Off topic - What disolves hardened CA Glue

LajoieT · #1 06-16-2005, 08:42 AM

OK this is way off topic but I figure you guys use CA Glue (i.e. SuperGlue) for many things and might be able to tell me what I could use to disolve and remove it from, oh, lets just say for a hypothetical example our moron Videographer tried to superglue the eye piece on a $15,000 BetaCam and used so much that it dripped into the iris ring bonding it into the fully open position (and giving us an opportunity to see some new error messages we didn't know existed...).

I managed to chip and crack it as best i can and got the ring to move, but there's still too much material in the ring that it doesn't move freely and the controller motor doesn't have enough power to move it.

Is there anything I can use to clean the stuff off? I was thinking acetone but we tried nail polish remover that didn't have acetone in it, it was mostly Isoporopyl Alcohol, and several of our lens cleaning solutions, but none of them seem to want to disolve the glue.

andvari7 · #2 06-16-2005, 09:07 AM

Although it doesn't talk about a bass issue, dissolving CA glue can be relevant. There is super glue remover available. Loctite, a super glue manufacturer, produces a remover that is available in hardware stores.

Mon Rominee · #3 06-16-2005, 09:14 AM

Acetone.

bassguitar · #4 06-16-2005, 09:15 AM

Yep. Acetone, and chip, crack, sand etc.

pilotjones · #5 06-16-2005, 10:45 AM

I wonder if the acetone or CA remover might also dissolve any grease or other lubricant in the iris mechanism, necessitating a dissassemble and rebuild anyway?

wilser · #6 06-16-2005, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotjones

I wonder if the acetone or CA remover might also dissolve any grease or other lubricant in the iris mechanism, necessitating a dissassemble and rebuild anyway?

I don't know about CA remover, but acetone will disolve lubricants. It is used to clean up oil, among other things.

nateo · #7 06-16-2005, 11:17 AM

I've got a bottle of CA remover, but I've been too scared to use it on anything worth money. The stuff is at least as nasty as CA its self, and has a tendency to dissolve plastics. If you use it I'd be really careful what it got on to. Having the iris stuck open is one thing, having the iris melt off is another.

-Nate

Hambone · #8 06-16-2005, 11:45 AM

The CA remover I have from the hobby store is a match to their CA. It isn't harmful at all - doesn't melt plastic and isn't an aromatic. But it also won't budge well cured CA. If you recently glued something it will soften it and you can get it apart but it it's been cured with accelerator or been curing for a few days - get out the sawzall!

LajoieT · #9 06-16-2005, 12:14 PM

Yea, he glued it up on Friday and left it to dry over the weekend, so I'd say it's pretty well cured. I'm not sure what's inside the lens so I don't think I want to go and flush the acetone in there. Lubricants are one thing and it can always be re-lubricated, but there could also be plastic gears and what not inside that might not fair well, and if it got into the glass I'd say it would most certainly have a negative effect on the lens coatings. We've fiddled with it a bit more, moving the ring back and forth about a million times and it has loosened up enough that the motor can now move it through most of the travel except for wide open, since that was where it was glued together. so it's functioning now, but it looks like it's headed into the shop once he's got a few days with no shoots planned.

Thanks for the help guys.

BTW Hambone, you mentioned that yours didn't melt plastic but was a match to the CA glue you buy, so i would assume that it would only really work well on the glue they sell it matched to. He of course went all out and used CVS brand superglue.

Audere · #10 06-16-2005, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hambone

The CA remover I have from the hobby store is a match to their CA. It isn't harmful at all - doesn't melt plastic and isn't an aromatic. But it also won't budge well cured CA. If you recently glued something it will soften it and you can get it apart but it it's been cured with accelerator or been curing for a few days - get out the sawzall!

Hold that sawzall

The CA removers will work but they take time on a well cured part. I have placed (very delicate) parts which have been glued together for more than a year in a closed jar of CA remover and they do come apart and the bond depth was 1/4" deep (going away from the remover liquid). Adding acetone (I used 50/50%) to the mix does seem to help a little (I was also saving money) but time is the key. It takes overnight on a part which is glued up for 1 week, 3 days for a month, 1 week will remove years. Most of the glues I was removing where the "better" Loctite commercial use CAs. Tammy (hobby store) glue removed faster.

Mon Rominee · #11 06-16-2005, 12:33 PM

Seeing as acetone evaporates quickly, and you kinda want to control the amount getting into critical parts, I'd say it would be wiser to apply with a Q-tip and only hit the areas you really need instead of drenching the area...you never know what kind of seals are used around the lens seat, or the aperture...

Best of luck but don't rush it by any means. CA is pesky, but you can do it.

Audere · #12 06-16-2005, 12:52 PM

Another comment on using CA remover for your applicaiton: I have had CA remover dissolve the glue but I did not get the parts flushed completely and then when the CA remove evaporated (slow process) other parts glued together as some of the CA had migrated then re-hardened which could be a problem in this case.

LajoieT · #13 06-16-2005, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by femtometric

Another comment on using CA remover for your applicaiton: I have had CA remover dissolve the glue but I did not get the parts flushed completely and then when the CA remove evaporated (slow process) other parts glued together as some of the CA had migrated then re-hardened which could be a problem in this case.

Yea, that was another concern of mine. The CA is between two metal rings and who knows what's behind there or even how much of the CA he let drip in. I don't feel comfortable taking apart a lens that will cost over $5k to replace, unless they already consider it lost and I can do no harm. If a repair tech can dis-assemble, clean and re-assemble it for a few hundred bucks I'll let them have at it.

Hambone · #14 06-16-2005, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by femtometric

Hold that sawzall

The CA removers will work but they take time on a well cured part. I have placed (very delicate) parts which have been glued together for more than a year in a closed jar of CA remover and they do come apart and the bond depth was 1/4" deep (going away from the remover liquid). Adding acetone (I used 50/50%) to the mix does seem to help a little (I was also saving money) but time is the key. It takes overnight on a part which is glued up for 1 week, 3 days for a month, 1 week will remove years. Most of the glues I was removing where the "better" Loctite commercial use CAs. Tammy (hobby store) glue removed faster.

Strangely, I never had to use it on the hobby CA! But I did have to use it on my Loctite and that's where I couldn't get it to let go easily. Figgers.