CA glue wont cure?

[Luke Pighetti]

I bought some superglue gel at the hardware store just to try out CA glue. It was nearby and it was just a hair over a two dollar fee to enter the world of CA.

I block sanded a piece of curly maple to 120 grit, and then used my trusty chisel to make a few "imperfections" that I was going to try filling with CA.

Well, when I first squeezed it out, it came out a really nice thick gel... then POP out comes pure solvent?? I wiped it up, dropped the rag in my water bucket OF SCIENCE! *cue trumpets* (for safety). Put on the cap, kneaded the tube a little, then finished filling my "imperfections."

Anyway, 30 minutes later and it's still goopy. I thought this stuff cured almost instantly?

So I dug it out, kneaded the CA tube, and tried again. This time I used very thin coats with the intent of building it up.

5 minutes later and it's still wet.

What the heck? Am I doing something blatantly wrong?

[Alan Trout]

Ca usually does not cure instantly especially the thicker types. The very thin CA's will cure pretty quick. Also the quality of the hardware store CA is not always the best and that could be part of the problem. I would suggest you get a quality adhesive such as Starbond, EZ Bond, UFO, Stick Fast, ETC. and try that. A 2oz bottle will range from a little over $4 to about $10 depending on the brand. Not a significant difference in quality that I have found between any of these brands so just see what you can find in your area.

Good Luck

Alan

[Jim Burr]

Sounds like old stuff. You can't control how long it's been on the shelf, but you do get to suffer for it! Most...not all, but most of the time, places like Michales, Hobby Lobby, or other similar genre stores sell a quanity that allows for good turn around of stock. You stand the chance of getting fresher stuff there than a BORG or local hardware store. Also think about a small spritz of accelerator from a fair distance...12-24" to help the curing process of old CA. If you can, store unused stuff in the fridge. Hope that helps a bit!

[ted moore]

The thick stuff does take a while to cure. I never had an UN OPENED bottle go bad but an opened one seems to pick up moisture and cure in the bottle. As a "fast cure" misting it with water will cyre it faster. Sprinkling it with baking soda mixed with toner from a copier works good as a filler. The baking soda makes it dry/cure almost instantly (something I learned from chemistry class, go figure). I useually put a "skim coat" of thin on then the thick stuff, seems to help.
That is my $0.02.