What chemical disolves CA?

[Grayson72]

Hey, does anyone know which chemical disolves CA. My gap filling CA bottles always get all clogged up before I ever finish using the stuff inside.

Thanks,

[dreambrother]

At my hobby shop, there is a CA debonder that you can buy. If you have any acetate lying around, try that as well.

[Grayson72]

At my hobby shop, there is a CA debonder that you can buy. If you have any acetate lying around, try that as well.

Is acetate the same as acetone?

[David Hingtgen]

I believe he means acetone. Acetate is a type of plastic, acetone is a solvent.

Best source for acetone: nail polish remover.

PS--most hobby shops sell cheap replacement tops for CA bottles (because everybody's clogs---also, try trimming the tip off the top)

[Grayson72]

I believe he means acetone. Acetate is a type of plastic, acetone is a solvent.

Best source for acetone: nail polish remover.

PS--most hobby shops sell cheap replacement tops for CA bottles (because everybody's clogs---also, try trimming the tip off the top)

Heh, Acetate, that's kinda what I figured. Thanks, I'll look for the replacement tops, that's a good idea since CA isn't exactly cheap.

[Gerwalker]

Here at my work we use a lot of CA for fixing strain gauges to test samples. The technique we use to keep the bottle tip tube from clogging is to put it in an upright position and press it until all the CA that was in the tube either returns to the bottle or get out. Always clean the tip and close it tight and keep it in the fridge. Another technique I use sometimes is the centrifugal one: shake the bottle like a medical themometer until all the CA in the tip tube gets into the main body of the bottle.

[TER-OR]

Most nail polish removers are a mixture of acetone and ethyl acetate. The -ate suffix just refers to an ester bond, in this case the ethyl alcohol ester of acetic acid. Acetate plastic is a polyester of acetic acid.

Just for clarification's sake. I think the debonder should work, I haven't had any luck using acetone to remove bonded parts glued with CA.

But the caps are cheap.

I've stopped buying very large bottles of CA at hobby shops because it always gets clogged or gummy before I'm halfway through.

Edited October 3, 2003 by TER-OR