Zap A Gap question

[Saltamontes]

I have never used the stuff, thus not too familiar with it. I'm thinking of buying the stuff and using it to tie some flies. A couple of questions for those of you who use Zap A Gap. What is the life expectancy of the stuff? does it harden like Crazy Glue making it a One Time use adhesive? I use Hard as Nails nailpolish for many of my flies, is there a substitute for Zap a Gap that might give similar results? Will nailpolish do the trick?. I want to tie some Charlie Boy Hoppers and the recipe calls for Zap A gap to glue some foam pieces together.
Thanks for your assistance.
Saltamontes

[flyandtie]

ok i havnt used zap a gap either, never needed to.

what i use in place that i feel is better than hard as nails and zap agap is

LOCTITE Brush-on super glue.

its a small plastic bottle, has a built in twist off cap, and built in brush applicator. if you keep the cap on tight, it lasts until you use it all.
ive gone through about 4 bottles of the stuff and LOVE IT.
also works to make nice shiny heads.

[Normand]

ive used "loctite" brand superglue in the bottle with the brush to glue together the foam for the stp frogs and it works just fine. use what superglue you have on hand. zap a gap is NOT a must have one and only superglue.

ive had the "loctite" brand for a few months and its still liquid. hasnt dried up one bit. the only thing i did was to thin out some bristles of the brush with a pair of scissors and wiped off the excess on the scissors right away.

got it at home depot.

[Fly Goddess]

I use it all the time. YES it does harden and I wouldn't recommend it on foam to glue them together, plus I have seen deer hair smoke a little from it. I use it for heads. I run a bead of it along the thread and then whip finish.
It is a waterproof superglue and that is all. Hard as nails is a GOOD answer. If you wanna glue foam together get some sprey on glue like 3M (the kind you spray both sides, let it sit for a few then stick together)

[flyandtie]

yup 3M super 77 works wonders to.

[TxEngr]

I've used ZapaGap and several of the other super glues. Yes I like it for some functions. When tying extended body foam flies, I use it on the thread as I make wraps to lock the thread down in case a fish tooth cuts the thread. I've also used it other times on the thread when it wasn't practical to do a whip finish. I use it on bead chain eyes and lead eyes after tying on to lock everything down so it will never move. Plus a lot of other uses. I like the Loctite in the brush bottle since it's easier to apply and it seems to last a little longer. I also keep some Zip Kicker to help the glue dry quickly.

I watched Earl Stanek tie up at the Southern Council Conclave one year. He uses an inverted bottom of a coke can and puts about half a bottle of superglue in it. He then dips it out as needed while he ties. He says it will stay usable for several hours in this state.

TxEngr

[Normand]

3m super 77 adhesive is good for bonding large pieces of foam together but not for bonding a strip of foam as in the charlie boy hopper.

[cholcomb13]

I used it in this charlieboy hopper
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/v...hp?f=5&t=19550
I spoke with Charlie on it and he said super glue would work but preferes zap a gap as it fills in the gaps and dries hard....and I would tend to agree based on my limited experience with the stuff.

Remember a little goes a long way.

[ducksterman]

Loctite....comes in the brush model as mentioned and also gel and also thin...unless you can tell me what more Zap a Gap has...I don't think it has to be Zap a Gap...some where I read ZaG...is water proof and others aren't....I doubt that....

I find myself more and more just touching the head of my flies and other critical areas with the thin Loctite ...seems to penetrate and if you're careful not soak elsewhere...
The gel seems to take a while to dry.....

[flyandtie]

i also like the "showroom shine" of the loctite brush on.