CA glues: Are the all created equal.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

I think the reason the glue dries once it is opened is because air takes the place of the glue that got used. If you gently squeeze the bottle until no air is left at the top, and then put the cap on, the glue should not dry. Just a thought though...

[feathers5 0]

He's right. Squeeze the air our before you put the lid back on--it works!

[SILKHDH 0]

Two things here. ONE, If you use markers to color your flies BE WARE!!!! CA glue can do crazy things to the markers color. Put yellow on CA glue and it will turn red/orange. Mine did....I ruined a fly doing that. Learned the hard way.. TWO,, As far as the air drying out the CA glue,, Well, the company I work for had a representative/salesman from loc-tite come and explain their different products and their uses to us. I do engineering where I work. We make machines and we use loc-tite all day long. I know saying this is going to get some replies but here it goes. This Loc-tite sales person explained to us that it is the Absence of air to loc-tite that makes it cure, not the exposure to air. For sure on 242 blue. If so how would threads that are sealed in a metal casing ever cure. Its air tight! He put some on his fingers and squeezed them together. TIGHT!!! Is actually better to leave the lid off. Sounds crazy right? Goes against everything your mama ever taught you. RIGHT? The comment was also made that long term storage (we buy it by the case) was good to refrigerate. I will say this is the thread locker types of loc-tite but he was doing other glues too. When he glued his fingers together (like what happens with CA glue) he showed how to twist, not pull the fingers apart. Instantly came apart!! NOTE: I'm going to call and check on the types you get at Walmart so don't you all start screwing the lids off your bottles yet...OK!!! NOW, let me have it.

 

P.S. I have a whole book on this glue and a phone number to call them. Any one has a question on this type of glue, write it here. I plan to call these guys and ask them some questions myself. I can ask them yours at the same time and reply back. COOL?

[mikechell 0]

Loc-tite thread locker is different from loc-tite super glue. Thread locker is designed to seal and lock in bolt threads, as you've stated.

I'd always heard it was the heat, friction and pressure of tightening the bolt/nut that "activated" the thread locker compound ... not the lack of air. Since the solution around the bottle top takes a looong time to set, and the contents of the bottle almost never do ... it's neither contact with the air, nor lack of air that cures the compound. Maybe it's contact with metal ... I might have to out a drop on raw metal to see if it sets up quick.

Anyway, I am not really arguing against your statements ... but I am going to do some more research on this stuff.

[Stippled Popper 0]

I use LOCTITE SuperGlue, mostly to glue hooks to popper bodies. . . Gel version for the hard foam and balsa bodies . . .

Liquid version for the cork and soft foam.

 

In support of SILKHDH's statement about refrigeration, my neighbor who worked at the lab of a chemical plant told me

they keep their superglues in refrigeration. His engineer son-in-law said they do the same. Since learning of this I've

been keeping my superglues in my home refrigerator in an clear airtight container. Well it was clear when I started using

it. Now the the container's inside has a frosty White coating.

 

Based on moisture in the air being the agent for superglue drying according to what I'd previously been lead to believe,

the business about leaving LOCTITE open to the air does go counter. When I ended up getting a bunch of DURO

superglue(Same company as LOCTITE I think) on my fingers one time and tried to wash it off, it dried instantly and

turned White.

[McGnat 0]

I have heard moisture activates CA and it gives off heat in so doing. Maybe it is the moisture in the air inside the container that causes it to set up in the bottle, and not the oxygen.

I tied up some quill bodies that were dyed yellow. I often coat quill bodies with CA to make them bullet proof. When I put the CA on, the yellow quills turned red as was previously posted.

[SILKHDH 0]

My next comment is on thread locker 242 only. I am "Quoting" loc-tite. "The product cures when confined in the absence of air between close fitting metal surfaces". I say again. I stood there with the man from Loc-tite. I am not going to say all CA glues cure in this manner, but I know that blue 242 does. I am the worst about details and facts. Drives me nuts not knowing the facts.. LOL ..I have to know the real info. I'm going to call them and find out on my lunch break. Curiosity killed the cat!

