Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

A slight nightmare occurred in a model I've been working on for way too long, literally as a part of the last thing I needed to do before I was ready to paint. I got a Forgeworld resin foot super glued (loctite) to a plastic base, and my angle was apparently significantly off and now my model will be no where near centered as a result, so I need to redo:



These pieces are *not* something I can just buy replacements of easily. The base is OOP and I would need to buy an entirely new chaos decimator for the foot. As much as I wanted to fly into a recovery here so I can undo the glue, I need to force myself to be careful.

So, after looking around online, I was about to drown this thing in isopropyl alcohol, then try to use floss to slowly remove the super glue, then if that didn't work I was going to freeze it.

But leaving FW resin in isopropyl alcohol - google AI response tells me - can damage the resin. And I hear acetone will damage the plastic (presumably also the resin I suppose). I do have nail polish remover though...

One alternative I heard was to leave it in Simple Green, but that would take literally *weeks* as I understand it, and I have a campaign to run.

So, I'm taking a breather and forcing myself to leave it for tonight and heed the wisdom of the internet. How do you all suggest I undo this super glue?

Super easy fix. Google super glue debonder, CA debonder, or cyanoacrylate debonder (super glue is just cyanoacrylate).

Pick up a bottle and apply it to the bond for a few minutes. The glue will dissolve into jelly.

I never use plastic cement and stick exclusively to super glue for this reason. It's so easy to reverse.

Oh man I didn't know that would work on this stuff, that's amazing - thank you so much!

Fastest thing I can get my hands on might be this. Think it will work?

Bob Smith Industries BSI-161H UN-CURE Super Glue Debonder, 1 oz.,Clear https://a.co/d/3EVC5sr

If you want to be extra safe you could even get the Loctite version.

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-High-Quality-Effective-Correcting-Practical/dp/B0001P0DKG/

But that one should work, yes.

artific3r wrote:
If you want to be extra safe you could even get the Loctite version.

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-High-Quality-Effective-Correcting-Practical/dp/B0001P0DKG/

But that one should work, yes.

Alright sweet purchased, thanks! It seems this item (and another loctite variation) is only sold second hand now though, so hopefully it isn't expired or something. I saw Green Stuff World has its own version for this too and I've really come to love their products this year, I'm just loathe to wait weeks for their stuff like I normally have to lol.

I'll post here when it's done in a few days. This is super appreciated 👍


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Actually I'm hearing this could damage or at least soften some plastics...any risk of that with these? I get the feeling there is. Worried a bit about the pieces involved, but I'll try to be precise in the application.

Mostly I'm just wondering now if I should try this first, or try freezing first...?

Freezing is an easy thing to try. Pop it in the freezer for a couple hours until it’s good and cold. Take it out and try to separate the parts. If they won’t separate, let it return to room temperature, then put it back into the freezer. Repeat a few times if necessary.

An important note to make about the freezing bit is that it helps to dampen the area around the join.

Pariah Press wrote:Freezing is an easy thing to try. Pop it in the freezer for a couple hours until it’s good and cold. Take it out and try to separate the parts. If they won’t separate, let it return to room temperature, then put it back into the freezer. Repeat a few times if necessary.

Kanluwen wrote:An important note to make about the freezing bit is that it helps to dampen the area around the join.

Awesome thanks...so I guess putting it all together, and weighing the risks, I might do this for the safest approach that won't take weeks:


1) Try to *spot apply* the CA/super glue remover in very small amounts around the edges (with a brush I think), and see what happens (this seems like the lowest risk thing to try up-front; I will attempt 'test cases' first)

2) If that doesn't have expected (or total-fix) results, dampen edges and put in freezer for 30 min

3) Take out of freezer, chip away with very sharp knife precisely at where I want to remove the super glue from

4) Repeat placing in freezer if it doesn't have desired effect, maybe for an additional 30 minutes each time so 30 min in the freezer, warm up for a few hours, then repeat @ 60 min, 90 min... (I've heard different things on this so, ramping up seems safe)

5) If by this point I've chipped away the outer edges, but can't get to the 'middle' of the bond, try applying more CA/super glue with a brush



How's this sound?

I would try the freezing thing first. You may be able to simply pull the pieces apart without having to use tools or solvents. The shrinking/expanding of the materials often weakens the superglue's bond sufficiently that it isn't strong anymore.

Does debonder actually clean superglue away? I have a joint with superglue caked in the hole stopping the two parts sitting comfortably together. It would be great if I could get that crap out before I try reattaching...

Yeah I see what you mean about freezing it first. There's some real validity to that.

So to provide an update on what I've been up to, (whenever I've been able to squeeze in some time for this), I've been firing on all pistons. I have made three-four 'tester' pieces. Spare resin bits superglued to plastic. And man, I can conclude one thing...

This loctite superglue REALLY puts the super in superglue.

One tester model I've labeled as 'Freezer', so I've been primarily just putting it in the freezer and taking it out, throwing the hair dryer at it to heat it (did it for 3 minutes+ today), then putting it back in the freezer. *One* part of it finally became unglued by doing that, so, with patience and time - *maybe* the whole thing will come off... It's back in the freezer now to stay overnight with. I keep forgetting to wet the outside though as someone recommended - I need to do that. Probably as soon as I'm done writing this.

Another tester of loctite superglued resin/plastic is labeled "BSI Debonder" for one type of debonder. Laying this one on thick seems to have maybe debonded a bit, but it has *wrecked* the surrounding area of plastic and resin. So for now I'm shelving this idea.

