WHERE can one get that great old school super glue / crazy glue, or a modern equivalent? You know, that bulletproof aerospace grade CA that would fuse a melting ice cube to a rotten banana first try? The really dangerous stuff? Anyone sell that to civilians anymore, or only Govt. contractors get that stuff now?
I must have tried about every CA available for modelling, and it's all pretty much weak crap. I'm tired of my tiny PE parts falling off...any suggestions?

Hi Gary

I don't know about the Ice cube / Banana thing, but my main gripe about the super glues is that they tend to start drying out and get less effective as they age.

I have been using Gorilla Super Glue for the last couple of years, and I'm just now getting to the bottom of my first bottle. (1/2 oz.) and its still as good as it was when I opened it. Its a bit on the thick side compared to most of the CA glues, but I like it.

And I've never had any parts fall off yet. Of course I've only been using it for a couple of years.

Delbert

Yes, you're right, the current "off the shelf" CA glues do deteriorate very rapidly once opened, I've noticed this too..I've found that keeping them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator slows this down and extends the useful life of the material.
The ice cube/banana joke is just that, a joke..a cartoon.
The old (20-30 yrs ago) Super Glue/Crazy Glue was seemingly pure aerospace grade and really would glue just about anything to anything..and it seems that for reasons of either liability, or just plain corporate greed and cheapness, that material is no longer available.

I purchased a bottle of ZAP (hot) and it was hard or if you prefer set before I even opened the bottle or broke the seal. Ref your request Gary I suspect that the type of superglue to which you refer would be to hot for model building and may cause damage to the plastic.

My main concern here is actually attaching tiny PE parts to styrene..not joining large parts. The thin/hot CA glues I'm talking about would be perfect..position the part and touch a tiny bead of the CA to the joint, by capillary action it runs into the joint and sets almost instantly, and quite indestructably. Everything I do using current CA glue seems to have no strength at all, or not enough. I used to use the Zap brand a lot, but I don't have any source for it in Europe..is it still available?

It seems to be the easiest brand to get here in the UK.

Hi Gary,

I am bias in favor of BSI simply because -- for me -- it has outperformed all other brands for a decade. They also have dealers in Belgium, Finland, Germany, Russia, Spain and Sweden http://www.bsi-inc.com/Pages/hobby/hdealer/index.html so perhaps you can acquire it.

I also use Bob Smith Industries ca glue. It comes in various types. I use the heavy, extra thin, and flexible rubber glues.

Add me to the BSI vote. I have all their flavors and they have excellent shelf life. But I did have issues finding a reasonably priced vendor/supplier. I did use www.masterdetails.com but they recently stop selling them. Currently using http://www.siriusrocketry.biz/ishop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=9_19


Cheers

Me too BSI has my vote. The uncure bottle is a must. Specially for glued fingers. Add the Insta-Set+ to the regular CA and it's instant.

Also use the ZAP from time to time, it's really thin and works fine with the Looper.

I use xenalook, seller at eBay, they are in British Columbia and they have excellent service. Shipping is mighty fine.

Maybe I'm just a cheap hack at modeling , but I have started buying mine at the grocery store or drug store-- a 2-pack for about $1.00 US. When it starts to dry out or get difficult, I toss it in the trash and open a new one.
It's a bit on the thinner side, not thick, but holds very well.
Try it. It won't cost you much to check it out.
-Sean H.

I have tried it. That stuff is all crap. consumer grade idiot safe. Useless.

I've tried most common household brands of CA glue, and they all leave much to be desired. My LHS carries Zap a Gap, and it's better, but still on the weak side. I just tried both Gorilla glue and Loctite brands from my local home improvement center. Both are far superior to anything I've used to date.

Joel

Word of advice, this is from personal experience. If you use an accelerator for the super glue keep them well apart seems like if they are close together the super glue for some reason turns harden a lot faster. Or maybe it's just me . And use a piece of a wooden dowel to apply the accelerator , then dispose of it afterwards .

In the middle of Europe they don't have Gorilla Glue..but Loctite is everywhere and it's what I've been using here. It's not great. The gel is particularly weak. The thin labeled "super attak" works kind of, but doesn't display much shear strength..