LowAndSlow

My Feedback: (5)

I was elated when I discovered CA glue in the eighties, but when I received a bad sinus "cold" every time I worked with it, I realised I had to give it up. I tried masks, a fan blowing away the fumes, etc. I tried it again recently, and my head was clogged up for days. My question- are there any CA's on the market that are easier on the respiratory system? Have others who are affected like me worked out a way to safely use these handy forms of WMD? :stupid:

tamusdh

My Feedback: (4)

i have sim simptoms, except CA tends to give me bloody noses by drying out my nose. i switch to wood glue to fix that problem.

Jim_McIntyre

Same problem here.

Solved by using Lepages "Yellow Carpenter's Glue". :thumbup:

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

Seems to me someone made an oderless CA. think it was hot stuff.

I have developed the same symptoms over the years. The kicker is worse than the glue. I still use a ton of it. Can't let a thing like that slow down the hobby.

bgi

My Feedback: (7)

Bob Smith Industries, maker of most of the store-branded CA's has a line of low-odor CA. It's more expensive but without the acrid nose-killing eye-burning fumes. I've used it some after the headache, head cold, and bloody nose. The shelf life seems to be a bit shorter once it's opened. Keep the lid on it. Lately I just use the normal CA with better ventilation.

www.bsiadhesives.com their web site seems to be down now.

This page has a photo of BSI's low-odor CA on the top right (with the gold label).

http://www.info-central.org/construc...dhesives.shtml

From BSI: "Super-Gold and Super-Gold+ are Bob Smith's odorless Insta-Cure CA's. They are non-frosting and take only 2 to 3 seconds longer to bond. There are no fumes that irritate the nose and eyes. The Super-Gold's do not attack white foam; therefore, they can be used in the building of foam core wings and the assembly and repair of plastic and foam ARF's. They will not fog clear plastic. Super-Gold+ is ideal for attaching clear canopies in plastic model kits; however, Maxi-Cure is still recommended for assembling the rest of plastic kits. Wood can be bonded to white foam with Super-Gold+ in less than fifteen seconds. For bonding foam to foam, spray a very light fog of Insta-Set to one piece and apply Super-Gold+ to the other before joining. Excess Insta-Set may create too much heat, which can melt the foam. Both Super-Gold's cure to a more flexible consistency for better shock absorption. Whenever a large amount of CA is to be used in such applications as saturating fiberglass or Kevlar, Super-Gold eliminates the irritating fumes from the evaporating monomer that make repeated use of CA unpleasant at times."

LowAndSlow

My Feedback: (5)

Thanks BGI- I'll try to find the gold CA. L&S

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

There is a ton of odorless CA on ebay right now. I don't know much about the brand. Just thought I would mention it.

bgi

My Feedback: (7)

I would wonder how fresh the ebay glue is. It doesn't sell so well and doesn't keep as well as the standard. Hmmm..

thanks, flyboy.

lownslo

I also have headaches and a bloody nose. I use CA only when it is the most convienent glue for that particular area. I use yellow glue and that dreaded word... HEAVY epoxy. (I don't worry about a couple ounces of epoxy weight). I cannot speak from experience, but I have read that the low odor type is slower to set up. .....lownslo...(the way I like to fly)

Bob

jmulder

My Feedback: (6)

It has started to get to me latley too. After I get finished building for an evening I get so I have a hard time breathing. Its kinda like I have to fight to breath. It has gotten so bad here lately I have had to start taking breathing treatments................John

Intruder38

As reported on numerous other threads, CA can be extremely hazardous to your health. I have developed asthmatic bronchitis as an allergic reaction to it and have read that heart arythmia is also a possibility. Fans, masks, etc. may work but all it takes for me to react is the slightest whiff (By the way, I had no problems for years until I got sensitized to it a few years ago) so the risk is not worth the benefit. There are good odorless CAs out there, B&B Specialties "Super-Gold" is the best I've found. They are twice the price, take a little longer to set up (seconds longer), and have a limited shelf life (Maybe a year). I use the odorless when I need to and aliphatics everywhere else. A little slower? Sure! But it gives me time to contemplate the beauty of my work, take a few deep breaths to relax between steps, and eliminates the need to hack my brains out because I got a whiff of the real CA.

LowAndSlow

My Feedback: (5)

I've been using aliphatics and epoxy for most of my work, and when I need CA, like gluing hinges, I take a deep breath, hold it, and open the bottle, apply as many drops as I have time for, then run out of the room and stay out for about 15 minutes! I hope the CA manufacturers get some class-action suits, so they will make it all "odorless"!

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

BGI, most of the glue on ebay is brand new out of the package. Depends on who you buy from. Most of the time it will be fresher than you can get at the LHS. The guys that sell it order whatever quantity, and then sell it all. It doesn't sit. I buy a ton of different stuff on ebay. Never had a problem with any of it. Probably spent close to ten grand last year on there. You can tell how old by reading the descriptions, if not, I always email them and ask. You can find anything you want on there usually at better prices than buying anywhere else. Just saved over a hundred bucks on an alpine car sterio. Got it for $139 New in the box instead of $250 locally.

