While it might seem a little strange to develop a super glue accelerator for one of the fastest-drying adhesives on the market, there is so much more to FastTACK Infinity Bond’s Super Glue Accelerator than just making super glue dry a little quicker. Before we dive into all the features of FastTACK Infinity Bond’s Super Glue Accelerator and other super glue accelerators, let’s start from the beginning to make sure you have a solid foundation upon which to build both your adhesives knowledge and your adhesives projects.
What You Need to Know About Super Glue
Cyanoacrylate glue—which goes by many trade names, including super glue, permabond, pro grip, black max, krazy glue, cyanolite, superbonder, and more—is typically composed of 91 percent ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate (ECA), 9 percent polymethylmethacrylate, <0.5 percent hydroquinone, and a trace of organic sulfonic acid. Thinner glues are typically closer to 100 percent pure ECA.
Super glue is highly reactive, which is why it requires stabilizers to stay in a liquid state. It cures the second that moisture deactivates its stabilizers and the adhesive begins to polymerize in a permanent bond with the substrate.
The bonding reaction is caused by condensed water vapor on the surfaces of two substrates. The faster the super glue is trapped between these two surfaces, the faster it cures. The same goes for humidity—the more moist (short of dripping wet) the substrate, the faster the super glue will cure. The opposite is true for very dry environments.
Because curing starts at the surface and develops toward the center, thick seams or large dots of glue may harden slowly or not at all. Avoid seams thicker than .25 mm if you want a secure bond. However, this feature can make super glue a little more useful in settings where you need to make some adjustments before permanently attaching substrates. By holding your surfaces farther apart than .25 mm, you’ll be able to get them lined up just right before pressing them together and sealing the deal.
Super glue revolutionized many industries when it was invented. Suddenly, different substrates like metal and plastic could be safely bonded and there was a non-shrinking material that could create extra-hard seams and filler in wood, plastic, and more. So, what could possibly make super glue more awesome? Accelerators, of course.
Using Super Glue Accelerator
There are other uses for super glue accelerator outside of speeding up the cure time of super glue, but, of course, it does this task very well. By applying your glue to one surface and spraying, brushing, or otherwise applying super glue accelerator to the opposite surface, you’ll be able to achieve the rigid, strong bond super glue is known for the instant the two surfaces touch. You can even speed up the adhesion process by spraying accelerator on a seam, hole, or any other exposed bit of super glue after the parts have been joined.
In addition, super glue accelerator can lead to a stronger final bond, especially in dry climates and between difficult substrates that contain a lot of oil or acid (think wood). Woodworkers use layers of super glue and super glue accelerator, either alone or in conjunction with oils, to create super strong and super weatherproof finishes for their projects.
Some people claim that applying water, alcohol, or baking soda to a substrate can work in place of a commercial glue accelerator, but we’ve found that while these bonds do adhere quickly, they tend to be much weaker and can change the color of the glue. It’s important when working with super glue accelerator in any setting to determine whether it’s flammable or non-flammable, as that will affect your application method.
Not surprisingly, flammable super glue accelerators require a little extra care. When working with a flammable super glue accelerator, wait one full minute to apply it over freshly applied glue or before joining two parts. Spraying too soon can turn your super glue white and have other adverse effects. There is no waiting period for non-flammable super glue accelerators. Our favorite super glue accelerator of all time is FastTACK Infinity Bond Super Glue Accelerator.
FastTACK Infinity Bond’s Super Glue Accelerator is a cyanoacrylate accelerator that speeds up the cure time for the Infinity Bond line of super glues—and any other super glue, for that matter.
This makes it a great add-on in situations where the faster the set time, the better the overall performance. Just like the super glue accelerator properties we described above, it’s also useful for adhering difficult substrates and creating lasting bonds even in low humidity environments.
What we love is that it comes in an easy-to-handle spray bottle for product assembly, manufacturing, wire tacking, silk screening, gap filling up to .2”, and tons of other jobs. At Hotmelt.com, we have several sizes of FastTACK Infinity Bond’s Super Glue Accelerator to choose from. You can even contact us to place a bulk order!