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Thereismoretousingsupergluethansimplysqueezingit outontothejobandpushingthetwobitstogether.Followthesetips:DC’s own arsenal of insulating tape
INSULATING TAPE
Vinyl insulating tape is one of the handiest
items in your 12-volt electrical kit, and
there are some tricks to getting the best
out of it. Firstly, don’t buy your tape from a
discount store. Insulating tape, even the most
expensive, has a shelf life of about five years
and you want to be buying from an outlet
that sells a lot of it to be sure you’re getting
tape that’s in prime condition. If the tape is
thick and stiff throw it away. If the adhesive is
losing or has lost its tackiness, throw it away.
As you apply the tape pull it tight to give
a slight stretch to allow it to better grip the
surface, but at the end cut the tape off with a
knife or scissors and allow the stretch on the
end to ease out of the tape before pressing it
down firmly so the end doesn’t lift off. A good
wrap for a cable is two layers of half wraps;
in other words, the overlap on each wrap is
about half the width of the tape.squeeze the surfaces together for 30 seconds to a minute to
allow the initial bond to join them together. Remember, full
strength may not be available until after 24 hours. Porous
materials will take longer to bond.- For porous or poorly fitting surfaces use a thicker gel-type
of superglue created for such jobs. - Try to avoid skin contact. The moisture in your skin will
ensure it goes off very vigorously and it can (and will) glue
your fingers together. If you do get it on your fingers avoid
touching your face – or taking a leak. - If you plan to use superglue a lot always have a debonder
handy, or use nitromethane if you know a drag racer or
model airplane flier. - To soften superglue, if you need to separate two
components, try warm water and baby oil. Repeat as
necessary until you can gently pry them apart. - Less is better. Even just a small drop is enough to cover a
square inch; any thicker and the centre will not have had a
chance for the proper chemical reaction to take place before
it hardens. - If you accidentally apply too much glue don’t spread it out,
just push the two surfaces together hard to try to squeeze
out excess glue (and deal with the excess later after it has
hardened). - Ensure the two surfaces are well matched and clean.
- In dry climates super glue may not want to harden properly
because the glue depends on a slight amount of water
to trigger the chemical reaction that causes it to bond.
Generally the moisture that is available from the air suffices,
but if it’s very dry breathe onto one of the surfaces to be
glued before applying the glue to the other piece. - After applying the glue to one surface of the two to be glued,
Not your everyday craft glue stick