Super Glue Reacting to Certain Plastic?

[Ray Von]

I just had a literally eye watering experience when I applied Super Glue to the plastic head of a "berry" pin, has anyone else ever noticed this reaction? 

[SamThomas]

You have to be very careful with the "Superglue" family of adhesives, some more than others - you need to keep your nose & eyes in particular well away from them. They can react with various  materials.

 

Personally, I've not found them that effective with many of the plastics used for modelling, especially plastic to plastic.

 

& never, ever use them for such jobs as fixing passengers into coaches or you may end up with opaque windows !

 

Oh, & another thing, if heated (like with a soldering iron too close) they can give off cyanyde gas (or something with a similar chemical formula) which is not conductive to continued health.)

 

 

Edited July 31, 2021 by SamThomas
Speeling/Gramar Mist Ache.

[Right Away]

Nowadays I tend to avoid using the “superglue” family of adhesives near plastics if possible due to the cloudy or milky effect that can appear on the surrounding area from the fumes. This can be especially noticeable when attaching fine detail to plastic models. Applying a small drop of the gel type to the end of thin wire and depositing into the locating hole can minimise any unwanted discolouration. 

If immediacy of grip or strength isn’t required, a drop of neat PVA or even paint/varnish can be a better alternative with the benefit of being able to reposition items if required. Deluxe Materials’s “Glue ‘n’ Glaze” can also be of considerable use in some circumstances.

[Ray Von]

Update: solved it! I'm using "paint on" superglue and breathing in a bit too near the open bottle! 

[sjp23480]

1 hour ago, Ray Von said:

Update: solved it! I'm using "paint on" superglue and breathing in a bit too near the open bottle! 

As others have said, be very careful. 

 

I remember Allan Downes posting here when he used it to fix the ballast on one of his last projects. He was already very ill with lung cancer but reported some serious side effects from breathing the fumes. I always suspected it accelerated his demise. ☹️

 

Personally, I try to avoid it. 

[TheSignalEngineer]

On 31/07/2021 at 10:15, SamThomas said:

You have to be very careful with the "Superglue" family of adhesives, some more than others - you need to keep your nose & eyes in particular well away from them. They can react with various  materials.

Superglue will react with moisture, that's partly how it cures with moisture from the air. Things that do that will form all sorts of nasties when reaction with moisture in the nasal passages or on the eyeballs. 

[Il Grifone]

It's nasty stuff (and tends to come unstuck again I find, but that could just be my incompetence or using cheap stuff from the Far East or both?).

I avoid it's use as much as possible. A mask (plenty of them around at the moment) and goggles are advisable.

 

Again it could be me but I have found it a complete failure on plastics and liable to the toxic fume effect. It does appear to react with plastics, so 'avoid' becomes 'never use'.

[57xx]

I use it all the time for fixing whitemetal buffers to plastic kits, never had an issue with it reacting with the plastic. Regarding it coming apart again, like most things make sure the parts are grease free. Also do not over-apply it, you only need a little bit to make a thin bond. Lob it on thickly and it won't work. I'm using cheapo bottles from Screwfix.

Ref the vapours, yes they are an irritant to mucous membranes so take care, mask up and keep containers open for as little time as possible.