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CA glue - viscosity

Webb Willmott said:
What’s the go to viscosity you favor? And why.
Click to expand...

Kind of a wide open question!

For what purpose? Wood to wood? Wood to metal? Plastics? Very fine grained like ebony or more open like cherry? Temporary or permanent bond?
More and more I use epoxy, sometimes just mix a few drops. CA sure is quick but doesn't always hold as well.

I don't favor any one but keep and use thin, medium, and thick as need for different things.
My favorite brand is Mercury Adhesives. Their bottles are the best I've seen (and they have an unlimited replacement policy if a bottle sets up).

Lately, I've mostly been using the thin Parfix 3408, for sticking wood together, finish, and farm animal repair. :)
Used it today to repair a turning about 1/32" thick that cracked because I was clumsy. (BTW with thin CA, a capillary tip on a lab pipette works wonders - can put almost a microscopic drop exactly where needed. Not so useful with thicker CA.)

The tips will fit most CA bottles too. Hate to use CA without them any more.

Amazon.com: Art Glue Tips – 100 PCs CA Glue Applicator Nozzles 75 mm Long (5 mm Outer Diameter) and Micro Extenders for RC Tires, Model Boats, Crafts, Guitar Fret Slots, Fine Repairs and Hobby or DIY Projects : Arts, Crafts & Sewing

Amazon.com: Art Glue Tips – 100 PCs CA Glue Applicator Nozzles 75 mm Long (5 mm Outer Diameter) and Micro Extenders for RC Tires, Model Boats, Crafts, Guitar Fret Slots, Fine Repairs and Hobby or DIY Projects : Arts, Crafts & Sewing
www.amazon.com

JKJ
 
I have all three on hand also. Depends on what I'm gluing or if I'm using it as a pen finish. I like the tips that JKJ mentioned also, although I don't find they work well for thick CA. I haven't heard of Mercury Adhesives. I'm using Star Bond.
 
Mark Hepburn said:
I have all three on hand also. Depends on what I'm gluing or if I'm using it as a pen finish. I like the tips that JKJ mentioned also, although I don't find they work well for thick CA. I haven't heard of Mercury Adhesives. I'm using Star Bond.
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Mercury offers a lot of types:
www.mercuryadhesives.com

Mercury Adhesives Product Line | Mercury Adhesives

All our products feature a specially designed no-clog cap & 5 viscosities. Specialty adhesives include a foam compatible blend, debonder, accelerator, and threadlocker. Our adhesives are specifically formulated for various tasks when working with wood, metal, plastic, rubber, fabric, leather...
www.mercuryadhesives.com www.mercuryadhesives.com

They were also very helpful by phone for advice about which type of glue is best for what purpose.

Also, they told me there were only 3 makers of CA glue in the US. Lots who repackage and sell.

Note there are other tips that have a larger internal diameter and will work with medium and thick glue, I don't like them for thin CA. Unfortunately, I can't remember where I bought the larger ones.

JKJ
 
I just spoke to Eric at Mercury Adhesives. They would be glad to sell small quantities they could send by mail. They have a number of flexible types.

You can look at either mercuryadhesives.com or mercuryadhesives.net for their products and prices. You can see if the prices they have are competitive with what you can get in your area, easily or not. I can vouch for the quality of their product, and as mentioned, packaged in the best bottle material and design I've seen.

He verified the worst death sentence for CA is moisture. (Or accelerant sprayed indiscriminately!)

He said to send an email to
sales@mercuryadhesives.com
Could mention I talked to Eric about this (he's the only Eric there!)

(I have no connection with the company and will profit nothing, just a satisfied customer and believer! I'm ordering some more myself.)

JKJ
 
It depends entirely on the application. I buy sets of thin, medium, and thick CA and use all three. Thin gets used the most, so I bought a big bottle.
 
Well, I very seldom do crack repairs, mostly because I don't want "defects" in my bowls. I have been using the Bob Smith CA glues since that is what my local toy and hobby store carries, and they were one of the first stores I went to when I moved to town 55 years ago. To fill a crack/defect, I chase it with thin CA glue first, then put some medium on top of that. The idea is that the thin will wick the thicker stuff down inside the crack so the crack is totally filled up. If it is a bigger crack, I will use sanding dust to fill holes like around knots. I never use accelerator. If there is any depth to the defect you are finishing, the outside cures, and the inside ends up honeycombing, which means there are a lot of holes/voids in it.

robo hippy
 
Medium for most things. Soft or punky I would use the thin.
 
I use thin the most, for hairline cracks. Up to about an inch thick, the thin does well wicking down and filling cracks in rough turned bowls. When final/second turning you remove everything at the surface so no staining. You can see the repair in the final piece but it isn't that objectionable, and the extra time needed is minimal. Be generous with it. I get 8oz bottles from Vince's Wood N Wonders, $18.

Medium is good for just a bit of filling in at knots and whatnot, but for bigger voids I'll mix up some epoxy, usually dyed black.

I agree with Robo that accelerator is often counterproductive. Do it in batches of bowls and leave it set for a few hours.
 
I use a lot of thin for small cracks and to wick into holes and knots. If there is a noticeable opening that need filling (bug hole, knot hole, wider crack…) I will use medium black or brown.
 
I didn't notice if this has been mentioned: A trick John Lucas showed me to fill small voids, a spot of tearout, small crack, etc. is wet sanding with CA glue, Put a small drop of thin CA on a strop of sandpaper, coarse enough to make sawdust. I've used 220 to 400 grit. Wet sand the area. The sandpaper will pick up fine sawdust from the surrounding wood, mix it with the CA, and forces the mix into the void.

Can make an invisible fix without leaving the stain you might get with first packing the void with sawdust then applying the CA. And since it uses sawdust from the surrounding wood the match can be very close. I wouldn't try it on a large area of tearout but have used it on small, isolated defects.

JKJ
 
Gerald Lawrence said:
I use mostly thin Star Bond. They send the tips JKJ referenced with each order. I get it in pints and keep in the fridg.
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In talking with a Mercury Adhesives gentleman I asked why they don't recommend storing CA in the fridge. I think the gist was that when the bottle was opened for use in the room, air with moisture could enter the bottle and the could condense in the fridge and cause the glue to set up or reduce the life. Perhaps that might be worse in humid weather in a non climate controlled shop. I often store CA in the fridge if the bottle is too big to fit in the sealed container with desiccant to remove the moisture.

A few months ago I discovered the manufacturers displaced the air in the bottles of CA with inert gas to eliminate the chance of closing up moisture inside. I keep a tank of argon at the lathe and always displace the air in cans/bottles of finish before recapping so doing the same with CA was easy. I started doing that then putting the bottle back in the fridge. I'll see how that works out. Maybe I'll try displacing the air on the next bottle and leave it out of the fridge.

BTW, did you ever turn plastics like acrylic? Years ago I had an 8oz bottle of some kind of CA set up in the bottle. I cut away the bottle and have a nice sized chunk of solidified CA on the shelf I'm thinking of turning. Wonder if anyone has done that.

JKJ
 
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