How to Glue ABS?!

.. can be like trying to nail Jello to the wall.

While starting on a model boat project that involves an ABS hull, the question came up how to best glue things to plastic: Wooden bulkheads, deck, metal drive tube, other plastic parts, ...

This specific boat I'm about to build is a Graupner Bugsier 3. Its hull is made from ABS plastic. For what it's worth, the site http://www.kuederli.com/bugsier3/ has a very nice description of building this kit. It does mention re-enforcing and sealing the hull with epoxy and glass mats, but doesn't mention a specific type of epoxy. Based on what I learned, plain epoxy will not work at all. The kit's instructions recommend Stabilit Express. Stabilit Express is a very good 2-component glue:

• Nicely bonds to ABS, wood, metal, anything
• Gap-filling
• Sets in a short time
• Can be drilled, sanded

...but it's very hard to obtain outside of Europe. http://www.hobby-lobby.com/ used to sell it, but won't any longer. Ordering it from German companies like Conrad seems impacted by shipping restrictions.

So I tried various glues in a very unscientific way: Glue snippet of ABS plus piece of wood to ABS, see how it holds up to me trying to pull it apart.

Here's what didn't work:

• Various Epoxies (Tower Hobby, DevCon 30 min, UHU Plus endfest 300, Loctite Heavy Duty 5min, ...) - Usually a good bet for any glue task, but doesn't stick at all to ABS.
• JB Weld MarineWeld, PC-11 Marine Epoxy - May be more resiliant to UV and water, but don't help with ABS.
• Alumilite casting resin - Seemed like a good idea for flowing into bottom of hull to make is watertight, closing every little pinhole, but peels right off the ABS when hard.
• JB Weld - Won't stick.
• Gorilla glue - The foaming polyurethane variety. Very messy, doesn't stick to ABS. 
• Contact cement - Spread on, let dry, then press parts together. Seem to stick, but separate easily once the glue dries.

While most of the above would initially appear OK, the hardened glue will simply 'pop' off the ABS as soon as you slightly deform the ABS or pull a little stronger.

What works with ABS:

• Stabilit Express - we knew that.
• UHU Hart - Nice for bonding wood to ABS, but also hard to obtain in the USA.
• Acetone - sneaks into smallest gap, melts the ABS, gives perfect bond, but needs perfect 'fit'. Not gap-filling at all, doesn't bond to anything else. 
• ZAP Slo, gap-filling CA - May be even better if surface is wetted with acetone just before adding CA. Since the
• DevCon Plastic Welder, 'cream' colored - Smells a lot like Stabilit Express, may be the closest to it.
• Loctite Plastic Bonding System - A pen-type heptane activator plus a CA-type glue. 
• Loctite Plastic 5min Epoxy - Not to confuse with regular epoxy, this one somewhat works on ABS, but not as well as DevCon Plastic Welder nor the CA-type Bonding System.