need very special CA glue

[rob_van_riel]

I seem to have some rather ridiculous requirements for CA glue. I'd really like it to set in under an hour without the benefit of added accellerants or contact with skin. Anyone know of CA that delivers? I know, I know, preposterous specs..
I'm seriously considering 5 minute epoxy for greater speed

I'll go take my pills now...

[JohnRatzenberger]

I guess I don't understand, unless the glue has aged (in which case it gets pitched) I don't have any problem with thin & medium setting up quickly all by themselves -- no accelerant, no skin, etc. I use the standard hobby brands. I use epoxy for greater strength.

Aged medium or thick sometimes fails to set but usually it means it is either too old or I put it on too thick.

[rob_van_riel]

I guess I don't understand, unless the glue has aged (in which case it gets pitched) I don't have any problem with thin & medium setting up quickly all by themselves -- no accelerant, no skin, etc. I use the standard hobby brands. I use epoxy for greater strength.

Aged medium or thick sometimes fails to set but usually it means it is either too old or I put it on too thick.

My issues with the stuff are probably a mixture of all of the above. It's certainly not just age; I get the same issues with freshly bought CA. Medium or thick are OK, I use those for slower, somewhat gap-filling work anyway, so time's no issue. The thin stuf however...

I just can't seem to get the hang of getting just enough of the stuff where it needs to be. I can get too little in place, in which case it instantly bonds at the slightest hint of a touch, and then breaks at the slightest movement (which I typically need to line the part up correctly), or too much, in which case it's hard to stop it from running all over the model, and has very unpleasant setting behaviour. It still sets in something like a microsecond, but it's nearly impossible to predict when that magic microsecond is going to show up; right now, or in ten minutes, or somewhere in between

I'm guessing the method of application is the real issue here. Straight from the bottle is out, this will flood the model/part. I've tried the points of needles and toothpicks, but that gives me too little. I've tried an improvised two-pronged metal fork, which still gives me too much, but in rather more controllable quantities than the bottle. Sometimes I just dip the end of a part in a puddle of CA, which is even more controllable, but obviously also too much. I've seen ads for applicators that promise the world, but these are typically expensive and/or single use items, and single use tools just plain bug me, so I try to avoid those.

So, for now I make do with frayed nerves, unpublishable comments in private, and the occasional bit of venting here

[fredk]

I don't understand either. My slowest CA superglue which is 18 months old sets in 1 minute. All my fresh stuff sets in about 20 seconds maximum time.
I use a brand called Rocket; they have glues which set in 1 to 5 seconds, 5 to 10 seconds and regular time -about 20 to 30 seconds.
I use the 5 to 10 a lot, with some things, like nylon thread rigging, it sets in about 3 seconds or less.
You can get tapered spouts for the bottle tips; you cut it off at a point where it gives you the amount you need, and its handy for reaching into places. These tips just push fit over the bottle/tube regular one

[JamesPerrin]

If you are positioning small PE parts that are not under any load I suggest PVA, otherwise all CA will set within 5mins. If you are using thin CA and it's not bonding, then your contact surfaces are not flush enough, or the parts are not stationary - ie hand held.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Agree with James, PVA is a better choice anyway, at least for initial position. The benefit is that you have time to position the part, then you can add a tiny bit of CA later. Longer term benefit is that CA has no surface tension, parts will ping off -- with PVA they do not, they might fall over but there's enough PVA to hold them until you can tack them back on.

I use fine brass rod, .012 & .020, as an applicator - just a little dab to get the part on in place, then when it is dry you can put more on to lock it down. The brass rod gets gunked up, just burn it off. I have several different lengths depending how far into something I need to get the glue, but recognize the further means more chance you bump something and get glue where you don't want it.

[Stamford]

I have trouble with "super"glue as well mate. The only thing it wants to glue together are my fingertips. I use poly cement for plastic and white glue for other bits and bobs as suggested by others. The last time I tried attaching stretchy thread with c/a and accelerator was very nearly a plane crash with nothing behaving as it should and extremely frustrating as each failed attempt scars an otherwise finished model.

[Softscience]

I like acquarium gel