I wouldn't worry too much about the glue going bad.

CafeenMan

Carpenter's glue. It is superior to CA in every way except drying time. It's lighter, stronger, looks better because you can clean up the excess instead of having glue slopped everywhere and MUCH less expensive. Also it gives you a lot more working time.

Plan your project right and you won't be waiting for glue to dry which is the main selling point of CA. That's just poor project management. There is so much to do that you should never be sitting there watching glue dry.

LowAndSlow

My Feedback: (5)

"Work is Love made visible"....Gibran (The Prophet)

ziomatrixacs

stop sniffin glue yall lol idk if i makes me sick as long as it holds my struts on my humming bird (i stoped replacing them,i practice the famous boomstrike :devious: )

bgi

My Feedback: (7)

Hey, Flyboy. Thanks for the eBay update. That's a really good point. I expect the LHS supply could easily get old! Didn't know about the stuff on eBay - just wondering of someone picked up some surplus or firesale and wanted to unload it. Sounds like a better source.

thanks!

Charlie P.

CA bother's me a bit, too.

I won some of the BSI Super Gold in a raffle and have been very happy with it. I especially like it for doing CA hinges, where I'm trying to count out 6 drops and not slop onto the wing - so I generally have my eyes and nose right in there close. The thin takes a bit longer to set than Zap or Tower thin, but once set it is as strong as any other. I really liked the CA paste in a tube. It stays put and is easy to work with, and had less fumes. This was not "odorless" but did put out less odor(?).


I also use Aileen's Craft Cement (an aliphiatic) with excellent results. It dries a bit more flexible than other white and yellow glues I have used.

pkindustries

Yes i had the same problem with CA making me hack my branes out untill i Started PK Industries
www.pkindustries.net Please give it a try 1oz $6.99 2oz $12.75

kamakasi

My Feedback: (3)

sounds like those of who how are affected by the ca glues have become sensitized to the cyanate. Please don't take chances. If you are to the point where breathing becomes difficult you could one day find yourself not breathing. I don't believe the orderless varieties will help if this is a sensitization. It's the chemical that gets to you not the smell. If you must keep using ca glue wear a respirator with an organic compound filter (activated charcoal). Please don't take chances. I had a friend die from just such a problem. He was sensitized to a catalyst in a paint. One day he had "just a small job to paint" so he did not bother with his respirator. By the time they got him to the er he was dead. If you have problems using the glue but insist anyway keep some benadryl on hand it might keep you breathing till you get to the hospital.[&o]

michpittsman

My Feedback: (11)

I started getting sick as a dog a few years ago with regular CA. I switched to odorless and I no longer have any reaction to it. My LHS doesn't sell enough of it to keep fresh in stock, so I order six at a time and chuck it in the freezer until needed. Once at room temp it lasts me about four or five months, and it warms up to ambient temp in a half-hour. I use Zap-O because most distributors carry it and I don't have to wait for my LHS to make up a BSI order. If you want to try a small amount, Plasti-zap is the odorless stuff sold for plastics and it comes in a smaller bottle. Odorless sets up a little slower because it is slightly thicker than regular thin CA. Whatever you use, BE CAREFUL! When you are young, you think you are bulletproof; I hope you never find out you are not...JIM

pete913

I can't use the stuff anymore either. I had a scenario here once where I was soldering using a 100 watt soldering iron near some long since cured CA, and got it hot enough to start smoking. It knocked me for a loop. They had to take me to the hospital cause I couldnt breathe, and the doc asked me what i'd been doing. When I told him, he kinda rolled his eyes and said to me, "CA glue? do you know what 's IN that stuff?" Then he proceeded to read me a laundry list of carcinogens and poisons in it. I can have all the time I want to build a model airplane, but I've only got one life, and I'd sorta like to live it in a reasonable state of health, so no more CA for me TYVM.

ben flyn

Does anyone have the same reactions to epoxy? I just put a ton of epoxy over fiberglass to join to wing halves, and now I'm having an allergic reaction.

FHHuber

Yes, you CAN become allergic to the gasses that can come off of a batch of epoxy. (pluss a large batch can heat up sending off TOXIC fumes.... Maybe even igniting the styro cup you mixed it in.[X(])

The bigger the batch of epoxy... the slower the cure time stuff you should be mixing. I never mix more than about 1 CC (thats 0.5 CC of each part) of 5 min per batch any more.

Also... don't get uncured epoxy (or unmixed parts of it) on your skin. You can absorb toxic chemicals from the liquid. (the most common way to develop epoxy sensitivity is excess exposure this way)

And... spraying epoxy paints... get a respirator. there is an odd reaction that can happen. Your system will absorb a chemical from the stuff, and it builds up in your blood. Your liver and kidneys don't filter it out. It shorts out the electric signal in your heart when you have too much in your system. Only cure is a pacemaker.

ben flyn

FHHuber,
Are you a Doctor? You sound very knowelgable.
So, I had my hands (coated with epoxy) smoothing out fiberglass would cause an allergic reaction?
Then of course you have to clean the new and set-up epoxy that got on your hands with acetone!

Hmm.. I just wonder why I'm sneezing?