What’s CA glue?
Timmy:
CA glue is cyanoacrylate. An ‘instant’ glue that is also abbreviated as ACC and known by lots of names such as crazy glue, super glue, etc.
For glue application information, take a look at:
http://www.thistothat.com/index.shtml
Happy RRing,
Jerry Bowers
Boonville, CA
At the risk of once again being accused of being stupid , dare I point out the safety aspects of this stuff ?
No , I have never glued my eyes shut , stuck my finger to a keyboard , and always check toilet seats for extraneous matter prior to having a read . And so fifth .Much better than so forth .
I did get crabs once . Hong Kong , '56 . They used superglue too . By golly , yes , did they . And they didn’t come from a toilet seat .
Mike
CA is that annoying glue that won’t set and won’t set and won’t set, ah… finally… now to get myself peeled off the train. The next day, you find the part very securely glued to a tie.
I heard once of a lady who mistook the bottle of CA glue for her breath drops. Surprise!
In the hobby shop, you can find several brands in little plastic bottles. Both thin and “gap filling.”
Works on some things, not as good on other. Test a sample before you glue something.
jb
So basically it is Super Glue correct? The reason I am asking is I purchased the following kit, http://www.nemodel.com/shop/agora.cgi?cart_id=8603980.956*Xi8t01&p_id=2231&xm=on&ppinc=search2 from Northeast Model Products. It states when assembling the wheel set to use CA glue.
I am curious if anyone else has had any experience with the kits from Northeast Model Products and what you thought. In my opinion the instructions leave much to be desired.
CA glue was originally developed to assist in surgery, sticking various parts of the body back together. It works well, too.
So, the next time you run your hand through the table saw, just lay a bead of CA along the gaping wound, close it, taking care to align the edges, and save yourself a trip to Emergency.
madwolf
I carry a fresh tube with me whenever I go into the bush for just that instance. Where I go, the 911 guys aren’t coming, and it’s a long walk or paddle back to civilization.
There’s no doubt you will quickly learn that CA is good for sticking various body parts together 
timmyd
Don’t let 'em fool ya…CA Glue is just California Glue…this is why the use of “CA” to name it…The accepted postal abbreviation for California.
Super Glue is from Joisoy…It was developed to hold down the bodies of “dirty rats” disposed of by the Mafia.
The Lone Railroader
Tom Ruby said:Better that than eyedrops :-0
I heard once of a lady who mistook the bottle of CA glue for her breath drops. Surprise!
Tim,
If that’s a wooden kit, super glue doesn’t hold detail parts to wood very good.
I tried some Ozark Mini parts to my wooden scratchbuilt caboose, and it didn’t work.
At least not for me, anyway.
jb
Hey John
As I mention above: “It states when assembling the wheel set to use CA glue.”
Tim
Timmy ,
There are different grades of CA glue usually three from each manufacturer ,designated (guess) thin , medium and thick .
Instructions are usually included on each bottle and are worth reading , because each manufacturer’s “thin” is not necessarily the same consistency as the next .
In general , some thins are superthin , and creep like the very devil . They are best applied by NOT using the bottle/dispenser provided , because it is all too easy for it to contaminate areas you have no wish covered . It does it in an insidious way and you find it’s done it by getting stuck to the model .
The nature of superglue , CA , is that it bonds to skin very rapidly , moreso than the object intended to be glued .
Thick is the best to use on wood , it does not soak away to nothing quite so readily , but takes longer to set . This is not a problem if you can effectively clamp the parts being joined .
I have glued wood with two or three applications of superthin as long as the item is clamped .Only practise with this very useful stuff has told me how to do that ,I have never seen it written down anywhere . The trick is to use its creeping property to shoot itself into the crack between surfaces and soak in on first coat , gradually building up a deep seated wedge of glue . Items glued like this are difficult to separate .
A useful tool to use for application is like a crotchet hook , easily made --you chuck them away anyway --. use a toothpick , cocktail stick , whatever cutting a notch across the end leaving a little “vee” to gather the glue. Like half an arrow head This is dipped into the CA which you will have carefully dispensed into a handy container like the lid of an aspirin bottle and stuck down with blutac .A quick dip in and out picks up more than a slow one . A hanging drop should be present and this is offered up to the join , where capillary action does the job of drawing it in .
Gap filling ca’s are generally thick slow drying ones giving a chance to adjust the parts while they set .
An accelerant can be used , but I would caution the use of this in parts where high strength is required , it definitely weakens a joint ,If you can absolutely guarantee getting the two parts to hit together smack on accurate , spray accelerant on one piece and superglue on the other . The bond is almost instant and if you can handle the small parts with tweezers or a suction tool , this is the best way to attach metal to wood --bear in mind that the paint will hold a small part quite strongly and you should be confident of CA’ing small metal bits to wood . Accelerant to wood , ca to metal .
