Hello fellow modelers, I am trying to find a replacement or equivalent of the CA accelerator. This is because it is impossible to import it because being flammable, no airline will transport it. Perhaps there is a chemical replacement that can do the same job. Or any chemists out there know the chemical name of the product. Thanks for your help

My favorite classic accelerator was to use simple Baking Soda (the Baking powder you get for cooking etc.) We keep a box in the refridgerator as a air freshener so it is handy to get when needed for gluing. It also makes a great gap filler too. You can use CA and baking soda for all sorts of things like filling in a hole and redrilling it. I have even filled in a wing mount hole and redrilled and tapped it for the wing hold down bolts too.

Moisture works too, I can use a little saliva or a spritz bottle to spray a little water on the joint.
You can use a sptitz bottle and spray a little acetone on it too (fingernail polish).

Moisture is the key to getting CA to cure. The baking soda tends to absorb water so it has more surface area with water on it. Acetone seems to help suck moisture out of the air having a similar effect.

Yes baking soda is fine, but I would like a liquid type of accelerator because it is more practical to use. Thanks!!!!

Who said Cyano Accelorator was flammable ?.
Turbo Set Accelorator produced by Palm Labs and repackaged by many company's, is non flammable , and non toxic.

Thank you. However, most accelators show on their lable FLAMMABLE, for example ZAP and others. That's why nobody will ship overseas by air. This company, Palm Labs, can you give more information about it?

Cyano adehesives rely on moisture for their curing process. I've found that just breathing on the glue joint after the pieces have been bonded will accelerate the cure. I've only done this using the thin CyA, so not sure about how this would work with the gap-filling adhesives.

-Mark

When using zap accelerator once,I thought it smelled like WD40 (or CRC) so why not try some? Can't hurt and it's available everywhere.

You can find Palm Labs by entering the name in your favourite search engine!.

Be careful with solvent type accelorators as they have been reported to be carcinogenic. Sodium Bicarbonate / baking powder is probably the cheapest and safest option. Even a few grains applied by touching or rubbing the wooden
part to be glued, in the powder, will be sufficient to rapidly initiate the curing reaction. Useing a little imagination and some lateral thinking can save yourself a lot of trouble and cash.

Thank you Wikiflieger, How dumb of me!!! I didn't think about Google. I already contacted them!! And I will try baking soda and also thanks for warning.

This site here has some good info on superglue and what makes it set.
http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazin...ch_ca_glue.htm

It says super glue sets when it comes in contact with hydroxil (OH-) ions in water, and the process is goes even faster in the presence of alcohol. Based on this I'd say you should be able to make up your own liquid accellerator from 50% metho or isoprop, 50% water with something alkaline/basic added for extra hydroxyl ions. BiCarb soda is a commonly available base and is soluble in water. For something more powerful than BiCarb can also use something like sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), which is found in drain-O (product for unblocking drains). Potassium Hydroxide (wood ash) is just as powerful.

I'd recommend 50ml meythylated spirits, 50ml water. Add 3-4 teaspoons of the base you're using and dissolve as much as you can. That should work just as well as any commercial product.

Oh and I just tried out the assertion that commercial accellerator is flammable by squirting some of my hobbyking accellerator onto a lit cigarette lighter - myth confirmed! just about lost my bloody eyebrows!

Thanks Dillzio. It is interesting to know that the accelerator made by Palm Industries of Florida, is non flammable. Why all others is I have no idea.

I think it's probably because some contain alcohol, while others do not.
Judging by how flammable the hobbyking stuff is, I'd say that it's actually over 50% alcohol

I don't know whether our friend Dillzio read the article from the IPMS in Stockholm, but the Authors conclusions were:

'There are also commercially available liquid accelerators, but as baking soda has the same effect, I personally prefer it over another harmful chemical in my workshop.'

Do NOT spray solutions of sodium or potassium hydroxide onto your models-period!.

Well, I didn't bother mentioning that those chemicals are corrosive and potentially dangerous because I thought it was widely known. I wouldn't hesitate using it on foam, fibreglass or metal, but something organic like wood would be damaged by the more corrosive stuff.

But hey, if the non-toxic bi-carb will do the job just as well, I suppose you would be a bit silly to use something as dangerous as caustic soda.

I just tried mixing up some of the accellerator mixture i theorised should work - It doesn't

half water, half metho with as much bicarb mixed in as it could dissolve. I found barely any of the bicarb dissolved, and I ph tested it after and it actually measured as being slightly ACIDIC, which makes no sense to me at all.

Spraying the surface with the mixture did make the glue set very quickly, but it also prevents the glue from sticking. I wouldn't recommend this mixture at all.