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I'm in the middle of cleaning up some e-bay purchases and noticed that I need to un-superglue some pieces and have already cut myself fairly deeply (weeee, trip to ER looking like a doofus) trying to pry them apart with x-acto knives so I'm looking at getting some superglue removers.

My questions are: What do you guys recommend for doing something like this?

And does the removers mess up plastic? Or Resin? or metal?

I've heard that putting the parts in the freezer helps break the bond, and makes parts easier to break apart, but I've never tried it, so not sure how well it works, if at all.

I think nail polish remover can loosen superglue, but I think you need the stuff with acetone in it, which would only work on metal as it would destroy plastic.

You could try soaking the parts in hot water, not sure how that would work out though.

Same stuff you use for stripping paint.

People like to use dettol or simple green. I use fairy power spray.

If I recall correctly KingCracker had a tutorial about stripping.

If it's metal, Acetone or better still Methyl Ethyl Ketone (M.E.K.) In the UK, it's hard enough getting Acetone, never mind MEK. Either will completely destroy Styrene (plastic) models and will probably write off Finecast and damage other resins or vinyl models.

Either way repeated cycles of freezing then thaw, re-freeze will destroy the bonds without harming the model due to the different thermal expansion factors of the different materials, so I've heard.

Toss it in the freezer for a bit, then you will be able to just pull it apart.

Superglue turns really brittle when cold. This works for me at least.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll go give it a shot. How long do you put it in the freezer btw?

Fingernail polish remover for plastic. Regular acetone for metals.

Finger nail polish IS acetone. And both will damage plastic if you are not extremely careful.

You CAN get an acetone-free nail polish remover, though.

It's not AS effective (takes longer, and requires more scrubbing) but it's not as bad as acetone. I still wouldn't recommend it on resin.

I'm not sure if you can get it in Japan, but I use somehting called Easy-Off Bam! (weird name....)

Point is, anything with Sodium Hydroxide, and the more the better. If you check the cleaning products section of your supermarket, look for whatever has the most Sodium Hydroxide.

Now it *is* possible that I have made an incorrect assessment here, but with the various different things I've used, the one with the most Sodium Hydroxide works best, and does wonders on superglue bonds.

Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda) can be dangerous, though.
It's exothermic when you mix it with water (and gets VERY hot in a short space of time). Gloves are recommended with even low percentages of it - and ventilation is a must.

Of couse, should probably have made that clear....