Warning--------------------------------------- Accelerant shifts paint .
John Bouck is right , they are difficult , but it can be done .
I can write more about this stuff , but my back’s killing me so bye fer now
Mike
ps please ask if you have a problem understanding what I’ve said or need to know about something in particular.
My Railbus made extensive use of CA -the orange one in the model forum
Tim …
You want a pulpwood car to go with that caboose, e-mail me. I got one in a box that I’m never going to get around to builidng… came with another project.
Matt
I have gotten away from using super glues for model construction. I’ve found that over time the joints get brittle and will break very easily. They also have very little shear strength. Joints may not pull apart, but if you can twist them or slide them sideways, they’ll often pop right off. Also, they’re unsuitable for anything that will be outdoors for any length of time. The joints will dissolve over time due to moisture from rain or sprinklers.
You’re far better advised to use a 5-minute epoxy for dissimilar materials such as metal to plastic, etc. One trick I use is to apply a small drop of CA to hold the piece in place while the epoxy dries. Typically, I’ll use solvent cement for plastic-to-plastic joints, Titebond II (water resistant PVA glue) for wood, and epoxy for everything else. Since getting away from CA, I’ve had far fewer problems with bits breaking off over time.
As far as the Northeast Narrow Gauge kits go, I built one of their Porter 0-4-0 kits years ago. A bit lacking on detail, which the builder can certainly add to his/her heart’s content. The finish on the wheels is atrocious, and the gear/drivetrain left much to be desired as well. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I wouldn’t build another loco from them, but I’d use it as a starting point, building my own frames and engineering a new gear train. I’ve not built their car kits, but the pull-out plans in GR are identical to many of NENG’s kits. Again, they need a healthy dose of modeler’s input for details, but they work for what they are.
Later,
K
And there was me wondering where the little piles of corner braces and boxcar ends had come from . Silly me . I must hasten forth to my grotto and relieve myself of all this distinctly dodgy CA muck .
I was even silly enough to ca glue couplers from Kadee onto bodies , I must snap them off before they fall . I didn’t think what might happen if I put more than 6 heavy wagons behind an engine .Live and learn , eh ?
Mike
When CA first came out in the 70’s, a friend used it to build the motor mount for an RC airplane. It turns out the stuff dissovles in glow fuel :o I was glad I’d stuck with epoxy 
Quote:If they haven't yet, they will in time. I've had 100% failure of all CA'd coupler mounts--and I had quite a few of them from when I, too, believed CA was the end-all, be-all. This is especially prevalent on rigid mounts other than the "standard" coupler pocket. The stress from continual coupling and uncoupling during prototype operations will do them in. We do indeed "live and learn." Now, my general rule of thumb is to not use glue where a mechanical fastener is perfectly practical. (It also makes disassembly for maintenance and repair much easier.)
I was even silly enough to ca glue couplers from Kadee onto bodies , I must snap them off before they fall .
Later,
K
Kevin , this is a serious business .
Have you reported your findings to the aerospace industry ?
If not , I would do so , along with a full report of your findings in triplicate ,along with experimental data in NASA /CAA format so that a comparison can be made with official clearance data for use in aircraft construction .
Otherwise , the next time certain aircraft have their wings drop off , the ensuing inquiry will find you out .
Mike
ps after reading your warning , I inspected evry CA’d model I have . Hence the long time to respond . I now have the equivalent of a lot of kits to work on . Unfortunately , I also mixed the pieces up so I am going to be busy with the Gorilla glue for a long time yet . Funnily enough , I also find that it doesn’t matter too much , the boxcar brown strapping goes quite well on reefer yellow . I shall see if the reverse is true when I get round to those .
Do them in proper order , you see .
Mike,
I did. The FAA and NASA both thanked me for my concern, but politely informed me that the wings of their aircraft are properly welded and/or riveted in place, so there was no need for worry. (And the last time the wings fell off an aircraft out here in Colorado, the cause was determined to be metal fatigue. The gusset plate itself broke–the rivets holding it in place were all sound.)
If your CA experiences have been different from mine, Mike, fabulous. Glad to hear it works for you. It doesn’t for me–I’ve had too many failures over the years for a number of environmental reasons. I’ve simply gone to glues which are individually better suited for their particular tasks; such as solvent cements for plastic, wood glues for wood, solders, epoxies, polyurethanes, and mechanical fasteners for other bits as the situation dictates. That’s not to say they don’t fail, either, just not with the frequency I was experiencing with the CA glues. I still use CA for various applications–it certainly has its place in the universe. But I won’t use it for anything that can be broken off with everyday handling, or anything that will be exposed to the elements.
You “stick” with your glue, I’ll “stick” with mine. 
Later,
K