Went to buy two bottles of CA glue - one regular and one gel. Came home with two different brands of gel. 
4 Likes
Didn’t know you could get CA in gel form…I could sure use some of that! 
I have some to share. 
Went back for a tube of the thin stuff and it cost me $45.
Yikes! (I guess you picked up a few extra things? I’m bad about that.) 
I have three consistencies of CA glue. The thicker stuff is great when there are some gaps.
2 Likes
Oh man, I know those struggles. I had an old bottle of gap-filling glue and that was half solid so I bought a new bottle… Which turned out to be super thin, not gap filling. I discovered this when i unexpected flooded the entire world with it. And of course, being super thin, it cured in like 3.2 seconds.
Im going to need glue manufactures to make their labels more obvious. Maybe “dont even try this” and “this is good stuff”. Even then, I probably would still buy the wrong kind…
4 Likes
Plain old Acetone (Nail Polish Remover) will soften and dissolve cured CA, if by mistake you happen to glue your hand to your face or something equally embarrassing.
I fly radio control airplanes, CA is one of the most heavily used tools in the toolbox. If you have a local hobby shop in your area, go there for your glue instead of a store like Home Depot. They’ll have a wider variety of both types and bottle sizes. CA comes in thin, medium, thick, flexible, gel. There are different formulations that work better on different materials. There is “odorless” (which isn’t really odorless, but does have the admirable quality of not attacking foam, which is often a key constituent of my model airplanes). They’ll also have something called “Kicker”, a chemical in a small spray bottle that will cause CA to cure instantly (because, contrary to common believe it does not actually cure instantly unless it is spread really thin. If you’re using “thick” or “gel” CA to fill gaps, you want some Kicker, too. Put the glue on one surface, spray some Kicker on the other, press together - and be sure to get it right the first time since there’ll be no pulling it apart again.
If you’re sticking Acrylic together, CA isn’t the best option. When CA cures it “polymerizes” and generates a fair amount of heat. I got a blister once because I had a drop of CA on my finger and I hit it with some Kicker by mistake. Cooked the spot where the blob of glue was. But I digress… the heat will “cook off” any uncured CA as a vapor which will condense and leave a white haze on surrounding surfaces. There are specialty “glues” (really, solvents) for plastics like Acrylic that work much better than CA.
10 Likes
I was gluing acrylic to wood so CA worked well. I didn’t put it in a precision bottle so there was some excess. Since the acrylic will have some diffuser behind it I wasn’t worried about the white.
This project has had some unexpected results due to the materials used. Have to break out the soldering iron next. I hope to have it ready to post this weekend.
They don’t have Catalyst cured CA at Lowe’s maybe I’ll get some from the Amazon.
I picked up some slow cure there. Honestly I’ve rarely found CA to be the best glue for most applications. There always seems to be one or more drawbacks. Except for skin. I’ve glued fingers together. Once I accidentally glued my two thumbs and two forefingers together. I had to get somebody to douse me with acetone do I could get free.
1 Like
I buy Locktite superglue in bulk packs on Amazon.
I’ve had god success with Locktite as well. “Liquid Fusion” is another go to glue for me, especially in mixed media. Good stuff.
Sprinkle some baking soda on your CA glue to instantly set it AND fill it. It’s very sandable but rockhard. Great for filling gaps in plastic models.
11 Likes
I use mitre bond (or other brands names) in the UK, It’s usually sold as a pack of the CA glue with the catalyst, but is usually the cheapest way to buy it, under £5. We use it for joinery to set stuff before nailing or screwing. Works great on cut edge MDF too, just give a super thin layer of CA on both joints and then spray both sides, let it evaporate, then CA one side and spray the other and you’ve got a decent bond.
For the really small stuff I like the gels with the brush applicator, otherwise I have to have the acetone on standby…
1 Like
Aha! I had always wondered what that haze was. Usually for me it’s only on the surfaces where the CA already is, but it’s still a pain.
1 Like
They have CA at my Lowe’s but no catalyst (kicker). The Kicker works on all CA glues I’ve used - you don’t need to buy them together. Hobby Lobby, Michaels, Blicks, sometimes Home Depot and Woodcraft all have it locally if you don’t want to wait for Amazon.
2 Likes
I love that my “I’m an idiot” post turned into a useful thread. 
7 Likes
It’s like the start of a laser anonymous meeting where we all sit around in a circle and one by one stand up and say:
Hi I’m Paul, I own a laser and I’m an idiot. Today I glued my fingers together instead of the fine detail work I was doing…
Everyone claps and thanks for sharing.
Other people in the group stand up and profess that they’ve not been an idiot for so many days and you get a little laser engraved disc that declares you’ve been idiot free for so many days to match.
6 Likes
it also dries slightly slower if you aren’t using the accelerator.
I use it a lot wood turning
Edit: you get a little laser engraved disc glued to your hand
5 Likes
Nope! Center of the forehead.
3 Likes