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The brush applicator for my Loctite super glue has somehow become splayed, making it a messy nightmare to use.

Does anyone know if there any way to restore the brush to something like it's proper shape?

Trim off the splayed-out bristles?

New bottle of glue for 3 quid is probably the solution I'd go for, in a time and effort vs cost analysis type situation...

I would suggest using a cocktail stick rather than the brush, much more precise.

Acetone soak & mechanical scrubbing.

You can try freezing it between the soak and scrub as well. Freezing CA glue makes it brittle.

You know how some people lick brushes to get them to come to a nice point? Don’t do that.

Cocktail stick sounds like a good option. Does anyone have any recommendations for other brush on super glues? I used to use Wilko's which was great but they don't seem to do it anymore and I have had 3 bottles of locktite go the same way as the OP's

Weld-on brands are good plastic glues, available in different strengths & applications.

Do note that all air/moisture cured glues will rapidly deteriorate once opened.

brush ons are just a pain in the arse in my opinion. I just use the nozzle ones.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
brush ons are just a pain in the arse in my opinion. I just use the nozzle ones.

I agree, the Loctite gel is much better, but I have almost a full pot of the brush-on stuff, and it's great for cuts

I use the same glue, though normally what happens to me is that the glue turns to jelly before the brush gets to splay out too much... Always super annoying when the superglue goes all jelly

I've never had that. maybe I go through it too quickly. lately I've been using 60 second adhesive, which is like superglue but more of a gel. the tube is big and has lasted me ages, even though I've had to trim the end off the nozzle a few times.maybe the environment affects how quickly it dries up.

I usually get to the end of a bottle of brush on but don't think I have ever finished a gel tube as they always dry out on me. I'm probably not using it enough...... Must buy more models :-)

It's not hugely important for building miniatures, but I find Loctite to be a bit rubbish, personally. Gorilla super glue is a lot better, and not much more expensive when you take into account how much you get in the tube. The thing that might annoy people about it is that it doesn't really have any kind of applicator. When I'm building, I squeeze a small amount out onto a bit of baking paper and use a cocktail stick to apply it.

The best glue I've found is this stuff called Powerbond 806, which is astonishingly good. You just have to squeeze the parts together slightly, and it bonds in a couple of seconds. It's so quick, and there's no faffing around holding parts together and hoping they bond. They just do. One caveat - I've not had to try to take anything I've used this stuff on apart, so I'm not sure if the usual trick of freezing it would work. Also, it's really hard to get hold of, because it seems to be used more industrially rather than for hobby stuff - I got mine at a model railway fayre. And you have to keep it in a fridge. It's serious stuff. I've still got some bits I accidentally glued to myself a few months ago attached to various fingers. It makes typing difficult.

 feltmonkey wrote:
Gorilla super glue is a lot better, and not much more expensive when you take into account how much you get in the tube. The thing that might annoy people about it is that it doesn't really have any kind of applicator.

That depends on what type of Gorilla Glue you're using.

I usually just buy whatever is in the shop that I happen to be in. I pin pretty much all my joints anyway as a matter of course.

The best tip for any super type glues is buy the smallest amount you can, and use it as quickly as possible once you’ve opened it. They will all go bad fairly quickly once they’ve been opened and exposed to air.

 Overread wrote:
I use the same glue, though normally what happens to me is that the glue turns to jelly before the brush gets to splay out too much... Always super annoying when the superglue goes all jelly

I use Krazy Glue with a brush, does the same thing. Normally at the bottom of the pot anyway.

I just use superglue gel, any really they all seem to work better than the regular runny water in a bottle that ruins everything