Aura091
New Member
Hey, I was looking at a video with a Chemical Engineer explaining how superglue works, i.e. water accelerates the bonding process, shear force rips it apart, and pulling from an exposed edge "unzips" the molecular chains formed by the adhesive. I stumbled across something that made me go "Huh, that could be useful," and I thought people here might like to know if they don't already. Milk cartons (out of polyethylene) wont have much glue stick to it. This goes for a bunch of other chemically inert plastics like polypropylene, and teflon (PTFE). It helps that the materials listed are hydrophobic and non-porous, but they don't necessarily need to be if I understand the reaction right.
If you're looking to speed up the rate at which it sets (for whatever reason), you can use baking soda. This has the added benefit of reinforcing the structure, making it more resistance to external forces, while forming a composite material. This is pretty cool because the composite can be sanded or drilled after setting. Having a rough surface will also help the glue work, as the pores allow the glue to fill them and bond the 2 surfaces (you can just sand the point of contact a bit).
TLDR; Superglue wont stick to milk cartons, and some 3dp filaments. To make it stick, you can sand a surface, and speed up the setting process with baking soda
If you're looking to speed up the rate at which it sets (for whatever reason), you can use baking soda. This has the added benefit of reinforcing the structure, making it more resistance to external forces, while forming a composite material. This is pretty cool because the composite can be sanded or drilled after setting. Having a rough surface will also help the glue work, as the pores allow the glue to fill them and bond the 2 surfaces (you can just sand the point of contact a bit).
TLDR; Superglue wont stick to milk cartons, and some 3dp filaments. To make it stick, you can sand a surface, and speed up the setting process with baking soda
