Help! removing completely superglue

The two easily available solvents for cyanoacrylate adhesives are acetone and methylene chloride (paint remover). Neither one really attacks it aggressively, although the paint remover probably is the more aggressive of the two.

There are proprietary solvents made for the purpose; I don't know how well they work.

Bakelite is pretty chemical-resistant, but I don't promise that a solvent won't turn it into a lump of putty.

Personally, I hate superglue with a passion. It's never the best solution for anything, it seems to me, except for a quick job of glueing your fingers together and ripping off some skin.

Ayieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! If that isn't a Shit Happens moment, I hain't heard of one. Condolences, Eric.

I sure wouldn't want to soak a bakelite object in acetone for hours. It might dissolve itself. Repetitive mechanical scrubbings with sufficient dry times in between would be the way I'd try it.

Here's some info from the horse's mouth:

Perhaps a workspace surrounded by nets or catch-towels?

What a website! I LOVE this one from Superglue:

"In the event that eyelids are stuck together or bonded to the eyeball, wash thoroughly with warm water and apply a gauze patch. The eye will open without further action within 1-4 days. To our knowledge there has never been a documented case of adhesive in the eye causing permanent damage. Do not try to force eyes open."

Jesus! They've thought of glueing eyelids to eyeballs! That's really covering it..

...hmmm...or maybe not. What if you get your tube of Superglue mixed up with your tube of KY Jelly?

...ouch...

In general I agree with you on super glue, but I found one really good technique when using it for bonding broken porcelain that works better than any other. First assemble the pieces together with no glue and fixture with tape. Then apply Loctite 7452 accelerator on the crack. It is very fluid and seeps in readily. let it evaporate for a few seconds. Hold the pieces together tightly and apply a drop of super glue to the crack (use a less viscous type). Use about 1 small drop every inch or so. The activator practically sucks the glue into the crack. It sets in a few seconds and the joint is nearly invisible if it was a clean break. You might need to scrape off a little residue on the outside where you applied the drop.

Your vase will fall apart.

It's pretty popular in model airplane circles. Or at least real CA is -- "Superglue" is crap for building models. It's not the best for gluing wood to wood, either, but when one of the woods is balsa or poplar it's more than adequate for most joints.

People who race model airplanes swear by it as a quick way to hold sliced- up flesh together when you forget proper propeller etiquette in the heat of the moment.

It's also good for quick repairs to model airplanes. If you get a break that lets you interdigitate the fibers of the break, applying CA to the break will hold everything together as good as new.

My local hobby shop sells stuff called "super solvent".

To my knowledge it's mostly nitromethane.

To my knowledge, Bakelite isn't soluble in much -- if it's real Bakelite.

To my knowledge, nothing really forms a good bond to Bakelite. Alas.

Why don't you try posting this over in the sci.polymers newsgroup.

That group is mostly dead these days, but every now and again someone will post a question and get some good responses and/or ideas.

Good Luck!

Erik

Acetone will dissolve CA glue, but it takes time. As others have mentioned, make sure your part does not get damaged by the acetone soak.

There are products made specifically for de-bonding CA:

In my experience, they leave a residue that makes it impossible to get the glue to stick to the same spot again. I use CA mostly on wood. Getting the residue cleaned off a hard surface might be possible.

That sounds like a good one. I'll have to find a place to store that idea...

LOL!

Forward it to yourself, then keep it in your archived messages.

Jon

Cured CA is hard to remove. There are several "de-bonders" sold for CA. Not all are the same. Some are basically acetone, some methylene chloride as has been said already. I have tried both and cannot say that I am impressed by either.

The fencing armourers tend to use CA to wire epees and foils. Much argument has been made as to how to remove the old wires. I personally use heat gun but those who deal with volume swear by acetone baths: They put several blades into a bath for as much as 24 hours. Whether your item would tolerate such treatment is a big question.

As far as suitability of CA as an adhesive, I would say horses for courses. I possess no fewer than four industrial CAs. Each has its well defined purpose. Even in the narrow confines of re-wiring epee blades some blades take one type of CA better than another. I also possess no less than ten other types of glue, each with its specific indication. I have been known to use four different glues on a single piece.

YMMV

Michael Koblic, Campbell River, BC