I thought about putting this into BBQ, until I realized I’d be more likely to get actual help and suggestions here.
Over the years, I have aimlessly tried to super glue things back together. Plastic, metal, wood…and every single time, I end up with a layer of glue all over my fingers, and an object that either didn’t hold at all, or fell apart again within 24 hours.
I would think this would be a simple science. I always read the directions - make sure I don’t use too much, hold the objects for a full minute, and if possible, use something to keep them held together, yet still I never have any success. Is there a secret to using super glue which I am missing, or does the stuff simply not work on anything except skin (presumeby to give the user the impression that it DOES work, but that you’re not doing it right).
I think super glue works pretty well despite instantly bonding to skin. If you are gluing things with a low moisture content, sometimes it helps to add a little water to the surface. Many glues work on the water present on the surface, so adding a little can help strengthen the bond, in my experience.
Identify the material you want glued and use what is made to bond it the best. Super glue works great for me, and I make sure the surface is cleaned and free of any lose material before applying the glue. Make sure the surface is dry too. I have other glues that are better for porcelain or some plastics. Those stay bonded too.
I currently have two projects which need supergluing.
One of them is a lamp with a metal handle that you twist to turn on and off. I’ve tried three times to reattach the handle (it broke off at the point where the inner edge of the handle goes inside the lamp, and it was in the off position when it broke, so it’s unusable until I get the handle working). The second are little plastic clips that are on the back of one of my speakers, which hold the bare wire in place. That actually held, but it recracked in the same place when I tried to put it back into the speaker.
Also, there is a second thing the super glue works great on - super glue bottle caps!
There are some breaks that are impossible to glue. I learned that a long time ago. I’ve been able to fix seemingly unfixable breaks by doing things like drilling a hole in both pieces, and epoxying in a metal rod. Using glue alone would never work. Also, you need to match the glue to the material. Superglue is fine for some materials which are never in shear or peel conditions. Epoxy, hotglue, Goop, and 2-part plastic welder will take care of most everything else.
I’ve never successfully used superglue either. There must be a support group for the likes of us. Remember that ad where the guy superglued his hardhat to an iron beam and cheerfully suspended himself from the hat? Maybe all my supergluing projects failed because they involved neither an iron beam nor a hardhat.
Add me to the ranks of SuperGlue failures. I have never had a successful repair with it yet somehow I keep buying it. I am not sure what that says about me.
Me, too. In addition, I always seem to try to use it on something where the presence of the glue sort of “frosts” the surface if it’s something shiny, like glass or metal. Then the glue bond won’t hold AND the surface it ruined. :mad: