I was curious if anyone here uses any of these (Zap A Gap, Super Glue, or Gorilla Glue) instead of traditional head cement. If so which do you prefer?
I would be extremely leery of using Gorilla Glue on a fly; pretty tough to control the expansion during the curing process. I save the other 2 for different applications; Sally Hansen’s is cheap and does the job for me.
Regards,
Scott
Sally Hansen’s also provides a hard shine to finish off the fly head properly
I have seen some flies where I think superglue was used for head cement. It did not penetrate the thread but left a whitish lump on top of the head.
A few years ago at a show I was attending, Chris Helm turned me onto a head cement. Fly-Tite. by Fly-Rite, Inc, 7421 South Beyer Rd. Frankenmuth, MI 48734. phone # 989-652-9869. All other head cements I have used in the past eventually solidify in my applicator. Clog up the fine hole and or need a thinner of some kind. This stuff does not cause me any problems at all. Never have I needed to add a solvent. He also put me onto a cyanoacrylate ester (super glue) that dries in 4 seconds. It is produced by Carlson Tackle Co. Called FISHIN’ GLUE" I use this when I want something glued quickly and where I do not want to wait. Has a funnel shaped snout on it and has a small brush. I snip off one half of the bristles on the brush which is attached in the lid. Never in several years of use have I experienced any problems with either of these.
If I am tying a fly that I think the head needs to be shinney, I might use the Sally Hansen’s. All other products on the market do not compare for me today. I tie a lot of flies per year.
For anyone that wants more info on either of these two products, e-mail me. I do not sell them, just a more than satisfied customer.
Denny
Gorilla glue is not what you want anywhere near flies! It expands like crazy. I use Sally Hansen’s clear nail polish for head cement and gluing down bead chain eyes.
You can use Gorilla Glue for making ant bodies but never for head cement, Super Glue and Zap-a-Gap to cement stuff like foam to the hook to prevent it from spinning. I would never use any of them as head cement. Nor would I use Hard-as-nails unless thinned as head cement, I think it’s just too thick straight from the bottle as sold.
I am sure he is talking about Gorilla Glues super glue. I have some and hate it so dont waste your money. I using Liquid Fusion now and really like this. Found it at Hobby Lobby.
I have used Hard as Nails for too many decades to count. If you are tying big flies, then the consistency is absolutely perfect to easily shape heads on streamers, atlantic salmon flies, etc… It dries “Hard as Nails” with a wonderful shiny top coat. JMHO
Is regular head cement thinner OK if someone wanted to thin Hard as Nails?
Not sure; I just use cheap (and I mean cheap) nail polish thinner.
Regards,
Scott
I like to use super glue when I tie my clousers. I use a monofilament thread because it lets the color of the deer hair I use show through all the way to the eye, and the super glue really seems to do a good job of holding them together. I don’t really use head cement for any other flies, I just whip finish them. I will sometimes, when I’m tying buggers or streamers, put some glue on the shank of the hook so that the chenille doesn’t unwrap or slide down the hook.
TT.
CA (super) glues make excellent cement for securing things like threads and materials. You can find some of them that finish with a gloss, but most do not. You can find lots of them that penetrate, and these make exceptional cements for finishing the thread head on fly if the security of the head is your primary design. Used properly, you can permanently bond the thread head with CA glues without needing any kind of finishing knot.
Trouble is, all CA glues are not the same. Many are formulated to enhance different characteristics. Shiny, flexible, penetrating, gap filling, thick, thin, and a host of others.
There are many things I do at the bench with a CA type glue that I couldn’t do nearly as well with either traditional head cement, nail polish, or lacquer. But I would not be without Sallys (in several colors) or clear gloss lacquer on the bench either (never found a reason to use what is sold as ‘head cement’).
You’ll need to experiment with several types of cements and glues before you discover which ones you prefer. Keep an open mind and you’ll see that there are lots of products out there that, while not originally intended for the fly tyer, will assist you at the bench.
Good Luck!
Buddy
p.s; Gorilla Glue is a moisture curing expanding urethane. As others have noted, it use for fly tying is limited. BS
Yes, but acetone is much cheaper. Most nail polish remover is acetone watered down. I just bought “Professional Salon Formula” nail polish remover at Walgreens, (100% acetone) Probably cheaper at the hardware store, but I don’t need 10 lifetimes supply.
I tried crazy glue a while back cause I was out of head cement. It worked great had the little applicator bottle so it was easy to apply, and it dried clear. But it is more expensive when you consider the quantity of glue you get from one to the other. In a pinch crazy lue will work, just don’t use a ton of it and drop it in the box or the floor let it dry first.
I’ve been using super glue for 20 years.
In the mid 1980s I even made a disorganized and ill-fated attempt to wholesale CA glue as “Sandy’s Superfly”
Montana Tier Dan Delekta uses little green bottles of Crazy Glue (a brand of CA) for everything.
I use ZapCA the most. ZapCA is watery-thin, so it soaks in, all the way to the shank.
The trick is to dispense it properly, with accurately placed pin point micro dots of glue.
I use TEFLON tubing and a hot melt glue gun to turn each new glue bottle into a “wash bottle.”
A wash bottle means the teflon tubing is inserted into the top of the bottle, and shoved all the
way down to the bottom of the bottle. Then caulked in place with hot melt glue.
You don not tip the bottle to dispense the glue. You squeeze the bottle. You can watch
the glue migrate up the tube, and then release pressure just as the glue gets to the tip.
That way you can dispense tiny (or large) amounts, right where you want it.
When you let go of the bottle the glue is sucked down into the bottle again, leaving
the tubing clear. If the tubing ever does clog up, it ALWAYS clogs at tube tip.
So you just snip 1/32" off the top of the tube and you are back in business again.
Getting teflon tubing is a bit tricky. I used to buy it online from Action Electronics.
But they went belly up a few months ago. I’m sure there are other sources.
I bought 100’ rolls, so I won’t need more until several lifetimes from now.
28 - 30 guage for ZapCA
16 - 20 guage for the thicker ZapAGap
Loctite makes a super glue that comes in a bottle that has a base and the actual container is slanted. It’s got a brush like a finger nail polish bottle…great stuff. Goes on easy, soaks in fast, bottle doesn’t clog up. Walmart used to carry it, I think K-mart still does. I’ve got 3 bottles so shouldn’t ever have to buy another.
I used to use head cement when I was starting out, and finishing my fly heads with half(quarter?) hitches. They would often unravel. Whip finishes are much more secure and seldom unravel, so I don’t use head cement anymore.
I do occasionally use Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails on the head if I want a particular pattern to be even more bullet proof (like when fishing for toothy fish or casting around rocky riprap).
I have used Zap-a-Gap CA+, but lately have just been using a CA Superglue (might be Loctite?) to attach 3D eyes to a baitfish pattern, or for certain foam patterns. I like it, have been using the same bottle for about a year, and it hasn’t clogged yet (cross my fingers).
You got to use Sally Hansen’s. It’s a rite of passage for male fly fishers to have to go to Walgreen’s to buy women’s nail polish.
While you’re there, pick us some nice tweezers.
If I’m going to use a glue as a head cement it’s probably S.H. Hard As Nails. However, there have been times I’ve used ‘super glues’ (aren’t they all the same chemical?) with foam or I applied it to the thread before wrappinging the last several winds.
As far as Gorilla Glue, never used it in fly tying.
Another glue, but most useful for foam work and where flexibility is needed like quills, is GOOP(don’t think it matters which of the specialties) thinned with Lacquer Thinner or Tuolene(sp?).
Allan