First UV glue I tried was Norland N0A61. Bought it specifically to glue lenses into bezels. Unfortunately, the UV light had was no good. I found the best way to cure it was to leave it outside in the sun for an afternoon. Even then, the glue never seemed that strong. It definitely wasn’t a replacement for super-glue for regular hobby projects.
First cheap consumer UV activated glue I tried was Fiberfix, which I found at my local grocery store.
- It came out of the tube like super glue gel. It is a cyanoacrylate adhesive … basically super glue. However, when you shined the little LED light in the back of the tube on it, it cured instantly (1-2 seconds). Even with no UV light it would dry and harden when exposed to air just like super glue.
- This was a fantastic glue. It was capable of gluing things no other glue I had could. For example: I had a small glass statue that had a couple glass figurines break off. Pieces were missing. I needed a thick glue, capable of holding glass at an angle and able to work without a flush fit between the broken pieces. The Fiberfix worked perfectly…. the cure was so fast no vise was needed. I was able to simply squirt out some glue, hold the piece in place by hand, and then use the UV light to instantly cure it.
- If I could get Fiberfix like this again it would be my favorite glue.
- Unfortunately, that first batch of Fiberfix was a bit of a fluke. My grocery store stopped carrying it, so I went to a hardware store instead. Half the tubes I got from there were unusable out of the box (all glue solidified to rock solid inside the tube). The other half the glue came out runny instead of like a gel. The runny glue was still usable… I could squirt some on a disposable surface and then shine the UV light on it for a few seconds to partially cure it into a gel, then move it onto my project with a toothpick. But this wasn’t as convenient or as fast curing as the original batch.
- I also tried ordering some Fiberfix from Amazon, but all tubes came solid and unusable out of the box.
- Even when Fiberfix worked perfectly it had issues. Each tube cost $10. And after opening, the glue tended to solidify in the tube if not completely used in the next month or two.
I still like UV cyanoacrylate glue though since I can use it like super-glue and with the added benefit of curing in less than 10 seconds with UV light when needed. However, I no longer use Fiberfix due to the aforementioned issues.
Nowadays, I use Surehold Helios UV glue from Amazon. It comes in a black bottle that reliably keeps the glue liquid for many months after opening. And unlike with Fiberfix, every batch I’ve gotten from Amazon came liquid out-of-the-box.
It’s my go-to glue for any project where I don’t want to spend a lot of time waiting for cures. And it even works where the UV light cannot reach all the glue, since exposed glue will dry within a couple hours just like exposed super glue.
One other tip: Cyanoacrylate adhesives, including super glue and these UV activated cyanacrylate glues do not bond well to most plastics.
To fix this, buy Loctite Plastics Super Glue .
The package comes with a tube of super glue, and a plastic activator pen. Feel free to use or discard the glue. It’s basically just regular super glue. What you want is the activator pen.
To use the pen simply draw on both surfaces to be glued with it, then wait one minute. After that, apply ANY super glue, including these UV cyanaocrylate glues. In my experience, the pen makes any cyanocrylate adhesive bind to any plastic, including rubber.
Once you use the pen and then apply the glue, usually the plastic will break before the glue detaches. The activator pen is awesome!