Archive for the ‘Repairs’ Category

Super Glue Makes Everyone Seem Handy!

March 4th, 2010

We were chuckling when we read a recent post by Lynne, author of the Stealing Mom blog.  Lynne recounts in amazement how her “not a handyman” husband was able to repair several home projects in one day by using super glue.

Here’s how Lynne starts the story:  “Scott called me at work to ask me where the Super Glue® was and he would not tell me why he wanted it. My heart dropped to my feet at the thought of what all he could do with glue in his hands. As I’ve already mentioned, he is not a handyman. These little home projects usually create havoc when he attempts them. Later in the day I met him at the Mall and he was actually giddy and boasting about some home projects that he had completed.”

There is nothing like the satisfaction of being able to see instant success!  Luckily we at Super Glue Corporation often get to hear stories just like Lynne’s.  People are amazed by how easy super glue works and how easily, and quickly, it restores things back to working order in seconds!  It’s the handiest tool around.  And the good thing is it makes everyone who uses it seem handy as well!

This story has a very happy ending …. Lynne’s husband, Scott, was able to reattach a plastic piece to make the refrigerator vegetable bin work again and also fixed the mailbox just by using super glue!

What about you readers:  What have you magically repaired using super glue?  Does super glue make you feel handy?  Do you consider super glue one of the handiest tools in your toolbox?  We’d love to hear from you – Tell us your story!

2010 Winter Olympics Musings

February 24th, 2010

lg-vancouver2010_16d-aJ

[PHOTO CREDIT:  www.vancouver2010.com]

What would this month have been without the Winter Olympics to watch on tv each evening?  All of the gifted, committed athletes gathering together, in Vancouver, from around the globe, hoping to achieve their personal best and maybe even bring home a medal!  Each event is exciting and each personal story so inspiring.  All of the daily effort, hard work, drive and support it takes to reach this pinnacle of excellence is truly motivational.  The side story to all of this is what impacts everyone who watches even just one of the events or hears just one of the personal stories.  Events like the Olympics remind us that passion and focus are critical to success!

So many of the athletes talk about how, when they were youngsters starting out in the sport, they followed their Olympic heroes and  dreamt of the day when they, too, might participate in the games.  Suddenly, around town we witness increases in attendance at the local skating rinks.  Four year olds know the names of Shaun White,  Shani Davis, Apolo Anton Ono, Lindsey Vonn,  Bode Miller and so many others.  They begin to emulate their style; climbing the hillsides pretending to snowboard down on a sheet of plywood or plastic sheeting like them; dressing like them; reading about them; following them.  And suddenly a new batch of heroes emerge.

The new heroes might not be athletes though.  They may end up being teachers, doctors, engineers, inventors, parents, writers, landscapers, scientists, electricians, or artists.  But the same sticktoitiveness, passion and focus, that takes an athlete to the Olympics, fuels all of the creative producers in the world.  It’s exciting to witness all kinds of passion and focus and we, as consumer product manufacturers and distributors, get to see lots of it in action ourselves. 

Many of the consumers of our products here at Super Glue Corporation are extreme hobbyists, crafters, artists, engineers, and technicians who, each in their own way, model the same characteristics as Olympic athletes.  They are focused achievers who are driven by passion to create, invent, design and improve.  They are risk takers who use their imagination to envision things that they then set out to bring to fruition.  It’s quite impressive.

One interesting fact (also connected to the Winter Olympics – I warned you there were musings in this post:)) is that snowboarders use epoxies and super glues to build and repair their boards.  This makes perfect sense.  Epoxies and super glues are super strong and work really well with substates, involved in building snowboards; like woods, metals, fiberglass, kevlar, etc.  We even have a waterproof epoxy that will hold up under the most extreme wet, winter conditions.  Chips, dings, and other repairs can be fixed in minutes using these inexpensive, readily available products.

For fun, check out the The Adventures of John blog for some details on how to make your own snowboard. 

