I love using super glue for fixing things, but it seems like I can never get more than one use out of the tube. Either the glue in the tube will dry out or else the cap will be permanently glued to the tube. Is there any way to keep the tube of glue viable for any reasonable amount of time after it has been opened?
I’ve heard of leaving a needle in the hole. It gets dried in, but once extracted allows further uses of the glue within.
Never had any luck keeping it viable after opening. They now sell 4 packs (or maybe 5?) of little mini “single serving” tubes of the glue- pretty much acknowledging the fact that you’re only gonna get one use after you open it…
Yes, I’ve started using these. I rarely need more than a small amount anyway.
I buy the little tubes and don’t use the applicator. Instead I use a toothpick to apply the glue and when I’m done I take a piece of plastic from a sandwich bag and put that over the tube end and screw the cap back on.
Go to a hobby store that sells model airplanes, and buy zap brand and a bottle of kicker. It cures very slowly, if at all unless you spritz it with the kicker…which cures it instantly. Keeping the glue in the 'fridge seems to help life as well. Zap comes in several formulations, the “thin” being similar to the superglue from the drugstore. The “plastizap” for plastics seems to work much better in that application than regular superglue. I think it has some added solvents to let it “bite” the plastic a bit better.
I’ve had decent luck with standing the tube upright after use, then giving it a gentle squeeze so there’s only air in the tip.
Two difficulties are:
Dealing with the glue that was in the nozzle - when you squeeze, it’s going to come out and run down the side of the nozzle.
Keeping the tube upright. The newer bottles are easy to do this with if you’re able to dedicate a space to store it, but the older tubes are nearly impossible unless you stand them up inside something else.
I don’t normally have problems with tubes of super glue. I just make sure to wipe the tip with a paper towel to remove glue. Gripping the cap loosely I then screw the cap on to the point where it stops. Over torquing the cap or not wiping it off gets you a glued on cap. Leaving the cap too loose gets you a tube of cured glue.
I’ve been known to get a second use out of a tube by punching a new hole in the side somewhere. Once you’ve done that, though, you’ve usually got enough opening for the entire contents to set, so it’s not a tactic that can be repeated.
Yes.
.
Zap is good stuff, and it does seem to be less prone to drying up in the bottle.
I also try to store mine tip-up, as others suggested.
If the cap sticks on, you can usually break it loose by squeezing the cap gently with a pair of pliers to break up the (relatively brittle) layer of glue between the cap and nozzle.
Loctite makes various kinds of super glue (cyanoacrylate glue). One that seems to be widely available is called Precision Max and comes in a 10g (0.35oz) package with a really good cap that incorporates a metal pin to prevent clogging. The shelf life of this glue in this package is dramatically better than anything I’ve used.
Here’s a link.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner.
For future reference here’s a nifty website that will tell you how to glue anything to anything: This to That
I can usually find a 4- or 5-pack of superglue at the Dollar Store or Harbor Freight for a dollar. I just consider them to be single-use tubes. If I get more than a single use, I consider it a bonus.
I’ve easily gotten 50 applications out of the Loctite mentioned above. It seems to have no trouble lasting a year, and indeed until the liquid is entirely used up.
Until I found this, I was firmly in the “Tiny tube, single use” camp. But no longer.
Hobby-quality glue is generally better. Try not to stick anything (like a pin) down the nozzle. The moisture, even a little bit clinging to a pin, causes the glue to cure. If you use only a tiny bit of glue wipe the nozzle clean, put the cap on and give the bottle a sharp rap on the table to help the glue settle out of the nozzle, then store it in the freezer. This will extend the useful live quite a bit.
Is the kicker anything more than water? (I understood that cyanoacrylate glues cured by hydration or some such)
My husband uses lots of the stuff in his line of work, he’s always buying it at the dollar store.
He uses it till the very end of the tube. You may notice when you buy it, at least at the dollar store, it comes in a tube, packaged in a small airtight bottle. Don’t throw the bottle away. Keep it. Use it.
Works for him.
My wife taught me this trick:
After the first use fold the bottom of the tube up a few turns and then glue the tube to a nickel so that it’s standing upright. With the nozzle pointing skyward.
The tube lasted until all the glue was used up (three or four projects.)
I’m cheap, so with the next tube I used a nickel-size washer. It was kinda lighter and the hole made for a smaller gluing area… I think it fell over pretty easily, and the washer was probably worth four cents, so the nickel is better.