PolyZap

For discussion of fitting and shaping stems, doing inlays, and any other stem-related topic.
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SimeonTurner
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PolyZap

Post by SimeonTurner »

A while back I remember reading a thread in which there was conversation about best practices when it comes to Delrin (might be the sticky Delrin Tenon thread...can't remember). Anyway, I remembered that someone had mentioned a CA glue called PolyZap http://www.zapglue.com/Poly.html and wondered if it would be an effective substitute for Epoxy. It's advertised as a great glue for "delron" which I assume is their way of saying "Delrin" without some sort of trademark infringement or something...

Since it was only 6 bucks at a local hobby shop, I decided to give it a try. Preliminary results have been really good! It's essentially a CA glue, so it cures FAST, which is nice when you don't want to wait around for epoxy to dry, and so far all of my work with it has held up really well. I have tugged on test pieces glued into stems (even using pliers to try and pull it out), and so far I can't get it to fail (I have even done so after heating the stem up with a heat gun until it was way beyond the temps from smoking or bending, and it's held up well). I also have found that the grooves needed to make it hold are not as significant as with epoxy (I still rough up the delrin pretty good, and groove it out in several spots, but I don't think it's as necessary to really get deep grooves into the delrin with this stuff).

Another thing I've found is that the typical "CA smell" is actually hardly present in this stuff, even when I drill/file the residue out after the glue has dried (probably still noticable to sensitive, touchy feely folks like Kurt, but he's a sensitive guy :P ).

I'm pretty satisfied thus far with this stuff. Anyone else have any experience with it that's been negative?
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Re: PolyZap

Post by pipeguy »

SimonI've never had a problem with this stuff , its the bomb!
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Nick
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Re: PolyZap

Post by Nick »

Sounds like good stuff. I shy away from the epoxy because I just don't use it enough. At least that's my idea now. I've had several epoxy joints fail, and i suspect its because my epoxy was old.
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Re: PolyZap

Post by caskwith »

Nick wrote:Sounds like good stuff. I shy away from the epoxy because I just don't use it enough. At least that's my idea now. I've had several epoxy joints fail, and i suspect its because my epoxy was old.
i used to buy the fairly large 235ml bottles however i only ever seemed to use a quater of the bottles before it would get old and the curing time would take longer and be prone to failure (when this happens i generally have a look around the workshop for holes that need filling or non-critical things that need gluing and mix up a big batch and use it all up)
Now i buy my epoxy from a company that sells it in little 75ml bottles, yeah they are a little more expensive than buying in bulk however i use it all up before it gets too old so there is less wastage and i dont have to worry about joints or long cure times.
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