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Hints, Tips and Solutions (Do NOT post requests for help here) If you have any useful general hints and tips for vintage technology repair and restoration, please share them here. PLEASE DO NOT POST REQUESTS FOR HELP HERE!

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Old 10th May 2021, 11:28 am   #1
peterpixel
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Default Superglue.

Superglue.Over many years I've used superglue with usually great success but always been frustrated when coming back to use a tube because glue in the plastic nozzle has gone off and I have to run a fine drill down the nozzle to release a supply. I long ago decided to dispense with applying it through the nozzle and removed the whole plastic part each time applying directly from the metal tube top. This in turn led to problems removing the plastic part from the metal tube due to it being superglued. I tried cleaning the metal thread each time but that didn't always work and I tried greasing the thread with the same result. Recently I tried using one layer of Sellotape applied from the tube shoulder up the thread over the opening and down the thread opposite and then applying the plastic cap and nozzle. The cap is unaffected by the presence by the thickness of the tape. Next time it's used just remove the cap then the tape, use the glue, clean any glue on the thread, reapply new tape and then the cap. Since using this method over the last month I've had no problems with any applications. What methods do others use,perhaps I'm missing something simpler. Best regards, Peter.
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Old 10th May 2021, 11:32 am   #2
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Default Re: Superglue.

Last time I bought superglue it was a card with 10 tiny single use cartridges.
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Old 10th May 2021, 11:42 am   #3
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Default Re: Superglue.

It helps to extend the life if you squeeze all the air out before fitting the cap. It does go hard after a month or two though.
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Old 10th May 2021, 11:54 am   #4
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Default Re: Superglue.

It helps extend it's life if you store it in the fridge. I have done it for years and it does work.

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Old 10th May 2021, 2:08 pm   #5
David G4EBT
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Default Re: Superglue.

There's superglue and superglue. The one thing they all do very successfully is to stick fingers together, but often, not much else. Most of what's sold in little tubes, often in places like Poundland, isn't up to much, and I guess that most of us use it so rarely that when we get it out of the drawer or wherever, it's gone solid in the tube, but Peter's tip has worked for him.

Better quality superglue comes in a range of viscosities: 'super-thin, thin, medium and thick, and in range of setting times - 4, 10,20 & 45 seconds.

Modelmakers use superglue ('CA' - cyanoacrylate) extensively and choose the viscosity and setting time to suit the task in hand. I use quite a lot for pen making - it's the standard finish that pen turners use (ten coats, sanded to 12,000G). Also for re-building smashed Bakelite radio cabinets and for certain woodworking tasks.

Quite often, to be able to accurately position items to be joined, it's better to use a slower setting time to make sure the pieces are accurately mated. When you're satisfied that they are, a quick spray of accelerator ('activator'), which set the glue in an instant. I've found that medium viscosity 20 second CA is a good all round choice and it will to an extent fill gaps.

Ironically, a 20 gram bottle of good quality CA glue with a proper cap which doesn't clog, is cheaper than most offerings in high street shops etc.

If I'm positioning a fragment of Bakelite rebuilding a damaged cabinet, 20 second medium CA works really well. Then when I'm happy, a zap with accelerator spray sets it solid in an instant and I can move on to the next piece. I also use it to glue segments of wood together make laminated wood blanks to use to make presentation boxes for pens. The blanks then have to be routed to form a half round groove in the base and the lid of the box into which the pen sits. It would be a waste of time to expect PVA glue to stand being routed in that way.

I won't post any pictures as it's too far off topic, and to comply with forum rules I can't post any ebay links to the CA glue and accelerator, but if you google 'Vitalbond CA Medium 20g Super Glue 20 Sec Cure Model Plastics, Metal, Balsa Wood' should find it, and other viscosities and speeds.

Typically £4.99 post free. The glue I'm presently using is over a year old, stored in my garage and garden workshop. Still works fine and the nozzle has never blocked up.

The accelerator spray that I use is 'BOND IT 200ML SUPERGLUE ACTIVATOR ACCELERATOR SPRAY CYANOACRYLATE'

Typically £4.59 post free for a 200 mL aerosol.

Hope that might prove useful for someone.
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Old 10th May 2021, 2:22 pm   #6
Alistair D
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Default Re: Superglue.

Asda do a good range of Loctite products at pretty reasonable prices.

https://groceries.asda.com/search/superglue.

Al
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Old 10th May 2021, 2:57 pm   #7
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Default Re: Superglue.

Cyano-acrylate superglue sets triggered by the presence of moisture. Letting air into the bottle to fill the space vacated by the used glue shortens the shelf life. So squeezing the air out has a sound scientific footing

The accelerator spray's active ingredient is water, but it has additives to help it wet plastic surfaces.

Anaerobic adhesives like Loctite thread lock set triggered by the lack of oxygen, so these liquids are distributed in oxygen-permeable bottles with a lot of air space above the liquid. You haven't been short-changed on the quantity, and do not squeeze the air out of this bottle.

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Old 10th May 2021, 3:49 pm   #8
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Default Re: Superglue.

I've often had the hardnening in storage problem in the past but recent experience with "Gorilla" super glue has been good with no wastage when usage was staggered of several weeks. This has been the case with several tubes.

Peter
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Old 10th May 2021, 7:58 pm   #9
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Default Re: Superglue.

