Cyanoacrylate adhesive


railBuilderDhd

railBuilderDhd

Active Member
I noticed I'm using a lot of the CA glue I got from the hobby shop and at $3+ an ounce I think it's costly. Does anyone know of a alterative that can be used? Maybe a place I can purchase CA glue at a better cost.
Thanks,
Dave
 
Well you can buy cheapo stuff from Wal*mart but it'll fog up 3-4 times more then good CA will.
 
I use the Loktite brand super glue that comes in a bottle with a brush. I don't notice any more fogging problems than with more expensive CA, probably because I can apply it pretty precisely with the brush. It doesn't go all solid like tube CA because you screw the cap down with the brush and it makes a good seal. One bottle will last me for a month of pretty heavy model building. Best of all, it's about $3 a bottle at Wallyworld. :)
 
I'm paying $3.99 for BSI CA, and I get a good 6 months before I need a new (and replaceable) cap.
 
Our forensic section buys it by the gallon...literally, by the gallon. :)

Has anyone used Loctite 444 Tak Pak? I use it in the lab, it works great. It is thicker than regular crazy glue and has a liquid accellerant that locks it up in an instant. It isn't cheap though.

Mark
 
I've never heard of the Loctite 444, Mark. Is it generally available to the public and, if so, any idea where's the best place to get it. I had forgotten about our forensics section using CA for lifting prints. They used to have a couple of gallons sitting around also. Too bad I wasn't modeling then or I could have probably gotten a pint or so from one our friendly evidence techs. :)
 
Wouldn't forensics use a thicker type of CA not a liquid version. Maybe I need to work some with a thicker version and see if I like that. I currently use some I got at a LHS that's made by Plastruct in a small bottel with a brush in the lid. I might add the brush is not a great way to apply the glue.
 
thicker versions are readily available at most retail outlets like WalMart, etc. They are often called "gap filling" CA, it is thicker than regular CA but not so much so that is hard to get into cracks.

realize that CA uses moisture in the air to set, the accelerants are just highly volatile liquids that evaporate quickly to cause water vapor to condense on the CA, hardening it. If you have a can of compressed "electronics cooler" (used to spot check electronics for hot spots), it will work just as well. Compressed air doesn't work so well in my experience as it does not evaporate and therefore does not cool.

(back in the 80s we used CA and accelerants in electronics manufacturing. We discovered that electronics cooler worked just as well and we already used it by the truckload in the factory. At that point it was butane iirc)

Accelerants can be used with any CA, some just need it more than others..and some accelerants can cause more harm than good so be aware. Some are solvents (MEK, trichlorethane, butane; in years past at least) so be careful how you use them. More is not better!
 
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Ken, Gap filling does not refer to thick or thin. its version of CA. BSI makes both a thick gap filling, and a thin. I use the thin gap filling.
 
technically correct, Josh, gap filling is a reference to the chemistry of the adhesive, but in general, gap fillers are more viscous (10000cps+) than regular CA (<100cps).

But in a pinch, if you need something a bit less tricky to work with, the gap fillers will work just fine with or without a gap, they just won't penetrate as far into a fine gap.

I do notice that Loctite has a version of regular CA (chemistry-wise apparently) that is a gel. I used it recently and found it very easy to work with, and it has a bit of a tack time before hard setting, unlike regular CA. But it doesn't claim to be a gap filler at least on the label, so I would imagine it falls in the "thick" regular CA category. It is cleverly labelled "Super Glue Gel".
 
I get mine either at Harbor Freight or the Dollar Store. Usually comes in a three pack of either regular or gel type. At $0.33 for a tube, I don't worry about it getting hard in the tube.
Doc
 
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