Using CA (super glues) Accelerator

[HawaiianReef]

I'm doing a scape where I need to glue some pieces together.
I watched Ryan on brs tv talk about all the different adhesives and there was a bottle of the accelerator on his table of products, but he never mentions using it.
I'm using the CA glues in gel and thick viscosity. Do you guys use the spray accelerator to set the glue up? If you do, what do you do to clean off the residue?

David

 

[ihavecrabs]

I had a fellow local reefer use the glue accelerator for super glue. He dabbed a glob of glue on the frag plug, balanced the frag in the glue, sprayed the adhesive accelerator, and that was it. Back in the tank to cure.

Personally, I have used two part epoxy and epoxy putty for my rock work. I wouldn't trust superglue to be that strong on rock work unless there were acrylic rods or something else to support them. That and I wouldn't want to purchase that much super glue

 

[jgvergo]

I use it to attach corals to frag plugs and to attach corals to live rock. With smaller pieces of rock, I remove the rock from the tank, put glue on the rock, place the coral and spray it with the accelerator. It tends to work much better than attaching the coral while everything is under water.

One nagging question I have is whether the accelerator has any detrimental effect on the coral. I always try to limit the amount of spray that hits the coral, but it seems like it is unavoidable. So far, I don't think I've seen any bad repercussions of using the accelerator.

 

[SeaJay]

I use it for other applications. It works great, but it does make the glue more brittle. Also, that stuff is liquid cancer in a bottle. I’d definitely take measures to keep it out of my lungs and off of my skin.

 

[HawaiianReef]

Ok I feel better, thanks for the replies.
I did drill and ran some rods in, I just only had my ca glues that night and as impatient as I am....
Yeah the accelerator is a nasty necessity. The older stuff was just liquid freon, but since freon was removed from the private market a long time ago we gotta use this stuff. The freon wasn't healthy either by any means, but it worked SO much better.
The CA is just liquid acrylic, CyanoAcrylate. It dries up hard as a rock, likr acrylic. There is a flex compound that I used a few decades back, but I cant remember how well it worked.
The way it dries is by contamination. That's why it doesn't want to set up if it's just sitting on something. So pretty much anything can be the catalyst. I used to mix baking soda and water or alcohol if I had it around. The alcohol dries up better. The water you have to wipe off. The baking soda reacts to the ca fast and sets it. Maybe some powered calcium with water. I know of you had a blob on a rock, sprinkling calcium on it would surely set it and you'd end up with a built up calcium joint. I need to give these a try this weekend. Thats what I should have done. Definitely going to use powdered calcium for my frags instead of the bottled stuff.
Ok.. Im just rambling on.. ;Writing I need a life. Oh wait, thats right. My life is about reefing. Well Then. Done Deal!;Happy