Super Glue alternative

[tom]

Evac all the air before closing. Keep upright. Tom

[Roger Taylor]

I never have had luck with bond strength of super glue, regardless of brand. Epoxy works better for a larger range of repairs, and it lasts a very long time without drying, since the setting agent is separate.. I keep both the

5-minute and the longer setting stronger versions of epoxy, and prefer the screwtop tubes vs the hypodermics, which tend to leak and make a mess, and are hard to control squeezing speed. Epoxies only take a minute to mix, as well.

[Charlie S.]

Every few months I have a need for Super Glue for some general household repair.

My problem is that once I puncture a hole in the tube, the glue eventually hardens inside and I can't use it for the next repair. I always tighten the tube up afterwards. Yet, it still is useless. (I buy the generic Staple's type brands in packs of 3-4 so I don't have to run out every time.)

Is there a way to keep it from hardening or is there an alternative glue that is just a good that I could use repeatedly without having the same problem?

[JustDave]

Keep it in the refrigerator.

JustDave

[John McGaw]

the glue in one of these stays good for years at a time as long as you remember to close it up tightly. In addition the glue itself is far superior in strength to the "tube" superglues. No wood turner would be far from his/her CA.

[JohnR66]

Cyanoacrylate glue uses water vapor in the air as the catalyst to start polymerization (hardening). Some companies have a better cap system to keep out the air better. Storing it in a cool, dry place, such as in the fridge in a bag with silica gell beads should work.

I agree with the other poster. Epoxy is better although it is slower and requires mixing.

Also, the materials being joined makes a difference. For example, many plastics that are sensitive to (desolve in) solvents are best joined with solvent cements.

John

[Dan_Musicant]

:Every few months I have a need for Super Glue for some general household :repair. : :My problem is that once I puncture a hole in the tube, the glue eventually :hardens inside and I can't use it for the next repair. I always tighten the :tube up afterwards. Yet, it still is useless. (I buy the generic Staple's :type brands in packs of 3-4 so I don't have to run out every time.) : :Is there a way to keep it from hardening or is there an alternative glue :that is just a good that I could use repeatedly without having the same :problem? I put mine in the refrigerator and that appears to work for years.

[Mark]

try this stuff

Cyanopoxy

its expensive but works great

Mark

[bla-blog]

who cares superglue dont work on anything anyhow. its crap.

[ameijers]

I've had real good luck keeping it in the freezer, both the liquid and gel types. Try to keep container sealed tight, w/o any trapped air in the nozzle. Put it in a thick ziploc or similar, and remove as much air as possible when sealing it. Then just chuck it in the freezer. Some brands, you have to put the frozen baggie in your armpit a minute to get it up to work temp.

aem sends...

[nospambob]

[Charlie S.]

Ended up using thumb tacks for the tiles. Good enough for now and barely visible.

[Charlie S.]

Thanks for all the advice.

I put the glue in the refrigerator and squeezed to the top removing all the air. Seems 95% of these tubes are empty space.

Thanks for the epoxy tip. I tried it a number of years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't have any luck with it. If I remember correctly, there were two tubes. Possibly syringe like and I had to mix them together. Couldn't get anything to stick. Maybe I was using it wrong. Tried it twice... same result.

From looking at the Insta-Bond Dry Box Kit

it looks like a feasible alterative to the epoxy. It only cost $20. The coolchem idea seems like the best product on the market until I looked at the price.... close to $50 for the kit. I only need glue a couple times a year at most. This might be over-kill.

After reading all the posts, it doesn't seem to matter if I freeze or refrigerate. Refrigerating seems to make more sense as I wouldn't have to thaw it out.

I do have a new problem. I need to glue (adhere) a vinyl tile back to the horizontal part of one of the kitchen steps. Eventually, I am going to replace the tile. I'm not sure superglue is the solution. This might be one surface it may not work well with. Or, if it does, it may be overkill as I want to be able take it off eventually. Ideally, duct tape would be best. But, I don't want it to show. What would be a good substance to use?

Thanks for all the help!

[Sozoman]

Hey Charlie,

I use Gorilla Glue effectively all the time for just about everything and it doesn't dry up in the end of the tube like super glue. Try and get some at Home depot, Ace, OPSH, Lowes or your local hardware store. I think you will love all the things you can glue with it and it is more versatile than super glue. It does take a few more minutes to dry, but nothing bonds like it.

SozoMan

[Angrie.Woman]

The last Super Glue I bought came in a package of 4 or 5 single use tubes instead of the one big tube. That has worked out well for us.

A