I have another tester labeled "Loctite Debonder" for a second-hand loctite debonder, and that seems to be actually pretty successful while not being as destructive as the BSI debonder. I went back and chose a paintbrush to sacrifice to very finely apply more debonder deeper in tonight. Fingers crossed on that one...

And another tester (plastic sprue on the same resin piece as the BSI debonder but on another side) I've just decided to try my hand at my plethora of tools here to precisely just chip away at and pry it open. The seal/bond is super perfect on this, so I have my Green Stuff World etching tool to start, then I've been using a somewhat long saw, a chisel tool... Yeah it's a real pain and somewhat awkward, but I exhausted my patience due to my applying the same level of care that I would with the real deal for the night. Will try that again tomorrow.

But yeah...especially for those of you out there with incredibly good super glue - BE SO CAREFUL when using it. I'm going to have lost maybe 2-3 weeks (at my normal rate of 0-4 hrs a week) trying to resolve what you see in the image above. We'll see which method wins out first, and which one ends up with the actual best result...

As a general rule, cyanoacrylates don't like water. I've not needed to try on bonded models, but immersing bonded fingers in warm soapy water and massaging the joint works well as a relatively quick and safe way to get them apart. Try immersing a test piece in warm (not too hot, don't want to risk the resin) soapy water, giving the pieces a gentle wriggle every so often. Depending on glue, might need longer immersion in water, maybe a day or so if its a good super glue but I think it work

I've always managed to get stuff apart via the freezing method.

I tend to run it liberally under the cold tap though, as you want the water to get into all the joins/contact points.

Then put the model in a freezer bag, leave in freezer overnight and then it just breaks apart.

Good idea, experimenting with some test pieces.

Shoot yeah, I didn't actually do the soap and water thing, and I did read what you said last night. I realized it a bit too late tonight. But I think I will make a point to do that tomorrow regardless. I guess I was too caught up in exercising the previous recommendations in this thread so far lol.

Tonight though, we finally have a winner. Nay - two winners.

Winner for fastest goes to...the loctite debonder (linked in an earlier post) above per the dude that mentioned it:
Started with (sorry I'm taking off the Image thing because they're just too high resolution to post in):
https://i.imgur.com/NsKPYK0.jpeg
Ended pretty clean after just a bit of cleaning up:
https://imgur.com/a/XriKCJO

In a close second place for what worked 'fastest' was the sheer 'brute force' method, including carving, sawing, chiseling, knife...and the thing that really did this in was my trusty old box cutter. I couldn't live without a quality box cutter in this hobby, man. I wouldn't have even finished tonight if not for it:
Started with:
https://i.imgur.com/VvUJHY9.jpeg
Also ended pretty clean after just a bit of light shaving/cutting away:
https://i.imgur.com/6aUjKdd.jpeg
There is a *slight* bit of actual degradation in the actual pieces, mostly in the resin I think, but considering how the bits of my real pieces are just never going to be seen again, I think that's fine. So I will probably use this, unless the soap/water thing ends up really working out for some reason when I finally remember to do that tomorrow.


The Freezer tester still didn't budge, even after adding some water to it (and well after the blow dryer for 3 minutes thing. It was in the freezer ~24 hrs, and it will be again now). That being said, the Freezer method seemed to help a slight bit, and I don't any the harm in it, so I decided to throw in the 'real deal' base/foot for it for now. Fingers really crossed for that...

So the plan ahead as I'm thinking of it: Maybe when I get the Freezer tester out of the freezer, I'll use some of that dish soap and hot water on the tester, probably instead of blow drying it. Then idk, I guess I'll just leave the 'real' piece in there for 48 hours as I just mess with that. If it goes no where, then I'm back to where I stand right now. And based on what I've tested, I'd probably go with some very careful knifing around the edges, a slight bit of sawing and etching, then once I've got in around the edge, I'd use the loctite debonder at the inner part with my brush that I've sacrificed to be able to do this. But yeah, if the dish soap and water thing ends up being effective, then that could screw with all of those plans lol.

Thanks a million for all this guidance all, wouldn't be doing this anywhere near as well without ya! If there's something I'm not doing ideally in your minds, please do let me know.

8/6/24: Sigh...why does this Freezer Method seem to work for everybody else but it isn't working for this *in the least*? I'm wetting the area beforehand too... The warm water and soap method didn't seem to work either, but I'll keep trying that one too. Replacing my using the hair dryer with that.

This being said, I'm going to start using that loctite debonder on the real thing tomorrow. I'm out of patience and options so far as I can tell. It's going to stink to need to basically remove the ridges underneath the foot but...

Reading this something else came to mind:
@maharg mentioned warm soapy water.

In my days as an optician I've repaired and cleaned many frames. Customers often came in with DIY repairs; superglue and wire on metal, acetate or injection moulded plastics.

Usually a quick spin through the ultrasonic cleaner filled with warm soapy water took the CA clean off.

I know the materials are different and the contact points are way smaller. But the CA became gummy so it's cetrainly an angle to try.

Yeah I tried a little with one of my testers, I should've tried more though, I think you're right. I don't think I *soaked* any of my testers.

Anyway, it did eventually come off. It left a *mighty* indent in the base, but thank goodness it didn't tear anything off that I couldn't basically cover up just by putting the foot back on. The model is basically done with its assembly now, just a bit more green stuff-related work.

The answer for me? It largely came down to freezing, a hint of debonder when I needed it (very precisely applied with a sacrificed brush), stabbing at it/cutting it, and finally - tearing the thing off. It wasn't pretty, but...there you go! No need for me to spend an extra $150 for spare parts on ebay etc.