Keeping with my "glue thread" kick this morning, I found that the real McCoy "Hot Stuff" was still available, and got some. After using every brand (Zap, CG, the Bob Smith stuff that is relabeled for every hobby shop in the country), and then trying the real deal again after 20+ years, I still think that Hot Stuff Super T is still the best medium CA. It is a little thinner than the typical medium CA, and it takes longer to set that most. ZAP and CG can sometimes zap off in open faces before you want. Super T has yet to do that to me . It also seems to have a longer set sequence, so it will start to zap, spread a bit as a liquid, then finish.  It's about halfway between ZAP (and all others) "thin" and ZAP+ in terms of viscosity. It makes the joint coverage much more complete.

    It was remarkably better for joining wing skins and I did a bunch of 1/32 and .066 skins and it never once grabbed before I was able to make a final alignment. It's actually a little less than ideal for field repairs because you have to hold everything in place for substantially longer. But for controlled conditions it's much more pleasant to use.

    The Hot Stuff video could have been done at my house, I still use the same techniques and it still works fine as long as you use Super T. I have figured that since the Hunters are no longer in charge of the thing, someone bought a gallon drum of flourescent pink and yellow ink for the labels, and then bought the glue it from Bob Smith like everybody else. Apparently not, it's still different and still the best.

    Brett

where did you find fresh hot stuff?

https://granquartz.com/Pages/ItemClass_Catalog.aspx?search_val=hot+stuff&qsearch=&search_type=Product&class=&advanced=

I buy the same stuff here at work, we go through a couple gallons a year. I did not look at Brett's link so I cant say if Grandquartz is any cheaper than his supplier.

Derek

Woodcraft woodworking stores Cary it


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Yeah, the woodcraft stores here carry it, but I think it sits on the shelf a loooong time.

I puzzle over CA shelf life.  My understanding is even a sealed container is only good for a year ago, yet my Dad's 30 year old bottle of Eastman 910 still works. I get 6 months to a year from Zap.

  I get 1 oz bottles, and freeze it. The Hot Stuff bottle I am using now is about 5 years old, and was defrosted about a year ago.

    Brett

Does activator make a CA joint stronger, or just set faster ?

Faster, which probably means weaker. Sometimes, if you are just trying to tack a piece in place, fast is good.

    It always seems to go off plenty fast enough for me even without kicker. One of the things I think is better about Super T is that it doesn't go off just sitting there on the surface waiting for assembly, or at least not as fast as many of the other types.

    The accelerated joints are generally much weaker. They tend to be a foam rather than a solid acrylic. But, if you are just gluing balsa to balsa, its probably still strong enough. I use accelerator only in very very rare occasions, like trying to glue spruce to spruce, or something like that where it doesn't want to go off otherwise.

    Brett

Wouldn't an atomizer of just plain water set off CA?

A very fine spray of accelerator works best as someone said.
I found that the typical pumps sprayed droplets....just too much of the stuff....so I went to the drugstore or somewhere and got a couple of $1 trial size hairspray bottles.
Then I dumped the hairspray and washed out the bottles....now I got accelerator in one bottle and water to spray Jap tissue in the other bottle....cheap...works great.
While I am on a roll.......glue syringes....go to a animal or feed store...they sell different sizes of plastic syringes for a couple of bucks a bag.....I think there is 5 in a bag.
Great for epoxy and yellow glue (Elmer's Carpenter).....toss em' when done....no more of that SIG $5 each nonsense.

Dave
AMA 5053