what can substitute super glue

[Dog1]

i am tired of using this glue for very small parts and cables , it either destroys or damages the tips and hardens the cables . What else can be used that also does'nt cause damage to skin  ? 

[spejic]

I like two-part epoxies for lots of things people use superglue for. I don't think it's great on skin either, but before it is set you can clean it easily with water (same for cleaning excess of your parts). Plus you get lots of work time. It's biggest failing is that it has almost zero strength holding parts until it is dry so you need something to hold parts in place unless gravity is doing it for you.

 

You can also try regular PVA or white glue. It holds things while drying, dries clear and shrinks so it is hard to see, is easy on skin, and also has water clean up when wet (or even when dry if you work at it).

 

There are also many other kinds of glues that don't see a lot of use in modeling because they dry flexible or might otherwise be unsandable and unpaintable, but they may be of use in cases where you are bonding already painted multimedia parts. These are things like contact cements, polyurethane glues, or Loctite GO2. Usually these are messy, and some are terrible for skin. You can also try thick acrylic gel medium, which dries flexible and doesn't have super hold power, but is easy to work with and hey it's acrylic so you can tint it or paint over it with your model paints.

 

[arnobiz]

It depends on the working time and strength you're looking for. Varnish (Future) can work on some parts, epoxy glue is a good candidate as outlined by the above post. That being said there are many types of superglue out there: thick, thin, slow, with rubber microballs (black) to make it more flexible... Have you tried these?

 

Another approach would be to challenge the way you apply it: how do you work with superglue? Are you sure you don't apply too much of it?

[ElectroSoldier]

I ditched super glue for cables and such plumbing a while ago in favour of epoxy glues.

As long as the wires, pipe, rods, fabric is pre shaped in as much as possible (become adept at using two pairs of tweezers and some needle nose pliers in a vice or helping hands) then the fact that the epoxy isnt as sticky from the off doesnt matter as much as it would when its trying to hold the shapes.

Dizzy caps and coil packs look so much better when you cant see the glue blob.

The end result isnt as robust as super glue but it looks better and it doesnt frazzle your fabric covers.

 

PVA is always a good try but Rocket card glue is a surprising contender and well worth a look.