"why didn't the superglue set?" Topic

I'm putting together a GW Treebeard figure, made of metal.

I can't get one of his arms to glue. I put the glue on, hold the piece in place for a while, and it never sets. The other arm glued just fine.

I'm using a gel superglue. I've used it a good bit, but it isn't staying this one time.

Any ideas why one arm would glue quickly, and the other not after multiple tries?

andy

Something icky on the other arm?
Does it weight twice as much?
Is it a shape that pulls away from the body more than the other arm?

If no joy maybe try drilling and pinning?

You may have some moisture on the affected area. That can keep superglue from setting. Even humidity can give me fits.

Try drilling and pinning and setting the join with some epoxy. That stuff never fails.

GW metal is hard to glue for some reason. I ALWAYS have problems with GW metal. One solution is to apply a drop of ordinary white glue on one part and super glue on another part. White glue makes your super glue tacky right away and helps to hold metal together. Still, file the dry super glue from your previous attempts and hold parts together for 30 seconds as super glue instructions recommends.

You might also have some mould release or oily residue on the parts you are trying to glue. Even with epoxy, which is my preferred glue it is often helpful to rough-up the mating parts to give more surface area for the glue to grab. Have you tried the spray accelerators? Glue that has been opened for a time can have some of the setting elements evaporate.

If there IS a little dried superglue in the join area, it could be a problem too – cleaning the joint may help.

Moisture shouldn't be the problem – moisture and heat help accelerate the glue bonding.

Superglue needs a rough surface. Try sanding the surfaces lightly and leave the sanding dust there as additional grip.

I usually clean, and/or scrape and roughen up the metal areas to be glued, with the back of an X-acto knife, until they are shiny, to ensure a good bond.

That removes any residual oxidation that might hinder a good bond.

You may have some moisture on the affected area. That can keep superglue from setting. Even humidity can give me fits.

Uhhhhhh, no.
Superglue NEEDS ambient humidity to set.
It sets in a much stronger bond from ambient humidity than from so-called "kickers".

It's also possible it has gone bad. I have had the last remnants of several bottles have that happen.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

The other arm, with the same glued, set very quickly. I do usually clean stuff first, but don't remember whether I did this one.

I'll clean it up again and try to rough it up.

thanks
andy

Oh, and it is the smaller arm. The bigger one stuck the way I'm used to.

andy

Really? That has not been my experience. It always gives me fits on humid days, and if the gluing area is at all moist, the glue will not set.

I cleaned off the old glue (again), washed with soap and water, and glued again. It may have been a bit wet.

It held just fine this time.

thanks
andy

I've found that when Zap glue gets a little old it takes a long time to set and sometimes it won't set at all.

Pin it.

Here's a trick I've found to work – try using a small amount of baking soda to accelerate the bond. Of course, you should clean the join up of all foreign material first. And, if I remember the model you're asking about, those arms may need to be pinned due to their weight.

You can get spray bottles of accelerator to quicken superglue drying time from remote control model stores. This stuff has no gluing properties just affects the superglue.

The pinnin advice is a good idea especially if you are going to be handling the model regularly.

Superglue can get 'stale' after a while and not work as effectively. You may need to hit it with some 'accelerant' to work.

Zip Kicker definitely works, but the bond usually isn't as strong.

In the past, for some applications of larger pieces, I've used a mix of a gel superglue first, and then applied the thin stuff too, and sprayed it with the kicker. That seemed to work fairly well to tack it in place, while the gel dried.

Not sure if the kicker will work as well on the gel alone, as it does on the thin superglues.

I don't think it was the glue, because it glued the other, larger arm just fine. I'd just opened the bottle. And while I may wish I'd pinned it if it breaks off, it did have a piece that inserted into the other. It just stayed wet.

I'm going with the idea that it still had some kind of release or something on it. Whether washing it off was the fix, or even having still a bit wet (from the comments about water accelerating), I don't know. The main difference was whether the glue just took hold. That's my experience with super glue, anyway. It just grabs. Especially my fingers. This one ended up turning into a wet rubbery gunk, until that last time, when it held the way I'm used to.

Thanks for the input.

andy

The thinner glues do not like air gaps, so is it a close fit joint? If not, a thicker product designed to fill gaps, and a kicker, should do it. But I would pin – my Sauron recently lost his head and arm after more than 5 years – superglue can be fragile.

Your using the wrong glue.

If you want a glue that will bond ANY metal together in 30 seconds use "Sinbad Glue" Sinbad Glue is not sold in stores. I bought some at Origins years ago and its the only glue I have every used since.

It glues EVERTHING together and sets instantly! I have tried many glues and epoxies over the years for putting together metal figures with minimal luck, but Sinbad Glue has worked on everything.

Have glued large GW daemons together, Khorne flesh-eaters, lots of old GW metal figs, you name it, NEVER had them come apart including some that I dropped!!

Google "Sinbad Glue" to find the company and order from them. Its not cheap ($20) but its well worth it! Also get the liquid gloves if you think your going to get any on your fingers as it will glue skin on contact!

Once you start using Sinbad Glue, you wont ever use anything else again, including epoxy glue. There is NOTHING on the planet better!

Kim