Cyanoacrylate, or CA as it is commercially known, is an extremely fast curing acrylic resin glue that uses water as its catalyst. When CA comes in contact with anything containing trace amounts of water (like your skin!) it activates and creates a strong plastic bond. This glue is commonly known by retail trade names like SuperGlue® or KrazyGlue®. Commercial grade CA is usually purer and stronger than retail versions of the product.

Cyanoacrylate can be used when making repairs to a solid surface acrylic resin countertop such Corian® such as you may find in a kitchen or bathroom vanity.

Because CA activates with trace amounts of water and has a short shelf life (about 30 days once you open the bottle), it can be frustrating to keep the glue nozzle cleared. It is important to keep the bottle sealed with the nozzle tightly capped. Unopened CA stores well in cool temperature like 40 degrees F. Once opened however, do not move the container between a cool and warm location as condensation may occur and the glue will activate.

Sometimes a whitish residue will be left behind when using CA. This is caused by the vapors of the glue being catalyzed due to excessive adhesive or high humidity. The residue does not affect the glue bond.

Cyanoacrylate can come in different viscosities but is most commonly used with the viscosity of water. It works best when used sparingly and applied in a thin layer. Correctly applied, CA can achieve very strong tensile strengths of upwards of 4,000 pounds per square inch (psi).

However, CA is very weak in shear loads, or when the load applied to the joint are laterally shifted in relation to each other.

CA can be dissolved by using certain solvents including alcohol, heptanes and acetone. The most aggressive solvent is acetone (sometimes found in nail polish), followed by heptane and then alcohol.