Brushable CA?

[BigRiJoe]

In the July-August 2010 issue of Sport Rocketry, there's an article about a seminar at NARCON 2010 dealing with finishing. The speaker mentioned something about "brashable" CA. Could someone mention a specific brand and comment on the application technique?

 

[gpoehlein]

I just use thin CA and a cheap pack of brushes I bought at Walmart (you can't clean 'em). You can either squirt the CA on the item you're coating and spread it out with the brush or you can squirt it onto a pallet and paint it on. In either case, be sure to use plenty of ventilation, eye protection and avoid painting CA when the humidity is really high (like during a rain storm) - the stuff will set up in your brush extra fast when there's a lot of moisture in the air.

 

[dixontj93060]

Any CA should work. As mentioned, just buy some cheap acid brushes (I get mine at the local Harbor Freight).

 

[BobH48]

Loctite sells some CA in a bottle with a brush in the cap. As long as the brush remained in the bottle, in contact with the remaining CA, it didn't get hard and crusty.

I used to get it at Walmart but haven't seen it there lately.

 

[tonypv]

It's Loctite Easy Brush that I talked about in my presentation at NARCON.
I was getting it at Wal Mart and Lowes but they don't seem to be carrying it any more. I have found it on line.

The trick to keeping the brush from getting gunked up is what ever your using it on MUST be clean and dust free.
If you do get anything on the brush just use a paper towel and pull it off the brush.

I use this stuff all the time for sealing balsa nose cones and transitions, strengthening paper shrouds, coating the inside of body tubes and many other uses.

Works great for me.

 

[bradycros]

It's Loctite Easy Brush that I talked about in my presentation at NARCON.
I was getting it at Wal Mart and Lowes but they don't seem to be carrying it any more. I have found it on line.

The trick to keeping the brush from getting gunked up is what ever your using it on MUST be clean and dust free.
If you do get anything on the brush just use a paper towel and pull it off the brush.

I use this stuff all the time for sealing balsa nose cones and transitions, strengthening paper shrouds, coating the inside of body tubes and many other uses.

Works great for me.

Would you please share where you found it online with us?

 

[n5wd]

Would you please share where you found it online with us?

Google (and Amazon) is your friend...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007894AW/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[MarkII]

I see the Loctite product all the time at local hardware stores like Ace. Crazy Glue also has CA in a bottle that has a brush in the cap. Otherwise, Testor's small enamel paint brushes are great for applying CA. Warning: if you have a large bottle of hobby shop CA (such as BSI), do not unscrew the cap and dip your brush (or anything else) into the bottle. Doing so will introduce contaminants into it that will cause the remaining CA to harden. As Greg mentioned, dispense a little bit onto a piece of wax paper and then pick it up with the brush. Work fast, before the CA hardens on the bristles. You can reclaim the brushes afterward by soaking the bristles in nail polish remover or straight acetone.

 

[tonypv]

Would you please share where you found it online with us?

Here a couple of places I found it:

https://www.shoplet.com/Loctite-Super-Glue-Easy-Brush-No-Tip-Bottle/LOC0125446/spdv

https://www.discountofficeitems.com...edium=shopping_engine&utm_source=shopping.com

Much better prices than Amazon.
As n5wd said Google is your friend.

 

[Micromeister]

As several have already mentioned good ol'e acid brushed in 1/2" or 3/4" work fine with most Med or thick CA's.

Personally I don't bother with an acid brush on most CA soaking projects preferring to use a folded paper towel instead as a mop. This works very well with the slower Med and Thick CA's. When done just toss the towel mop in the trashcan.

 

[BigRiJoe]

okay great. I decided I'd coat the laser cut pieces of a Cici I had lying around. One coat? Two coats? Threes coats? What type of sanding between coats?

 

[Trident]

Another way to spread thin CA is to use a Q-tip. Obviously not a useful tool if you are coating a large surface, but I use this method to toughen the inside of body tubes, especially at the front end, where the nose cone fits. With a Q-tip, you can make a very thing coating, and accurately apply. I'll typically follow up with a rolled up piece of sandpaper to smooth the area that was painted with the CA.

If you have motor tubes that are longer than the motor, such as a stuffer tube, do the same, and you've toughened the tube against ejection blast and residue.

 

[scadaman29325]

I just bought some Gorilla Super Glue Brush and Nozzle for strengthening papered fins. This stuff is pretty thick. Seemed to work very well, but was pretty gooey go on.

Can I just pour thin CA in the bottle to make it thinner?

 

[beeblebrox]

Use epoxy, not CA for that... Bob Smith has a 20 minute one that is real runny compared to the others (5,15 or 30 min). It is meant for brushing on thin coats and wont quickly seize like CA tends to. Since it is slower cure, it will wick into the paper very well. For papered fins, use a single edge razor blade as a squeegie. put thin coat on fin, lay on paper, do both sides at once. set fin on smooth surface on top of a piece of polyethylene bag (Ziplok) put another piece of plastic bag on top. weigh it down with books or something else heavy. use 24# paper.

 

[neil_w]

I have that same Gorilla glue. I don’t like it much at all; smells bad, too gooey, and that clear brush is annoying. I wouldn’t waste time trying to dilute it.

Suggestion: use regular medium CA (I use Loctite in the triangular long-necked bottle) or thin CA (I use Bob Smith). Apply directly to a cotton swab and spread it around as needed.

Lately I use the thin CA when I want to emphasize soaking in and strengthening; medium when I want more of a hard coating. Thin has been my workhorse.

 

[jqavins]

You can reclaim the brushes afterward by soaking the bristles in nail polish remover or straight acetone.

As an aside, I've discovered pretty much the same thing for cleaning up spills. Spill a little CA on the work surface, reach for a paper towel and wipe, you've got paper towel glued to your work surface. Wet the towel with water and it's even worse. But wet the towel with acetone and you can wipe the stuff right up. Acetone won't uncure or debond CA as far as I can tell, but it inhibits curing.

 

[scadaman29325]

Acetone, on the list as well as debonder.

I've been squirting thin on a q-tip lately to coat the inside edges of the BTs. That works pretty good. I was afraid of wasting too much, but seems not to take as much as I thought it would. A drop did the job on an 18mm.

Before that, I put a drop inside the BT and tried to swirl that around. I wouldn't reccomend that technique. It made a mess.

 

[Nytrunner]

I've found a toothpick dipped in the thin stuff is good for smearing inside body tube lips.

Now with 2" or larger, I just drip directly inside and use the toothpick to draw and spread it. The bug tubes soak that stuff up like nobody's business