Help!!! Guys!!! Can anyone please tell me what is in those CA accelerators they’re selling in the hobby shops? I was really impressed by the speed at which it bonds CA glue (it really comes in handy in those really tight spots such as ship railings and other such things). One time, though, I accidentally touched my skin with my finger not knowing that there was still a little accelerator. Boy! Did that smart! The skin heated up and I felt a stinging sensation (much like the one you feel when you get exposed to an acid). I was just wondering… what’s it made of anyway? There are no major precautions in the bottle but it seems to be some sort of aromatic or corrosive… Please someone satisfy my curiosity… Thanks
The burn did not come from the accelerator itself, but from the chemical reaction of the CA glue curing much faster rate than normal. I’ve had this stuff on my fingers many times and there was no reaction, but accelarator and CA on the skin and WOWZA!
That reaction is worth keeping in mind when applying large amounts of superglue to plastic then hitting it with accelerator - you don’t want to do such a large area as to melt the plastic.
Basically (pun intended), accelerators include a base (hydroxy- or alkyl compound) in a solvent carrier that reacts with the acid stabilizer in cyanoacrylates to accelerate the cure process. Since CA is cured via moisture (i.e, relative humidity), the higher the moisture content, the faster the cure rate. That’s why skin moisture and amino acids work well to bond skin so well—which was the original purpose of CA: to bond skin edges post surgery. That’s also why baking soda works well as an accelerator.
There is a trade-off, however. The faster the cure rate, the weaker the bond strength.
I’ve found a really good internet article on the chemistry of CA. As soon as I get a chance to cut and paste the pertinent parts, I’ll post it here with the appropriate citation.
Gip Winecoff
You da’ man professor Gip. [;)][:D]
Mike
Thanks Gip!!! I’ll eagerly await the material. I’ve always wondered why that reaction occurred. Now I’m getting even more curious… So far I’ve had a bit of success with the Accelerator… but I’m not convinced it is a cure-all for all the CA blues. I’d really like to hear more about the accelerator composition. Thanks again guys!
Actually, if I remember correctly CA was developed by a mortition to glue shut the eyelids on cadavers for open casket funerals.
Gip is right, they were developed as a liquid suture.
I found this info here:
http://www.fensende.com/Users/swnymph/refs/glue.html
I can’t believe CA glues were developed back in 1959. [:0]
I wasn’t even born yet. [:D][;)]
Mike
Greetings,
I use a lot of CA when building my balsa RC airplanes. I found that the accelerator makes the CA rock hard and very difficult to sand. Other options to speed thesetting process are to blow on the CA or use a water mist. Moisture in your breath sets the CA. The water mist probably works as fast as accelerator but doesn’t seem to make the CA as hard. Hope this helps.
Thats funny…
I use ca and accelerator as an instant putty, its great for filling ejector pin marks and such, sands about as easy as plastic i think, but balsa is very porous and sands really really easy.
You might want to ad “micro balloons” or baking soda when filling wooden materials to prevent the glue from just soaking into the wood.
// Claes
Using Baking soda is really great for filling up gaps (especially the gaps between scratch-built walls) but my wife always gives me the “evil eye” whenever she sees me sneaking over to the cupboard to get it… Ahhh… the perils of married life…
Did anyone of get that “look” from your moms and wives when they find you tinkering with their cooking stuff? Oh by the way, I tried using the idea in one of the other forums about “Glad-wrap” as a masking tool… doesn’t work. It just slides away. Anyone else tried this?