Through research for this blog, and from the consumers who write in to us at info@supergluecorp.com, we get to see passion, focus and creativity in action.  We get to connect and link into how real, talented people are using our products to meet specific challenges which, in turn, helps motivate us to improve, advance, and deliver more choices and better products.  We all share a kind of  Olympic spirit. Our motto is “Adhering to Excellence”.  What about you?  Do you have a passion and focus in your work or career that you feel is similar to an Olympian’s desire to be at the top of their game?  Tell us about it.

We love hearing from you, and we love working with consumers to ensure that you have the right products for all of your adhesive needs!

Gotta go now …. need to finish up with my work so I can catch some USA hockey in a few … SCORE!

Trophy Repair! Another reason to keep super glue handy …

November 18th, 2009

Dylan's Trophy

[Photo Credit: "Our Little Circus" blog ]
Loved this photo and blog entry in the “Our Little Circus” blog. What a happy moment when all the team receives their soccer trophies! Can’t beat the joy … and often … a few minutes later … the pain – when in the chaos of the moment the trophy gets dropped and breaks apart. Michelle, the mom and author of the blog, writes: “And exactly three minutes after this photo was taken, Dylan’s trophy fell on the floor and the head broke right off. Super glue saved the day and we ended another soccer season on a high note.”

This is a perfect reason for keeping super glue handy at all times! Restore those smiles in an instant!! Smart moms know these things :) Way to go, Michelle!!

More Reasons To Keep Super Glue With You At All Times ;)

November 9th, 2009

The new movie 2012 coming out on Friday, November 13th is a good reminder of why it’s important to keep super glue with you at all times!  You just never know what might come up that needs fixing …. might be a good idea to keep a couple of 12-packs with you at all times – original and gel that is ;)

Back to College Tip – Send Super Glue Along!

August 31st, 2009

Hot Tip! – Send super glue along with college students for quick dorm room repairs!  Many of our best product use tips come to us directly from our customers.  Here’s a great story, sent in by Josiah, demonstrating just how handy a tube of super glue can be:

“My story involves a college dorm room a broken towel rack and Super Glue.  Due to an unfortunate turn of events the towel rack in my college dorm room broke free from the wall.  It had two feet that held it to the wall and one side came off.  I didn’t panic even though I knew that I would be charged for the damage.  I knew that I had a secret weapon that could save me some badly needed cash.  I went for my Super Glue like a frat boy towards an unguarded beer can.  I carefully applied the glue to the wall and to the part of the rack that had come loose.  I pressed it up to the wall and held on to it like I normally hold on to my wallet.  When I was sure it was dry I let go and tested it.  By the grace of all that is sacred it stayed in place and I avoided a damage charge that semester. . .”

[Super Glue Blogger's note:  Great tip and we also suggest you send along a pack or two of  HandiTAK with college students.  Great for hanging posters, calendars, and pictures without damaging dorm room walls.  Just don't forget to knead the HandiTAK until it is tacky for super holding power!]

Terracotta Warriors Restored With Super Glue!

August 27th, 2009

Terra Cotta Warriors[Photo Credit: Houston Museum of Natural Science]

According to an article in New Scientist :

“Chemists have found a way to stop the paint from peeling off the famous terracotta warrior statues unearthed in China.

The life-sized statues, discovered in 1974, guard the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi, the first emperor of China who died in 210 BC. Over 1500 warriors have been unearthed to date, many with bright red uniforms.

But all lost their paint almost as soon as they were removed from the moist soil where they had lain undisturbed for 2200 years. “If you excavate them, they dry out instantly and in five minutes, the paint peels off,” explains Heinz Langhals, from the University of Munich in Germany.

Thousands more of the warriors remain buried at the mausoleum in Lindong, awaiting excavation. Now, Langhals and his colleague, Daniela Bathelt, have discovered why the paint peels and developed a way to stop it happening.

