Cyanoacrylate vs. "Super Glue"

The instructions for the latest kit that I hope to build has an "Adhesives" section and in the subsection on "Cyanoacrylate (CA)" it says "CA glues are also known as 'Super Glue', the household brands found in the grocery store, etc., are not recommended for hobby construction." It suggests instead using only CAs stocked by hobby stores. It doesn't give any reasons why convenience store or department store "Super Glue" is not recommended, so I'm curious as to why. I have a few rocket bits to "Super Glue" right now, so should I wait until I get some hobby store CA? I'm somewhat adhesive illiterate.

I thought CA glue was basically super glue so I can't answer that question. What exactly are you gluing together?

I am very happy with Loctite CA as my standard go-to "medium" CA. Can get that anywhere, and it is fine.

Also use Bob Smith thin CA; *that* is more of a hobby store item (or Amazon). Bob Smith also has many other varieties with varying properties that I haven't tried.

https://www.starbond.com/tutorials/difference-between-cyanoacrylate-and-super-glue/

Here's a quick write up, but they're basically the same. Most of the super cheap stuff in the little tubes at dollar stores and HF seem to just be thin CA. Unless you need something special or a large amount I can't see an issues using whatever you find off the shelf. If you need foam safe CA this obviously won't work, but that's fairly obvious.

I agree. In my book, they are both the same.

Well, this thread ruined my excuse for going to the hobby shop today. So THANKS A LOT!!

Joking of course, but thanks for the responses. I didn't want to buy anything that I didn't need and I didn't want to use anything not recommended. I'm still not sure why the directions say what they do about "Super Glue," but it sounds like I can disregard that passage. Onwards!

ewomack said:

Well, this thread ruined my excuse for going to the hobby shop today. So THANKS A LOT!!

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Dude. The only excuse you need to go to a hobby shop is because it’s there.

You might find browsing the glue selection to be interesting; I usually browse the whole area at HL just to see if there’s anything I don’t recognize.

You may be interested in this thread: https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/different-varieties-of-ca.151513/

neil_w said:

Dude. The only excuse you need to go to a hobby shop is because it’s there.

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This wins the Internet for today!

Advantage to the hobby store stuff is that you can get it in much larger bottles, making it several times cheaper if you use some amount of it regularly. I use the medium thickness the most. Anything that is OEM'd from BSI is OK, though I've been partial to the Zap line for a long time, mostly in the name of consistency. It's available in 1/2, 1, 2 and 4oz bottles at $5-6/oz. I would not buy from dollar stores or HF because you don't know what you're getting. Pro tip - keep the stuff in the fridge and an opened bottle will last a year or two, and unopened ones almost indefinitely.

Dollar store CA does have its place. I buy a pack of ten very small tubes of CA for $1.25 at the local flea market. I doubt that they're even half full; just enough in one tube to strengthen the end of an airframe or two. It's actually very good for this, as it appears to be one of the low molecular weight cyanoacrylate molecules; extremely thin and wicks quite well.

For structural work, however, the kind of CA I use is epoxy. I don't mind waiting for a joint to cure.