I've got a little plastic pot, 20g, of superglue. This one:
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It's several years old and gets infrequent use. Over time it's thickened to the point where it's become unusable. I've had to throw it out in the past when it's reached this point.
Today, on a whim, I stuck it in the microwave on full power for 10s which brought it back to its original liquid state, allowing me to do the job I needed.
It got very hot and has changed colour slightly. I don't know if the microwave trick will work again, but if not I'm happy to have got one last job out of it.
BTW, when you replace it, (i) keep the pot in the fridge, which slows down the rate at which it goes "off" & (ii) when you use any, get the top back on as quickly as you can. It's the moisture in the sir that makes it go "off", so minimise exposure to the air unless you want it to set.
If you are lucky the Pound Shop will have three bottles for a quid. Each containing "10g". You can use the bottles time and time again until they are empty. Much better than those horrible tubes.
I've been very surprised as just how long a tube stored in the fridge lasts. I used one yesterday that must have been opened last summer and it is still in perfect condition.
Yes, and based on a sample of one, it appears there are different qualities of the stuff. My brother-in-law bought a tube of Loctite Superglue while he was here and left it in my fridge where it remained usable for nearly 3 years. The pound shop mini tubes generally last me about six months when stored in there.
This is the problem with the little bottles, I think. The more you use it, the more air is left in the bottle above the glue. The squeezy tubes can have the end folded over to minimise the amount of trapped air as the glue is used up.
When I was younger, I used to work at a coil manufacturing site. the formers and base were glued together using superglue. We then poked the wires down the pins and dipped them into a solder pot. Now in addition to the noxious fumes from the solder there was another less smelly but apparently more dangerous problem. Cyanide gas from the glue when it was heated, so we had to wear sp3ecial filters. The thing always worried me a bit as I think I am right in saying that this glue was originally developed for gluing wounds together, and if it really does contain cyanide, this seems to me to be a worry! Anyone? Brian
The fumes are not cyanide, and the glue does not contain (potassium) cyanide.
It is a cyanoacrylate.
"The fumes from CA are a vaporized form of the cyanoacrylate monomer that irritate sensitive membranes in the eyes, nose, and throat. They are immediately polymerized by the moisture in the membranes and become inert. These risks can be minimized by using CA in well ventilated areas. About 5% of the population can become sensitized to CA fumes after repeated exposure, resulting in flu-like symptoms.[23] CA may also be a skin irritant, causing an allergic skin reaction. The ACGIH assign a Threshold Limit Value exposure limit of 200 parts per billion. On rare occasions, inhalation may trigger asthma. There is no singular measurement of toxicity for all cyanoacrylate adhesives because of the large number of adhesives that contain various cyanoacrylate formulations.
The United Kingdom's Health and Safety Executive and the United States National Toxicology Program have concluded that the use of ethyl cyanoacrylate is safe and that additional study is unnecessary.[24] The compound 2-octyl cyanoacrylate degrades much more slowly due to its longer organic backbone and the adhesive does not reach the threshold of tissue toxicity. Due to the toxicity issues of ethyl cyanoacrylate, the use of 2-octyl cyanoacrylate for sutures is preferred."
Cyanide as you understand it, is potassium cyanide or hydrogen cyanide. HCN. Superglue contains a CN group in it, but it is tightly bound to the rest of the molecule.
I buy the Screwfix "No Nonsense" 50g bottles and they usually run out before they go off, providing that you (i) keep them in the fridge, (ii) put the cap back on promptly & (iii) tap them firmly, base down on a hard surface each time you use them to displace the glue from the nozzle (else it *will* eventually glue the nozzle on.)
Acetone seems reasonable, but some nail varnish remover these days contains water, which might not go down well with cyonacrylate, so choose carefully. Gun cleaner for expanding foam seems to be just acetone.
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