Zap-a-Gap Woes

[flyman9]

I tried Loctite Easy Brush from Walmart. It still dries out and gets thicker with time, but I just love the brush. The brush can be cut back to reduce the amount applied and it is great for beadchain.

Steve

[billknepp]

I stopped buying the actual Zap a gap...and have gone to the wee tiny tubes of plain old super glue..I buy them in bulk..if one clogs or dries up...I toss it and grab a new tube...It's cheaper and the excellarator works with all ca glues...for those who buy the 4 ounce bottles of U40 rod varnish...Love the stuff myself....Do invest in some type of oxegen burning spray to spray into the bottle before closing it....or you will experience this same thing with that product!...It'll be a solid mass in short order no matter how tightly capped..U40 also makes an oxegen burner....you may want to contact them directly...

[mantis]

I use Zap as a head cement. I but tiny glass candle stick holders. After Christmas (now) you can get them for a buck at Christmas shops. Either 2 or 3 in a box (with Candles) . I put several drops in the glass xandle stick holder, wipe off any Zap that may be on the tube with a rag and reseal. As long as the Zap is in glass it will stay liquid for a day or two. Longer if you cover the candle stick holder with a bottle cap, one of the slightly larger caps with a plastic insert. The Zap won't stick to it. 5 or 6 drops in one of these glass c.s. holders will get me thru a 3 day show.
I also (as a previous poster noted, 'tap' the bottom of the Zap plastic bottle) . As I mentioned B4, just wipe off any excess that may be on the outside of that long tube they give you to put on the Zap bottle. I keep a short piece of rag hanging down from my tying desk. I also use this rag to wipe off my dubbing needles. Those small canisters filled with steel wool are fine but not for Zap. They also shove cement up your needle where evenyually you have to razor it off.
Eventually, once opened, Zap will thicken even though you are sure you have it sealed tightly.

Diane,

The one container of Zap-A-Gap I bought dried up to the point of unusable in a very short time so I didn't buy it again. I've used other CA glues and liked the Borden's Krazy Glue. However, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they are all the same. I buy packages of 3 small tubes per package at the $1.00 store. Anyway, you might want to try any of the less expensive brand names. IMHO, Zap-A-Gap has benefitted more from the names of its endorsers and publicity than anything to do with quality and performance.

Allan

[danbob]

I learned a bunch about superglue (cyanoacrylate) while building my banjo, and I use it for fly tying all the time. The company I work for also stocks it for retail and mail order sales, we use it for tacking parts down while constructing wind turbines. Here's what I've learned -- your mileage may vary.

- It does have a shelf life of only about one year. We only stock enough for about 4 months of sales, then order more, back order problems be darned. So only buy as big a bottle as you can use up in a year, except....

- thin superglue becomes thick superglue as it ages. So don't throw out your bottle if it starts to thicken, it'll still work fine as thick grade.

- the little tubes from the supermarket may have sat there for who knows how long. Plus, they contain fillers and less actual cyanoacrylate, in my opinion. I buy all my glue from 'professional' suppliers, like the local hobby store or an instrument repair shop. You can verify this by taking a dab of supermarket glue and a dab of the good stuff, and hitting them with accelerator. The good stuff will get EXTREMELY hot and give off a white cloud of vapor, enough to burn you if the glue was on your hands.

- I never, ever snip off or use the applicator tip. This increases the shelf life dramatically, and eleminates clogged applicator problems. Instead....

- buy disposable pipettes. When banjo building, I bought them in bulk from chemistry lab equipment suppliers since I used so many per day. Now for fly tying I get them (for a higher cost) from instrument repair shops like Stewart MacDonald [url=http://www.stewmac.com/:5ca5d]http://www.stewmac.com/[/url:5ca5d] , search them for 'pipette' and you'll find the exact ones I use.

- I simply unscrew the entire superglue bottle lid, and suck up enough into the pipette for a night's tying, then close the bottle up. It will last for hours in the pipette, keep it upright on your bench with the bulb down. For sucking up thick superglue, snip the tiny nozzle off with scissors down to the wide part of the pipette.

- the tiny nozzle gives you superb control on how much glue you put down. Picture shows a pipette with 4 oz glue bottle for scale. NOTE: pic shows a bottle of thick grade next to the pipette, to use the thick grade I'd snip the pipette down!

I hope that helps -- try the pipettes and you'll never snip another bottle applicator again. You can also re-use the pipette for thick glue after the nozzle finally clogs with thin.

And if you've never used accelerator -- pick up a spray bottle of it, too. Amazing stuff. We've fixed injured dogs and cut fingers with superglue and accelerator, too -- don't try this at home!

;~)
DANBOB


[This message has been edited by danbob (edited 03 January 2006).]