 6 times more coverage than any other competitor, and is expensive: AU$29.95. But its worth it.