Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/22/gel-super-glue-is-the-best-kin.html
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Gorilla Gel super glue is terrible; you buy that huge bottle thinking it will last forever but it just all dries up in under a year. I’ve had it happen twice. I just the packages of numerous tiny tubes now.
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Came here to say the same; not necessarily Gorilla, but all super glues. I’ve found that the Krazy Glue that comes in a tube with a little thumbtack that keeps the aperture clear lasts longest, but yeah, they are mostly one-time-use.
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I recently got some unsolicited advice: " Don’t trust all-purpose glue."
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I’ve had a tube of superglue in the freezer in a ziploc bag with a silica packet for over a year now and it still works (as of 3 days ago). Would the same work for the gorilla stuff?
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i’ve used a lot of cyanoacrylate glues over the years, and the best packaging i’ve found is Loctite’s. the top closes positively and the squeezy side buttons, while stiff, give pretty good control. https://www.loctiteproducts.com/en/products/fix/super-glue/loctite_super_glueultragelcontrol.html
with the gel style glues, i almost always use an accelerator or activator to kick it off as soon as parts are where i want them. i’ve used a few brands and they all preform more or less the same, butmostly use this one because it’s available near me https://www.fastcap.com/product/2p-10-activator-2oz-refill
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I recently started trying the gel version, but I don’t have an informed enough opinion yet.
All I can say is the classic watery super glue has never been all that super to me. There are a few very specific uses, for most of which 2-part epoxy works as well, but you have to mix up a lot of epoxy even if you need only a tiny amount (or else you risk it being too brittle or too soft.)
They do make single use packs of super glue, that come in multiple tiny tubes. Wasteful packaging, but at the same time logical owing to the nature of the product.
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For modeling, I use the gel mostly, but have the liquid kind for special jobs, e.g., when the best idea seems to be to clamp something and let capillary action draw the liquid into the join.
I keep both types in a mason jar, with about four inches of Drierite in the bottom to keep the moisture down (which is what cures it). Both jars have lasted for a number of years now. A jar of Drierite isn’t all that expensive.
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Superglue (cyanoacrylate) is moisture cured. The silica pack makes sense. So does the freezer, due to the low humidity. Otherwise, it can sit at room temperature forever.
I’m less familiar with the chemical action of Gorilla Glue, a polyurethane. But it appears to also be moisture catalyzed. So your method should work.
Fun story: There was a product assembled in the midwest with cyanoacrylate. When assembly was move to the southwest, everything fell apart. Literally. The difference in humidity meant it wasn’t curing correctly.
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I agree – the Loctite applicator is really great. It also greatly reduces the risk of getting any of the glue on your fingers. The funny thing is if you crack it open, it’s just a regular tube of glue inside.
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Yeah, yeah, glue, whatever. Where’s the product recommendation for the elephant coffee creamer?
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Even with those, I generally find that “superglue” only lasts two or three uses at best before the nozzle gets glued closed. I don’t even know how…
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Funny story about superglue:
Co worker handed me an acrylic box to hold that was broken. I looked at it and said, “you should use crazy glue on it.”
She replied, “I did.”
To my horror, she had basically painted it in crazy glue. That short exchange was all it took for it to bond with my hands. That was an ouch. She went on to become a pharmacist so hopefully she learned to advise the end-user a bit better. I also learned a valuable lesson that helps me in my line of work.
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Not only does the nozzle glue shut, the entire contents of the bottle dries solid.
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That cat got taste. 
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that’s funny, i’ve never looked inside
I doubt it, speaking for myself…
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by the way @frauenfelder you used the wrong stuff. gorilla glue is for when you break your gorilla.
this is the glue you wanted
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And because it’s thicker, it works well on porous surfaces, like the ones on this elephant coffee creamer that one of our cats broke.
Cats don’t break elephant coffee creamers.
Gravity breaks elephant coffee creamers.
Cats: never leave Earth without them (if you are taking elephant coffee creamers off-world).
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