Crazy Glue Makes Me Crazy

Krazy glue GEL, doesn't run. But don't get the new Advanced. I use a toothpick straight from the tube.

It's great for gluing your fingers together. I use 5-minute Epoxy for most of my jobs. I buy it in a box containing two 4.5 oz dispenser bottles.

It does take some technique--and the really watery stuff is a nightmare. But, really, some form of CA is indispensable for certain jobs that involve "volume" work. You can work so much faster than with any of the alternatives that sometimes nothing else is really practical. And the accelerator sprays often take the place of tedious clamps and jigs. 

The toothpick trick is invaluable.

Cheers,

--Pete

Maybe if you guys used a decent dispenser of CA it would not be such a problem?

The tips I use are so fine that it actually takes a good bit of force to get medium viscosity to flow through the fine tip.  And, it's not a plastic that CA binds well to so whatever clogs that you get are from dried glue accumulating and it's not bound to the tip tightly - just flicks away.

I squeeze it onto a post card and use a toothpick to apply it.  There's almost no control when it's coming out of the tube or bottle.

Fred

It must be a bear getting the leftover back in the tube.

I think that's more along the lines of pushing a rope vs being a bear,

Where do we get those tips?

I'll probably be marketing them in the near future,

Look for an announcement in the For Sale or Trade section in the near future!

Two things to be mentioned. Cyanoacralates are respiratory and eye irratants. You should acquire and read an MSDS on them.  There are several different thicknesses, which determine set time and usability. Note that Martin is using Zap-a-gap which is thicker. With the thin set I use a small brass wire and the method that Jim M mention above. It takes a very small amout of CA usually what clings to the small brass wire.     

Regarding the irritant factor for super glues, there is a glue from the Hot Stuff line called UFO from Satellite City. It is foam friendly, and more importantly, it doesn't irritate like regular super glues. They have thin and thick versions. I haven't used it in a while, but when I was building RC airplanes, the regular super glues bugged me, but the UFO glue worked for me and the airplanes.

User Friendly Odorless

Like Joe above, I use 5 min. epoxy a lot. There are faster versions as well.

Except for very limited applications, I've never had much luck with super glues. Often, the glue just doesn't seem to stick the parts together. And if the joint isn't a perfectly flush one, forget it.

Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but many others I've spoken with seem to share my experience. This includes a guy I know who works (and has for years) the paint and glue/adhesive area at a local hardware store. He says he's never had a lot of luck with it, either.

I love CA glue!

I also love CA glue!  But it is the medium 'gap filling' version.  It is much more forgiving because of its gap filling abilities.  Sticks just about everything together w/o glue failures, and has some (very limited) working time.  The regular thin stuff requires that the surfaces being glued are FLUSH, so I rarely use it.  Caution always to inhaling its fumes and its ability to glue fingers together and to projects.

Yea,
I second that camotion,
I don't use the thin CA on anything first of all. I have used the E-6000 and it's the only thing I'd use on the Ameri-Town buildings ,thick CA wouldn't even bond those things together.
The thick CA I Like is the Gorilla Glue brand (Lowes) and it has a pretty nice tip thats easy to control.
The Tips like mwb have are nice . If you have a heck of alot of gluing to do you can also use the syringes with the curved tip. after your done just put in a little finger nail polish and let it sit for a little bit it'll dissolve the CA and you'll be able to use it again.

David

Try Gorilla Super Glue, very easy to use, available in small .53 oz bottles.

jim r from bridgeboss

Yes, it is Zap-a-Gap, but it is also Medium viscosity.  They make thin and thick, but I really rarely have the need of either of those 2.  The Medium is actually pretty thin stuff, but adequately splits the difference in properties so that I only need to buy 1 grade of CA.

I do, when needed, use a gel version that get from the Dollar store,  

One of the primary reasons that folks have failures is choosing the wrong CA or wrong adhesive (or solvent glue) for what they are trying to do,

Maybe if you guys used a decent dispenser of CA it would not be such a problem?

