Thread: ca left white residue

I recently used CA on an old Japanes scabard I am resurfacing. after drying it left white residue. I am currently sanding it off any ideas why this happened?
Thanks Al

CA cures in the presence of moisture, if you have high humidity where you are or where you were working at least, it might cause the CA to cure too quickly, causing to to frost or go white. Ditto for some of the accelerators... depending on what chemical they use in the accelerator and the type of CA you are using, the white frosting can become an issue. For a more in depth treatise on the topic, check out CA glues, a technical discussion.

Regards

Christian

Kaptain took the words out of my mouth haha

Ditto. I've even found that handling the razor too early after it has dried will bring on the white frosting too. Also irregularities in the surface can hold moisture that creates white specks.

All the advice is spot on! I only have one small point to add. THIN coats... it took me a bit to get used to how thin at first. a few drops per coat. Thinner coats will set more quickly and are less apt to be handled while still wet and less likely to frost.

Christian, thanks for the link to that CA information. I just spent thirty minutes reading about CA glues. I'm an RC fan, so I've used my share of CA, but didn't know anything about it. Anyone that uses CA should spend a few minutes reading that web page.

You guys are welcome of course, and just for the record, if the bloom/frosting isn't of a concern when gluing something and you forgot to use an accelerator, you can simply breath on the joint while holding it together, the moisture in your breath will hasten the setup of the glue... I should know, I've been caught with my pants down more than once, having glued something together before realizing that I needed both hands to keep it still and I don't have a third hand to reach for the accelerator.

And for you model builders in particular, after years of using Satellite City, Zap and BSI CA's, I have fallen in love with Mercury adhesives. They have a great spout design and an iron clad warrenty... if your glue ever hardens in the bottle so it's useless, send it to them and they'll send you a new bottle gratis, no questions asked about how long you've had the glue or if it was stored with the top off etc. I've long lost count of how many half full bottles I've thrown out because they had set up and become useless.

Regards

Christian