Re: OT: for superglue and hot melt glue users

For some brands, you can also get tiny tips that attach directly to the bottle:

These particular ones are made of a type of plastic that the glue will not stick to, so if you suck the glue out of the tiny tube after use, they can be used many times.

The problem with the re-melting method, is that you will have glue residue left behind. With isoprop, the glue will come off cleanly.

That is just expensive CA glue.

If you're in a real hurry, you can use an accelerator for CA glue. Sometimes also known as "kicker".

Those might work, but it's far more fun to blow smoke rings with the needle dispenser and a butane lighter.

I never make mistakes so re-work is a non-problem. Actually, when I need to re-melt the hot melt glue, it's usually because I need to reposition the parts being glued.

About 3 years ago, I obtained a small assortment of hot melt glues and did some experimenting: I didn't do any re-work or removal testing but I can sort of tell that some are going to be easily removable, while others are going to be rather difficult. If you want something that can be easily removed, methinks it best to use something that is designed to be removable: The catch is that it made an impressive mess of my glue gun when I accidentally used the low temp gummy stuff in a high temp glue gun (because I as too cheap to buy the correct glue gun).

Commodity holt melt glue is EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). IPA causes the surface to expand, with breaks the surface bond causing the hard vinyl to break loose. I would guess(tm) that the softer and more flexible the hardened vinyl, the less likely that IPA will work. I just tried some IPA on some boot soles that I had previously repaired with hot melt glue: After a 5 min soak, a big chunk of the glue detached itself from the rubber. Ok, IPA works.

I paid $2.50 for a 0.05 oz bottle recently. That's more than the dollar store superglue, but about the same as our local overpriced hardware store. There are times when I need a really fast reaction and the extra cost is well worth it. I usually use a baking soda or ammonia accelerator, but they tend to be messy.

The links to the MSDS sheet didn't work but what I think is a similar product contains: COMPONENT CAS PERCENT Heptane 142-82-5 65-75 Acetone 67-64-1 15-25 N,N-DIMETHYL-P-TOLUIDINE 99-97-8 5-10

I don't think I want to be spraying acetone on whatever I'm gluing, especially if it's plastic, but a brush might work. To initiate the acrylic polymerization reaction, any of the 3 component chemicals will do the job individually. I guess combining them makes the concoction patentable. Toluidine is rather nasty stuff: Easily absorbed through the skin and quite toxic. Spray can seems like a bad idea.

If you really need a faster cure, I've used diluted household ammonia for the purpose. It doesn't take much to work but needs some time to evaporate. Get the stuff that isn't scented or colored. Both additives are oils which might interfere with the reaction.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I sometimes have to get hot glue in tight spots. For this I use my precious Metcal soldering iron. Surprisingly the tip stays shiny.

Gorilla brand super glue has a good nozzle. I used the glue to temporarly glue my dental crown back on.

Regards,

Boris Mohar

Got Knock? - see: Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs (among other things)

void _-void-_ in the obvious place

EVA is checmically benign under decomposition there's no halogens or other acid-forming elements there that would attack the tip. Nonetheless it probably causes cancer in Californians.

- Notsodium is mined on the banks of denial.