YEs . I no longer use Crazy glue or CA from the $1.00 store. I spend the $$ and use Loctite. The Loctite dispenser gives me more control over applications.

Guys,

Thanks - there are some good suggestions here.  I am currently using the thicker E-6000 glue, but will look at the other ideas and glue suggested.

George

A few months ago I tried the gorilla super glue, and now use it almost exclusively.  Thick enough to stay in place, but thin enough to get in to tight spaces.

This was a big improvement over the other ones I used in the past.

I completely agree w/ Rich883, having switched entirely to Gorilla Glue gel, available in a small, convenient tube, as well as the more liquid (utilized sometimes) version in a small bottle. They both seem, to me, to be far more managebale and forgiving than others (w/ way less damage to brain cells, I've been told.) I will not go back to CrazyGlue.

Frank

P. S. Just about everything in this vignette has been affixed using Gorilla Glue gel exclusively: the feet; rear-end; chair legs; wheels; trim; shed roof/supports; exposed "joists;" piles of firewood; steps; banister; water tank; pipe (in mouth); chimney.

Frank, Does it foam up as much as the liquid.

OMG, no, I don't use that one at all - awful stuff - I have no idea what anyone could use that for in modeling since it makes such a swollen mess! Here's a photo of the ones I use....I get them at Home Depot at a pretty good price.

For some that may no longer be a real consideration,

LOL Rich, all I can think of is the gorilla from the old American Tourister luggage commercials...

-bruce

I usually get my CA at the LHS. They have several types, I almost always get the thick stuff.

The bottle is NEVER a dispenser, I use a post it note and a tooth pick.

Another trick I have learned is that storing CA in a fridge will help keep it from hardening in the bottle. I through away less that way.

Well how is that any different than any other Ethyl Cyanoacrylate adhesive?

TMack, I have no idea. I just know that I like them better and use them only. Thus, I have recommended them, judging solely from my own experience.

Frank

Right off the web page: "Gorilla Super Glue is formulated with tiny rubber particles for increased impact resistance."

So it flexes a bit as oposed to the the more rigid (brittle) regular CA?

Sounds a bit like what I get when I use a bit of Goo on one surface and regular CA on the other surface to make an exceptionally strong joint.

I use LocTite CA glue, it comes in a dispenser with a long snout and a cap that has a pin that automatically clears the tip.  I've been using the same bottle for months. I also have a bottle of the LocTite CA gel for jobs where the liquid is hard to use.

For plastics, LocTite has a two part plastics bonder, you put the "activator" on for 60 seconds, then use the glue and hold it for 30 seconds.  Works with virtually any plastic and gives a nice strong bond.

For larger repairs, my favorite product is JB-Weld, I keep both the 5 minute and 30 minute stuff on hand.  If I'm in a hurry, I can do it with the quick stuff, but for stronger bonds I use the regular JB-Weld.

mwb...That's a good one.LMAO

Oh sorry I meant more on the health risks with the chemical.  Looks like any other Cyanoacrylate.

Oh, I see.... 

Well, after 30+ years of being an active bench chemist, cyanoacrylates are not so far up on my list of concerns that I actively think about that concern.  So, apply the standard rules - don't get it on you, don't get it in you, and try to breath it (get it in you addendum).  Odds are good that you'll not have any worries.

You mean I should quit snorting it??

If your nasal passages aren't sealed already, that might be advisable,

I keep CA handy in the shop to close up skin cuts quickly.  Works like a charm. 

I can't recommend doing this, though.  I may be slowly poisoning myself.

They make a very expensive, "sterile" version for the operating room for just such a use.

Greg

Surgeons use CA glue all the time, so it's not as toxic as folks are making out.  You probably don't want to drink gallons of the stuff, but in the quantities we use, I can't imagine it being a problem.

CA glue is great for cuts and splits in the skin at the end of your finger, a miracle cure.