Can Water Be Used as a CA glue Accelerant?
1 min reading time
Superglue, also known as cyanoacrylate (CA), is a type of adhesive that relies on a chemical reaction with moisture to bond surfaces together. You may therefore wonder if you can accelerate the curing process using water.
The simple answer is, No. This is because too much moisture can actually act as a solvent, reducing the bonding strength. The water becomes a solvent because the rate at which it speeds up the curing time of CA glues doesn't significantly exceed the rate at which the water evaporates off of the CA glue. That is why most CA glue accelerators are acetone-based, using acetone as the evaporating agent.
That said, it is important to note that spraying too much of the acetone-based accelerator would also have a negative impact on the strength of the bond, so we recommend no more than 2-3 spritz after each application of CA glue.
Why you should use Starbond Accelerators?When superglues dry too fast, you'll end up with whitening or "hazing" of the bonding surface. Our specially formulated CA accelerator is made to dry slightly slower than other accelerators on the market to prevent this effect.
