A tube of super glue

There’s this supposedly Golden Rule of the Toolbox. You only need two tools in your toolbox:

Duct tape to stick, WD-40 to unstick.

I personally have a wide assortment of tools for sticking I have an assortment of adhesive tapes and glues. As far as glues go, my favorite is super glue.

I used to work with super glue for hobby stuff (miniature models) for gluing together smooth-surfaced non-porous material. (Never use too much on plastic, though, it’d melt it up.) Oh yeah, CSI uses it’s vapors for fingerprinting too.

I’ve also had those inevitable share of accidents – letting the glue drip somewhere, or have some excess glue run down. Now how are you supposed to remove super glue when it’s built to stick, dry, and last for all eternity?

Now here are a few things that I’ve tried so far that worked:

  • Dabbing the excess with terry cloth

    Don’t wipe it off! You’ll just be spreading it to a larger surface. If you used too much. Dab it with an old but clean terry cloth. Don’t use tissue too. You’d just compound the problem with tissue fabric clinging on dried super glue.

  • Acetone

    Your good old nail polish remover. This chemical supposedly eats up super glue (it’s some kind of plastic). So dab it on, wait for the super glue to soften, then dab it off quickly before it dries up again. For fabrics, you can use acetone then try to brush it off with an old toothbrush.

    Don’t use this on 1) sensitive fabric 2) plastic (would melt the plastic too!) and 3) varnishes and other finishes.

  • Warm water and soap

    Let the thing soak for a bit, when the glue softens up a bit then wipe it off. The soap will prevent it from clinging and drying on again.

  • Fine grit sandpaper

    You also have to be careful with this one. This works well for those metal surfaces hopefully those with finishes you’re not to keen with. Sand it in a circular motion then wipe it off with a soft cloth.

  • Super glue remover

    Hot damn! They have this one? Yes, apparently, the ones mentioned above are granny remedies. You can buy this one from your local hardware and DIY shops.

If you get some on your skin, acetone works pretty well. Just in case you glued you fingers together or something, don’t try pulling it apart! You’re risking ripped skin and flesh (gross!).

I’d really appreciate if other people might have some aces up their sleeves for super glue. Care to share?

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