C.R.A.P. (Chronic's Reviews About Products, naturally) -VISBELLA- UV Glue

[TheChronicOne]

Recent talk of the UV glue and activator reminded me that I've been trying to buy some for 2 years but always forget. Distracted by actual kits and stuff I suppose. However, I finally got it together and ordered two different brands of it, Bondic and Visbella. Visbella arrived today and I did a write-up in my blog about it but I figured folks here that never read that C.R.A.P. will possibly find this information of value as well so I decided to post it here.

Got one of my UV things in the mail today. I'm also having the Bondic kit on the way. This one, however,  this one was $4 cheaper ($8 v. $12 on Ebay) and comes with twice the liquid as the Bondic kit at 8 grams v. 4 grams. The thing comes off the top so it's easy to hold (instead of the whole, pen, base, and all, which could prove unwieldy in tight spots). Came with battery for the light.




The liquid stuff smells like certain varieties of plastic things. Trying to place it.... perhaps some toys I've had over the years had this smell and is why it seems so familiar. The good part about the liquid is its viscosity. Using CA as a reference, it's not runny like regular kind and not as thick as the gel kind. It's a beautiful mid point! I really like this aspect of it. Might seem trivial beforehand but I guarantee you that in situation the ability to move it where you want & no further will be great. Not like TET where it runs a mile away instantly and not too thick that it can't be manipulated.    Lastly, the glue bottle itself is nice. It has two tiers of threads. You can unscrew the top cap and use the applicator or you can unscrew them both to reach directly into the vessel. Handy! (although, I find the hole in the applicator a bit large but perhaps it has to be this size to flow out properly)



Now, for the nitty gritty....  I cut a piece of sprue in half then cut another chunk off the end of one piece so the ends wouldn't match then I put the goo on and then intentionally held it at a bad angle.  I put on a wee more than I wanted but no more than I would had I used CA then I zapped it for 7 seconds and........voila!  The light really activated that smell I was talking about earlier but the thing we're interested in is the quality of the bond and I can say IT IS GOOD. I picked it up and tried to break it apart again (not too much though, naturally, but I wrenched on and was pretty rough with it) & CA or any other glue would have given up instantly not to mention having to brace it for the next 20 minutes. It held together!! This stuff is amazing! It could only be better had I properly prepped my pieces and attached them correctly.




I'll post another for Bondic when it arrives. Thanks for readin' and I hope this provides some value. 

[kerick]

I've heard of this stuff before but it looks like I will have to try it.
Do you think it's thick enough to fill wide gaps?

[TheChronicOne]

Now that's a good question. It would have to have a backing and would possibly need to be built up in layers but I'm not sure if this stuff "shrinks" or not so this would be a pretty nifty experiment.

We could create a tiny vessel (ain't nobody tryin' to waste this stuff.... ) then carefully put the liquid in until it reaches the top/demarcation line then blast it with the UV and let it set for about a week to see if it stays at the same level.    I wonder if the UV light makes the stuff "move" or anything? I could put a tiny drop of it on plastic card, for instance, and the surface tension of the liquid could hold it in a bead and if stays that way I could hit it with the light and see if it decreases size. 

I wonder if this stuff could make windows? I bet it would work well to make glass "dials" for larger scale instrument panels or could possibly be used for landing light domes, etc. 

[zenrat]

...I wonder if this stuff could make windows?...

You read my mind.

[NARSES2]

Neat review mate, thank you 

Certainly looks as though it's up to the task I have in mind for it.

[TheChronicOne]

Happy to help!  My only qualm is that it sort of feels like you need a third hand to hold the stuff. With CA, you put the glue bottle down at some point so you can use both hands to hold the parts in place but with this stuff you have to hold the parts together with just ONE hand (this is awkward) or use clamps or something so that one hand is free to use the light thing. This won't apply in every situation but in ones like I demonstrated yesterday it is... again..... awkward... 

[NARSES2]

The specific job I have in mind won't need a third hand 

I've also been wondering at what distance the UV light ceases to have an effect on the glue and if the distance it is from the glue has any effect on curing times ? Questions, questions, so many questions  I feel some research is necessary, mind you I've also just remembered an old school mate's daughter is a dental nurse. Don't they use the stuff ? I could ask her.

[TheChronicOne]

Run some expirements! I put mine on hold after everything went to hell but I'll get back in the spirit of things soon. The Bondic came in like a week ago. Good question about the light distance....   Perhaps this is where my earlier thoughts on lasers could come into play. If you use some in the depths of a hull or something and can't get the UV thing in there, a laser would put a light dot on it pretty handily but I guess there's one way to find out.....

[NARSES2]

I will be conducting a couple of experiments 

[Rick Lowe]

Any further progress on said experimentation?

Curious (ok, nosy) Minds Want To Know!

[TheChronicOne]

Amazing coincidence as last night I was going to repair some busted safety glasses and use the Bonic but decided to just order some new ones instead. Short answer is YES though! I'm going to break out the Bondic version pretty soon and do an update. I was even thinking of using some of this stuff the other day to attach the stores to my XL......     went with gel CA instead but there were times that I had to babysit a fuel pod or something for 10 minutes while the super glue set up and knocking that time down to about 20 seconds could be grand.....

[kerick]

I wonder if this material would set up eventually, say if some of it was in a spot the light couldn't reach?