[SILKHDH 0]

OK, I called Loc-tite. 1-800-323-5106 and talked to Sandy. Here it is. CA glues cure with "moisture",or humidity. McGnat nailed it! All "Thread locker" glues (except number 425 which is a CA thread locker for plastic threads) cure from "lack of oxygen" in the presence of active metal ions. LONG TERM STORAGE: "UNOPENED ONLY": store in 36-46 degrees. "Once opened" is best to store tightly sealed in a "dry" location away from heat sources or sun exposure. Humidity and high temperatures decrease shelf life. Once you open it you let in warm humid air. Cool it you cause condensation, or moisture. MOISTURE CURES CA GLUE. "Stippled Popper",The white frost in the container is monomer put off from gasses. OK, the big question. Is it water proof?... Her answer is...."Its still debated"..LOL.. Plastic to plastic will be water proof, but do not recommend plastic to metal in situations of continuous submersion in water. All the above information was from LOC-TITE "person to person". So! Storage in cold I was correct only if UNOPENED. Drying or curing I was correct only with the "thread locker" types of LOC-TITE. So pretty much everything I said to the exception of thread locker dries from lack of oxygen was crap! LOL. But I at least did say I was talking about thread locker glue. LOC-TITE thread lockers and CA glues are different animals. But at least we know the FACTS now, and how to better store it. Moisture is our enemy!! And we fish! LOL

[SILKHDH 0]

To summarize: For the most part, All CA (cyanoacrylate) glues ARE created equally. With the exception of liquid or gel. I think it was Mike that said something to the affect of, "as long as it lasts the life of the fly" what difference does it make. I can't agree more. See ya ZAP-A-GAP! I'm going to the dollar store for three packs..LOL.. As far as what is best on stacking deer hair, "head cement, flexament or CA glue?", I don't know. I use CA glue because I saw Dave Whitlock (using ZAP-A-GAP) recommend it between each bundle. That's the only reason why. You can bet I will be experimenting though.

[RickZieger 0]

I use Zap-a-gap. Never had a problem with flies in the water.

At Sowbug I was given a curved extension cap that fits on top of the bottle.

Works great and has been on the bottle since mid March.

Very tiny drops go on and never had it messed up in the tube extension.

I have tired other superglues that I do not like as much.

Rick

[Stippled Popper 0]

SILKHDH So the thread locker is a different chemical composition than the CA. Makes sense.

I mentioned the frost on the airtight container figuring it was fumes/gases and the CA would be

something the "little lady"(for those of us with same) would likely not want to have in the

refrigerator without extra steps taken. . . the sort of thing I had to contend with when I was feeding

frozen brine shrimp to the tropical fish I once kept.

[flytire 0]

well did you know thread locker is different than ca glue?

 

everybody knows that (geico commercial)

[SILKHDH 0]

Yep. I jumped to conclusion when thinking thread locker was just a different kind of CA glue with an extra dash of this and an extra dash of that added to it. I was incorrect.

 

LOL. flytire.. Yea, and words CAN hurt you. BAMMM!!! Jessie?? Have you seen that one?

Caught me so off guard. Just took a drink, BAMM!! I had water squirting out my mouth and nose trying not to laugh. I hate it when that happens!

[Kirk Dietrich 0]

CA "superglues" were originally designed from what I understand for use in eye surgery where it would hold things quickly but later dissolve from the eye's moisture.

Zap-a-gap was later designed for the model industry best I know and Lefty Kreh did some extensive testing in the early days and found Zap to be the only water proof CA at that time.

Fast forward to today and I think Loc-tite is likely waterproof to hold screws/bolts in the elements. I use BSI and as far as I know, it is waterproof.

As for storage, I use CA a lot and while I used to refrigerate, I don't any longer. A one ounce opened bottle lasts months in my shed/workshop where the temps get over 100. Although a few times in that time, I have to clear the tip. Occassionally, I'll unscrew the top and pull the dried CA from out of the inside of the nozzle with a foreceps.

 

Kirk

[jcozzz 0]

used all the cheap brands and zap a gap.i bought some gorilla super glue.love the stuff.and the bottle closes nicely.has a fine tip but i apply my glue with a needle squirt a drop on some waxed paper and put exactly where i want with needle.