Glue Rant

Why don't you buy a bunch of extra tops for your CA bottles? They are cheap and you don't have to fiddle with declogging them.

--Brian

Got a note about extending the working life of CA on my web site, but I betcha it's not news to you. Silca gel, Mason jar, yada yada yada.

Once in a Blue Moon I need a few drops of CA to reattach speed indicating multi-pole magnets to conveyor drive motors on customer equipment.

I keep a handful of the supermarket "end cap" tubes of Crazy Glue on the service van for such repairs. Expensive considering how much glue you get, but so is throwing out a two ounce bottle of solid acrylic every six months.

Cheers, Fred McClellan The House Of Balsa Dust

That makes too damn much sense, it would make life easier and most importantly, it would save the hobbyist money. Therefore, it's to be avoided at all costs. ;>)

I wonder if gow you use CA kicker may have something to do with the shelf life of your CA. The main thing I learned from years of using it at work for this and that in addition to model use on my own, is that the manner in which some people use their CA kicker has a lot to do with the shelf life of their CA. Yes the other issues are present (as well as QC by the manufacturer), but I have 2 oz bottles on my bench that are ??4,5,6 months old and still fine. But, I am very careful not to use CA kicker anywhere near the bottles nor do I handle the bottle if I got kicker on my fingers. The catalyst in CA kicker is an aromatic amine that is effective in tiny amounts. Normally CA kicker is about 98% solvent and 2% catalyst or thereabouts. The catalyst has a nasty habit of vaporizing and floating around in the shop air and getting at things in the vicinity of its use. I've solved several CA useful life problems by getting people to spritz parts during assembly well away from the CA bottles, or doing it under a ventilation hood. And also watching how much spritzer gets on their fingers that subsequently handle the CA.

My bottles (talking home use here) sit out at room temperature always once they are opened. An issue I have always disagreed with is putting CA back into the refrigerator after it is opened. Every time you pull out a chilled bottle you run the risk of developing condensation inside as the moisture condenses out of the room temp air onto the cold bottle or product inside. I feel it is better just to let it be once opened, and also to let it equalize to room temp before the first opening if it has been refrigerated up until then.

The same could be true for the Gorilla Glue at is is moisture activiated, if you are refrigerating it. However, it goes off after a while regardless of how I handle it just from atmospheric moisture. Normally I just poke through the crust to get at the good stuff underneath but yup that is a pain. The hobby would benefit from smaller bottles, but right now it's a consumer product for use in larger quantities so I guess the packages that are out right now are what they feel are appropriate for the retail hardware/lumber store market.

None of the above may be anything to do with your problems, but I'm just tossing it out there.

Mike D.

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Bob,

In 20 years of using CA, I have only had one bottle "go off". That bottle was stored without the top on it in the garage. Maybe your storage area has some chemicals in it that cause this problem. Check for alkaloids or other caustic substances in the storage area.

The Gorilla glue problem is easily solved by a little vaseline in the cap when you put it back on.

What would I do with the dozen I already have? ;)

All seriousness aside, I have mastered tip clogging.

Bob

I pat everyone down for kicker before they enter my shop. Is that good enough? ;)

I have noticed that kicker makes already brittle CA even more brittle, so I quit using it a couple of years ago. I have seen old CA that won't even cure without kicker. How's that for backwards?

Bob

"Bob Adkins" spewed out this rant:

Atleast around here ampules of hobby CA has been around for ages, you know, that was the orignal packing for the original CA (the stuff they glue people with)

I nicked a few ampules when I went to the emergency last time, to have in the field box, but now I wonder if the medical CA is as strong as the hobby glue? I guess I have to test it, god knows, medical CA might even be foamsafe? (although it still smells like the stuff that isn't foamsafe)

When something small broke at the field last fall, my instructor gave me a tiny squeeze tube of superglue. Cured the minor fix, but when I stopped at the drug store the next day to replace the glue I used, I found they came in 3 packs for a buck-something. Now I have 2 spare tubes in my flight box. Beats having that 2oz bottle, opened, that just may leak. Leak??? Only all over! They would seem to be a good choice for those very quick projects as well, for what it's worth.

Rich..... Bad Student Pilot World Class Navigator

At the risk of sounding like an anarchist, I have curtailed my use of CA (and attendant clogs) by returning to Titebond, and recently - AMBROID!

All I can say is the shop smells way better when I'm building with Ambroid, in fact I seem to feel different, like I do not have a care in the world....!

FYI, have you tried

--bob

OF COURSE @ $1.00 per .08 oz (2g) = $12.50 per OZ! You just enough to make a couple repairs and the rest won't go rock on you... OR 1 oz for $3.50........(normal thin & medium) Thick only is packaged in 2 oz for $5.95...

Just to give you the info....

Wall Mart now carries a pretty good CA glue in small packages. I don't recall the name brands, but get a few and try them. That is what I did, and did not get a bad one in the batch.

Hey, nice! Thanks!

I think I'll order about a dozen of the little bottles. Next time I build a model, I'll order a 2 Oz bottle as usual.

Bob

I use these... you only take the cap off your CA bottle to fill them; no clogged CA bottle tips. When the applicator tip clogs, you just cut off the clogged part. When it gets too short, throw it away!

Had the misfortune of needing a pack of wood screws and small bottle of glue at work today, closest source was The BORG.

Whaddaya think I spied in the glue section ?

A four-pack of Crazy Glue pipettes, in a plastic case.

Sounds like something for the flight box.

Cheers, Fred McClellan The House Of Balsa Dust

They still need to be covered as CA seems to be sensitive to UV

Have you gone back to dope also. Another cheap high !

David

I use those, and I also use the thin applicator tips. Both work great, especially the applicator tips.

One thing I found about CA bottle caps: If they are scratched or roughed up, and the "skin" on the polyethylene is damaged, and the sticking starts getting bad. Allowing even the tiniest amounts of CA to cure on the tip damages it too, and it will start sticking and clogging.

I wipe the tip carefully with a soft clean paper towel, and it makes the caps last until the glue is used up. This to no avail, because I use the applicator tips now.

Anyhow, my problem is not tips or caps or clogging. It's the entire bottle going rotten or going off.

Bob