I remember Harry and Owen, one showing the other the first aerosol of IS-12 cyanoacrylate activator spray in the lab. The instructions on the package read..."Apply to both parts to be joined and mate immediately"

They found it a bit funny.

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Old 10th May 2021, 8:16 pm   #10
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Default Re: Superglue.

Hi Folks, the Mitre Bond adhesive for corner joints is sold with a large spray can of accelerator that is never used up when the adhesive is, it also appears to have a much longer life.
It works perfectly on all the other superglue types I've tried it on

Ed
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Old 10th May 2021, 8:59 pm   #11
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Default Re: Superglue.

I have never been a fan of superglue, I preferer for plastics (in order) a solvent weld type (the thing is then just one bit of plastic afterwards), non soluble plastics good old slow set Araldite. Metals, Araldite or Loctite (the surface activator type is very good). Wood, Evostik wood glue. And finally for differing materials a solvent based contact adhesive, I ask for "proper smelly Evostik" in my local hardware store.

Patience and a good clamp are essential, I use elastic (as in knicker elastic) wound round many times as a clamp if I can, each turn is a pound or two of clamp.
 
Old 10th May 2021, 10:37 pm   #12
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Default Re: Superglue.

If glue isn't up to a metal job, then I've got the TIG as back-up.

There are always plenty of choices, but greasy plastics can be difficult to glue.

David
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Old 11th May 2021, 3:06 am   #13
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Default Re: Superglue.

I mended an inch long gash in a wellie with gorilla glue original.
The only problem is waiting for it to set.
Another problem is that it might become corrosive if it gets hot in service.
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Old 29th May 2021, 3:10 pm   #14
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Default Re: Superglue.

A tip from the females in my family. A chemist store called Savers sells what they term "Nail Glue" in a plastic bottle with a brush at £1 a bottle. Swimbo always has a bottle handy as she suffers from split nails. It's meant for false nails, but it helps glue broken /split nails together long enough for them to grow back in. I've found it's as good as superglue (which it probably is as Swimbo tells me that Acetone = nail polish remover gets it off). I've found that with the brush it makes application easier and less chance of stuck fingers.
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Old 29th May 2021, 3:52 pm   #15
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Default Re: Superglue.

There are some interesting uses for superglue when mixed with baking powder as a very hard filler. Have a search on YouTube for examples.

I'd like to know if there is something special about its reaction with baking powder, or if similar results can be gained from talc, salt, sand, etc.
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Old 30th May 2021, 12:14 am   #16
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Default Re: Superglue.

Refrigeration extends the useful life considerably.
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Old 1st Jun 2021, 10:35 am   #17
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Default Re: Superglue.

It's worth checking the middle-isles of your favourite German discount-supermarket-with-a-4-letter-name as they often have cards with 10 small dropper-bottles of superglue on offer at a price which means frobbing-around trying to extend the life of an opened bottle is just a waste of effort.

[Cyanoacrylate glue was originally developed for use in battlefield surgery - think M.A.S.H. - that's why it sticks skin together so well!]
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Old 1st Jun 2021, 11:12 am   #18
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Default Re: Superglue.

I have also occasionally seen those 10 dropper bottle cards in the bigger supermarkets too.
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Old 1st Jun 2021, 12:25 pm   #19
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Default Re: Superglue.

I use Gorilla Superglue Gel for most repairs. I bought a 5g dispenser (not the tiny tubes) in December 2017 (I marked it on the dispenser!). It's finally getting a bit too viscous, so I bought a new dispenser last month. But 3-4 years is a good life-span.

A few tips. I bang the dispenser a dozen times upright on the bench after use to shake the glue back from the nozzle. I then squeeze the body of the dispenser carefully until I can hear air hissing in and out. Dont peer at the tip while doing this! Finally it goes back, upright, into a small pot on the bench.

One of its many advantages is that joints made with it are more impact resistant than those made with normal superglue. Gorilla add (invisible) micro rubber particles to the glue to achieve this. It is so annoying if an apparently perfect superglued joint just snaps apart when tapped.

I also buy 10-pack small tubes for where I need very runny superglue, and throw them away after use. But the Gorilla Gel superglue glue is my go-to virtually every time.

-Jeremy
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Old 1st Jun 2021, 4:26 pm   #20
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Default Re: Superglue.

It seems from reading this thread that Gorilla Superglue gets a lot of votes. I've always been wary of "Gorilla" branded products because the name seems a bit naff, maybe I'm wrong.

I've encountered the same problem as the OP and will probably give his fix a go. The problem of blocked nozzles and leaky tubes leaving storage drawers or containers gacked up is one I've encountered with all sorts of glue and polishes etc.

Araldite or epoxy just seems to get everywhere, the two tube syringes are useless,they never dispense the right amount of hardener to epoxy, the lids ill fitting.

The other issue I've encountered is the ali tubes on some glues crack, oozing out glue or whatever.Autosol is a b***er for this. A lot of this stuff isn't cheap,the wastage & mess is a thorn in the side. Fed up with heat compound getting every where I bought a syringe of Servisol heat compound. No more mess but the stuff has gone solid in the tube, and needs a Gorilla to push it out. Of coarse what then happens is instead of a small amount of compound I then get a gurt big squirt of the stuff.

I've had success with keeping tyre puncture stuff in the fridge, and have recently hit on popping the tube of whatever substance briefly in the microwave. This works with epoxy, toothpaste, shampoo, Daddies sauce or whatever to get the last dropout without too much mess.

Andy.
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