Unsticking CA glue -- can I cook it?

[Porter Bassett]

I've got two pieces of wood glued together with superglue, and I'd like to undo that bond. I seem to recall hearing somewhere that you can either bake or boil or microwave to undo CA glue, but I can't remember which it is.

Does anybody know if any of these methods would work?

[Eric Gustafson]

I've got two pieces of wood glued together with superglue, and I'd like to undo that bond. I seem to recall hearing somewhere that you can either bake or boil or microwave to undo CA glue, but I can't remember which it is.

Does anybody know if any of these methods would work?

Acetone is what I always turned to. Soak the pieces in a plastic bag with a cup or so of acetone. Leave it for a day or two. I used to do this when building model airplanes and I needed to " re-kit" the parts for one reason or another. Always worked.

[george wilson]

Heat will melt it,but the amount of heat might mess up your wood. I use it on holding metal parts together while milling them. It does get pretty hot before it fails.

[John Coloccia]

CA is very brittle. If you can live with some tearout, the first thing I'd try is a couple of sharp whacks to see if the joint just cracks on it's own.

[Bill Pitz]

They make debonders for CA that will work, albeit slowly, after cure. You should be able to find one at a hobby store.

[Glen Butler]

I think whatever you do will ruin your wood. I don't know how big these pieces are but cooking them is your best bet. CA needs to get over 300 degrees to soften and it melts at 375 or so. This may ruin your wood.

Debonders take days and days to work and simply wont work on pieces that are glued together. It works on things that you spill on. For example, I spilled CA in the center console of my car. It took several applications over the period of days just to get it out, but it needs access to the CA to soften it. You just pour it on and let it sit. Acetone would work just like a debonder if not a little faster but still it has to have access to the CA to soften it and in a joint that just isn't possible.

Cook it and let me know what happens. I have heated metal parts to get them apart before but never wood. I am interested in the outcome. It will probably give off noxious fumes, so use caution.

[Nicholas Lingg]

Try Freezing it

[Josiah Bartlett]

Straight Acetone should be able to soak through the wood fibers quite readily and get right to the glue as long as there is no finish on the wood. It shouldn't raise the grain or ruin the dimensions like cooking or steaming would.

[Raymond Fries]

If you go to a hobby store, you can purchase a bottle of debonder that will break the bond. I have used it and it worked great for me.

[Brian Goulet]

Debonder is mostly acetone, so save yourself the money on the expensive debonder. Soak it with acetone, which won't harm the wood and it'll break down that CA just fine.

[Glen Butler]

Good debonder is not mostly acetone. I don't know what it is, but it is not acetone. A good debonder should be slow to evaporate so it can work its magic on the CA, which takes a long time to break down.

[Bill Pitz]

Debonder is amyl acetate, if memory serves. Feels oily, not nearly as volatile as acetone.

[John Lanciani]

From Wikipedia;


"Acetone, which is commonly found in nail polish remover, is a widely available solvent capable of softening cured cyanoacrylate. Nitromethane is also an excellent solvent. Dimethyl sulfoxide can be used as solvent too. Methylene chloride is the most effective solvent, but is toxic. Gamma-butyloracetone is also effective at removing cured cyanoacrylate, and has low toxicity.
Low temperatures cause cured cyanoacrylate to become brittle. Cyanoacrylate's bonds can be weakened (allowing disassembly) by placing a glued object in a household freezer for several hours. "

I've personally always used nitromethane, just because the smell reminds me of the drag races :).

John

[Eric Gustafson]

I you had soaked it in a bag with acetone, by now it would fall apart like it hadn't even been glued. :rolleyes:

[Bob Borzelleri]

Ummm... Band Saw?