The cause of the problem was the natural lacquer applied to the terracotta surface as an undercoat for the paint pigments. Changes over time in the chemical structure of the lacquer mean that when it dries out, it curls off the terracotta and takes the overlying paint layer with it.

Super glue

The chemists solved the problem by finding a way to moisturise the lacquer layer and glue it irreversibly to the underlying terracotta.

To avoid instant desiccation, they pack all newly excavated items into containers which match the moisture levels of the soil. Next, they dab aqueous solutions of hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) onto the paint surface. HEMA is a monomer building block used to create some modern plastics.

When the HEMA has diffused through to the lacquer, the researchers apply a beam of high-energy electrons to the surface. This causes the HEMA to polymerise and harden, forming a glue which fixes the lacquer permanently to the terracotta.

Langhals says damage to the mausoleum caused by rebellions and fires resulted in most of the buried warriors being smashed into fragments, typically 15 centimetres square and two to three centimetres thick. These are easier to treat than whole soldiers, and can be reassembled into full figures once they have undergone the curing treatment.”

“Once they’re treated, you can handle them without any precautions,” he told New Scientist. “We hope we can see the first full soldier at the end of 2004.”

 Journal reference: Angewandte Chemie International Edition (vol 42, p 5676)]

Super Glue Corporation’s Blogger’s Note: Hydroxyethylmethacrylate is a type of super glue with similar chemistry to one of our super cool products recommended for plastics!  Plastic Fusion is polymethyl methacrylate chemistry and has a very high bonding strength.  Recently checked in with our senior chemist about this topic and he told me that HEMA is a chemical from the family of methacrylate monomers (like our CAs) and is normally used as an additive.  Super Glue Corporation’s super glues contain the polymerized form of methyl methacrylate called PMMA which is an additive to “flexibilize” the hard cyanoacrylate (CA).  Actual HEMA is slightly yellow and would not be desireable for our purposes – but the chemistry is from the same family.  We’re glad to know this chemistry was used to restore these amazing terracotta warriors so that they can be appreciated by future generations for a long time!!

 

Super Glue & Zip Kicker Fix Guitar Nuts & Saddles

August 17th, 2009

Our customer Robert M. sent us the following tip that we’d like to pass along to guitar playing musicians out there:

“Used together super glue and zip kicker harden as good as bone for guitar nuts and saddles.  Over time guitar strings expand the width and depth of their respective slots.  With a touch of super glue and a slight spray of zip kicker the slots can be filled and minutes later shaped and reslotted.  The tone is, as I said, good as bone.  Why waste the time or money to have expensive repairs done when I have these two handy products around …”

Super Glue using Modelers are Super Detailed

August 5th, 2009

Check out ModelManTom’s Chinese Satellite video - He’s pretty into the details of his model project!  We like the red & yellow bottle of super glue sitting on his work bench – seems to come in handy, too!  Amazing how clever people use super glue products!

Silence High Heels with Super Glue

July 22nd, 2009

Mary, a creative and satisfied customer, recently sent in this clever idea:  “I sound like a horse walking in heels, but my dance shoes are quiet.  My dance shoes have suede on the heels so I bought a piece of suede … and future glue … and glued little pieces of suede to the bottom of my heels.  All of the suede is still on all of those little heels and they barely make any noise.” …What a great idea…. now any ideas on how to silence the pain from wearing those high heels? ;)

Got a hole in your bucket?

July 21st, 2009

Permanent Patch Product Knowledge Video from Super Glue Corporation on Vimeo.

Check out this cool video of Super Glue Corporation’s Permanent Patch in action.  This all purpose patch is really unique and so easy to use!  It works great on metal, fiberglass, plastic, even rubber garden hoses!  Imagine how handy it might come in for a quick repair on that metal dingy. or rowboat, up at the lake!  Don’t leave home without it.

Permanent Patch Product Knowledge Video from Super Glue Corporation on Vimeo.