Super Glue

[Richard Casey]

Does anyone know how to thin out super glue that has thickened slightly in the bottle?
Any help appreciated.

[bsrlee]

First advice: Throw it out! Once 'Super glue' has started to 'go off' it is no longer particularly super. "Super glue" sets by absorbing water vapor, heat & oxygen from the air, and releasing cyanide compounds - it is not particularly reversable.

Acetone is a solvent for 'Super glue', but I have my doubts about actone as a thinner.

Is you proposed use for anything valuable or that you don't want to fall apart? It is probably cheaper (and less frustrating) to get a new tube of glue. I buy the el-cheapo $2 shop stuff when I WANT to be able to break it apart, and 'Zap-a-Gap' or Loctite 30x series when I want it to stick.

Store it in a sealed jar, in the fridge, with some of those 'moisture absorbent' packets that seem to come in everything these days - you will have to wait for the glue to warm up before use. I have no idea what happens if you freeze it, and I don't want to experiment.

[Richard Casey]

Yeah thanks for the reply. I do everything that you have mentioned and only use it for filling cracks in woodturning, but at $20 a bottle x 3 bottles i wanted to try and save it. I will give the acetone a try, I have nothing to lose!

[IanA]

Unless you're into large volume production turning the el-cheapo stuff from the $2.00 shop is fine for repairing small cracks while turning.

Six tubes for $2.00 means you can always have an unopened tube available, for that moment when the sound of the turning causes you to let forth with a suitable expletive.