Super/Crazy Glue Solvent

[Flytyer-1 0]

Not that is so expensive to replace, but is anyone aware of a solvent for super glue? I have a bottle with a brush applicator that is becoming very viscous. It really is thicker now than the gel super glue, and very difficult to "manage". Anyone have any ideas?

 

Best from Nashville-

Stack Scoville

[Guest]

As far as I know, there is no effective solvent for superglue (cyanoacrylate) adhesives. When they start to set up, the only remedy I know of is to replace them. I use a lot of different adhesives, but suprglue relatively rarely (but I do use it where appropriate). Sorry....

 

Mark Delaney

[Joe Hard 0]

Cured super glue can be softened with a product they make called a product called Z-7 Debonder,

 

http://zap.supergluecorp.com/pt16.html

 

Another method of removing cured super glue is acetone, nail polish remover.

 

http://www.supergluecorp.com/removingsuperglue.html

 

Weather it will thin super glue or not I do not know. Here is the super glue home page, could contact them. There is also a section where you can tell them a story of how you use the super glue and could get a bunch of sample products from them.

 

http://www.supergluecorp.com/index.html

[flyline64 0]

I had the same problem (though not as thick as you describe). I just tossed it, but you might try mixing in some fresh stuff with the old (others on this site have said that works for products like hard head). If that doesn't work, just buy a new one. (Forgive the pun, but if you find a solution let us know.)

 

By the way, I find the brush on super glue very useful for wingposts, heads and generally locking down thread wraps that really need to hold. Loctite was the first, but Krazy Glue has now followed--both work well.

 

 

 

[Catalpa_Joe 0]

I've been using a water based polyurethane varnish to lock down thread & to finish off heads. Dries to a high gloss & looks great. Got it at the local hobby store. Super glue for heads often turns white & ruins the fly. I won't ever use super glue again for heads.

[flyline64 0]

I haven't found it to turn white, though I usually use a small amount. ( I very rarely try for glossy heads, or prominent heads of any kind.)

 

In any case, certainly better than varnish--since it dries in seconds--for cementing wingposts, thread over lead underbody etc.

[Flytyer-1 0]

Thanks for the information, one and all.

 

Best from Nashville-

 

Stack Scoville

[steelie 0]

Good Day,

 

I am not a chemist... however, I use nail polish remover for clean up or if i get any on my skin. I believe that the effective ingredient is the acetate. Acetate can be found at most hardware stores.

 

Steelie

[beaverfsu 0]

There are debonders, as mentioned above. CA cannot be thinned, has to do with the chemistry of the glue. CA is only good (according to my hardcore turning friends) for 6 months or so. They store their's in the 'frig.

 

Of course, this is same bunch that has sayings like:

 

"Only glue yourself to something that you can lift..." :hyst:

 

Plus many of them have bottles of debonder mounted on their lathes...

 

I would toss the stuff.

[Ephemerella 0]

Stack,

Throw it.

According to Wikipedia (not generally a reliable source...but anyway) CA adhesives bond by polymerizing in the presence of water. So your bottle of adhesive has absorbed water from the air and is now a mix of polymers and the monomers. I suspect like many polymerization reactions, once started it may accelerate.

wikipedia cyanoacrylate

In industry, as beaversfu points out, it is kept refrigerated and discared after 6 months.

 

I suspect that is why superglue or zap-a-gap hardens when rubbed with a toothpick when in a thin layer. The wood absorbs water from the air and causes the thin layer of monomer to polymerize, plus the rubbing may cause the monomer molecules to "line up" quicker.

 

[Joe Hard 0]

If you can still use it. Use it like super glue gel. I use the gel if I want to add eyes or for other things that only need a small dab, as it is easier to work with.

[flyline64 0]

My experience is the thickened liquid is not like the gel (or only resembles the gel in consistency). Super glues that have thickened over time do not work like the gel. Instead they take a long time to dry--which defeats their purpose (especially when both gel and liquid cost a couple of dollars)

 

Based on the info above, just chuck it. Buying a new one a few times a year is a minor expense. (I assume the 6 month shelf life is the main reason each package contains so little.)

[Guest]

steelie,

 

I'm afraid you may be confusing acetone and ethyl acetate. Both are ingredients in nail polish remover. Acetone you may find in a hardware or paint store, but I've never seen ethyl acetate for sale in either. I wouldn't try to thin superglue with either. For clean up both might work.

 

Mark Delaney