CA (superglue) not setting

[TheUnicorn]

I've just tried to fix some plastic parts with a bottle of no nonsense brand superglue, one half of their mitre kit (with the activator), it has been open a while, and the glue kept in the fridge. I glued up, just the glue no activator, left to set for an hour and a half, came back expecting it to be more than dry / set, only to find it was distinctly sticky. being older if anything I'd expected it to set quicker, what's going on??

 

[profchris]

I find old CA glue goes gummy and doesn't set, so I'd say just age.

 

[Yorkieguy]

I've used CA quite a lot in recent years for small woodworking projects and pen making, as well as repairing smashed Bakelite items. I use Vitalbond brand, which comes in a range of six viscosities. I've found 'medium' with a 20 seconds cure time to be the most useful for my needs as it allows time to accurately position the pieces to be bonded. It stores well in the little bottle - typically more than a year. It also has good gap filling qualities:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183328667179

When I'm happy with the positioning, I give a quick spray of ‘Bond It - Glue Monster Super Glue Activator’ (200ml aerosol) which cures the glue instantly:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/37537635...8FXzcstCGxD_oGuRlUmYwAwlCquhd8KhoCRJsQAvD_BwE

I've attached a pic of a pen box - one of several I've made, along with a couple of pens. The top and bottom of the box are 13mm thick and the top is cut in two places then glued back together with CA glue, with strips of ebony in place, then a quick flash of activator to set it instantly. The end cheeks of ebony are also glued with the CA. The top and bottom each have a 9mm deep groove using a router with a 16mm diameter bit. Hence, the thickness of the wood at the base of the groove is only 4mm, but the joints in the top of the box between the ebony and ash don't fail when the groove is routed.

Like many pen turners, I also use several coats of CA glue as a polish to finish the pens, sanded with pen polishing pads to 12,000g. In the picture, the segmented blank for the 'Celtic Knot' pen was was made of ebony with white acetate sheet inlay, glued together with CA. When turned, some of the ebony segments were as tiny as a baby's first teeth, but withstood being turned at 3,000 RPM. I think that all of these processes are asking a lot from any glue.

Hope that might be of interest and help.

David.

 

[TheUnicorn]

I've used CA quite a lot in recent years for small woodworking projects and pen making, as well as repairing smashed Bakelite items. I use Vitalbond brand, which comes in a range of six viscosities. I've found 'medium' with a 20 seconds cure time to be the most useful for my needs as it allows time to accurately position the pieces to be bonded. It stores well in the little bottle - typically more than a year. It also has good gap filling qualities:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/183328667179

When I'm happy with the positioning, I give a quick spray of ‘Bond It - Glue Monster Super Glue Activator’ (200ml aerosol) which cures the glue instantly:

lovely work

so how do you store your glue? are you chilling / freezing it to extend its life? Also does that activator not effect the look of the glue, I find the 'no nonsense' spray often leaves a slightly chalky finish

 

[Tris]

Might be a daft question but are your plastics compatible with CA glue? Can't remember which types exactly but I know (guess how!) that with some the CA just sits on the surface and won't set

 

[TheUnicorn]

Might be a daft question but are your plastics compatible with CA glue? Can't remember which types exactly but I know (guess how!) that with some the CA just sits on the surface and won't set

Its not that daft a question, it was gluing back together an indicator cover, as recommended by the renault garage, I did notice that where the glue had run on the inside of the cover it looked clearer than the normal diffusion almost as if the glue had partially melted the plastic, but equally it could be that the glue had filed in the small pits that create the diffusion and just altered the appearance.

going back to the glue not setting, I would have expected it to have set on the outside, creating a thin crust, even if it hadn't reacted properly to the plastic

as an update I left it overnight and it all seems to have gone off fine and seems solid enough, not keen on forcing it to test it too hard, it is back on the car and should be fine

 

[Yorkieguy]

lovely work

so how do you store your glue? are you chilling / freezing it to extend its life? Also does that activator not effect the look of the glue, I find the 'no nonsense' spray often leaves a slightly chalky finish

I just keep it in a cupboard in the workshop with the 'bottle' stood upright. The dispenser is quite good too, and doesn't have a tendency to clog up. What amazes me about the activator is that just a quick spray on the glue line and the CA sets instantly.

It doesn't leave a chalky finish. I mentioned that like lots of pen turners, I use it to polish pens turned from wood and acrylic. Using the medium viscosity with a setting time of twenty seconds enables the application of nice thick coats, and a quick flash of activator sets it instantly so another coat can be applied right away. This video shows how it's done:

https://www.bing.com/videos/rivervi...20D62EA583D6BD8DB66A20D62EA583D6BD8&FORM=VIRE

Best of all, neither the glue, (nor the others in the range), nor the activator, are expensive.

Hope that's of interest.

David.