CA glue wells

[NOBLNG]

I recently bought the glue loopers for super thin CA. They work great, but you have to put a drop or two of CA in something to dip the looper in. I am running out of bottlecaps.? It wants to wick around the cap and doesn’t really want to form a deep enough puddle to dip into. So I have some 3/16” thick plexiglass that I drilled some 5/32” holes about halfway through on my drill press.  Each hole holds a drop of glue and maintains a nice deep puddle for dipping. I should be able to put close to 150 glue wells in this 1-1/2”x6” piece.

Edited October 8, 2021 by NOBLNG

[Chariots of Fire]

How often do you have to clean up the looper?  I use an old disecting needle much the same way you use the looper but I have to scrape off the excess CA every so often or it tends to build up.

[NOBLNG]

36 minutes ago, Chariots of Fire said:

How often do you have to clean up the looper?  I use an old disecting needle much the same way you use the looper but I have to scrape off the excess CA every so often or it tends to build up.

Quite often, but I use a butane lighter and the dried CA burns off in two seconds. I did previously make a couple from needles and they did work, but not as good as these. And those I had to dip into the bottle of CA….a disaster waiting to happen I thought!?

Edit: I likely don’t need 150 holes. I can probably soak up the un-used CA with a Q-tip and clean up the well with the drill bit. It’s been close to an hour since my original post and the CA is still liquid and useable….unlike the bottlecaps.

Edited October 8, 2021 by NOBLNG

[peteski]

Just like painting techniques, many of us seem to have similar but different ways working with CA adhesive.

I make my own applicators from sewing needles with handles made from 1/8" Plexiglas rod.  When they clog I just scrape them off with a used #11 blade.  The Microbrushes are fro applying accelerator.

 

To hold a small amounts of glue I place a piece of kitchen aluminum foil over a dental cup and press it in to make a concave "well".  When that gets nasty, I peel off the foil and make a fresh one.

Edited October 9, 2021 by peteski

[Bills72sj]

I go low budget. 6" strip of 2" wide blue masking tape applied to the right side of my desk. A drop of whatever glue I am using onto the tape then a round toothpick as an applicator. When the tape is covered in old dots I peel it up and use another piece. I sometimes scrape the toothpicks clean again and some times I just toss them. The tape also comes in handy when I am trying to convince the chrome to flow out of a Molotow pen that has been unused too long.

[NOBLNG]

16 hours ago, peteski said:

Just like painting techniques, many of us seem to have similar but different ways working with CA adhesive.

To hold a small amounts of glue I place a piece of kitchen aluminum foil over a dental cup and press it in to make a concave "well".  When that gets nasty, I peel off the foil and make a fresh one.

Ever accidentally poke a hole in the foil?

15 hours ago, Bills72sj said:

I go low budget. 6" strip of 2" wide blue masking tape applied to the right side of my desk. A drop of whatever glue I am using onto the tape then a round toothpick as an applicator. When the tape is covered in old dots I peel it up and use another piece. I sometimes scrape the toothpicks clean again and some times I just toss them. The tape also comes in handy when I am trying to convince the chrome to flow out of a Molotow pen that has been unused too long.

Doesn’t the toothpick soak up the CA?

Turns out the Q-tip cleans out the well nicely and doesn’t even leave any cotton strands behind, so I made a smaller re-useable one.  

[peteski]

37 minutes ago, NOBLNG said:

Ever accidentally poke a hole in the foil?

Not that I recall.  While it doesn't make much difference, but I use the heavy duty kitchen foil. Even if I did poke a hole, the glue doesn't have far to go (just down  into the glass well).

[Bills72sj]

13 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

Doesn’t the toothpick soak up the CA?

 

Not that I have ever noticed. The toothpick does not have much porosity if any. More glue is wasted left on the piece of tape.

[Bainford]

On 10/9/2021 at 4:26 PM, NOBLNG said:

 

Doesn’t the toothpick soak up the CA?

Only on the first application, then it's sealed.

Cool tip on the CA wells. I use on overturned margarine container lid as a pallet for all glues, paints, and fillers as needed, though I can see some advantages to the wells. I also use the skinny end of flat toothpicks to apply, often with ends manipulated with an exacto blade to hold the glue, but I have been curious about the loopy applicators. I'll have to give one a go. Pete's method of modified sewing needles looks good, too. I apply kicker with a small pipette, but Pete's microbrush method will have some uses also.

[NOBLNG]

Well all my glue loopers have finally broken. I made one from brass that lasted for a little while but it was hard to clean. This one works fantastic! Much like a sewing needle, but the one leg being able to flex makes the thin CA wick away much better I think. I bent a piece of 0.015” piano wire in a U shape and filed the ends square on a diamond stone. Then added a tiny piece of brass tube to one leg for a spacer and crimped it in place. The brass leg is held in a hobby knife handle and the other leg floats in the slot. About a 1/32” gap works great for thin CA. You might not even need the brass tube?🤔

Edited June 1 by NOBLNG

[peteski]

If you have a some good size sewing  needles, Dremel with a cutoff wheel and something to make a handle (I use 1/8" acrylic rod, but a dowel will work too), you can make your own applicator which will last for years.  I mentioned this in a post here, back in 2021

I have made these many years ago. Needles are made from hard steel and will not break like the photoetched applicators.  Yes, they will eventually clog up, but I just scrape the glue out with an old hobby knife blade (not burning it off) after each modeling sessions, and as you see in the photo, they all look clean and ready for use.   As you can see I have several sizes for dispensing different amounts of glue (although I mostly use about 3 sizes).  The double wire design looks useful for dispensing  larger amounts of CA than what I usually need.

[NOBLNG]

6 hours ago, peteski said:

If you have a some good size sewing  needles, Dremel with a cutoff wheel and something to make a handle (I use 1/8" acrylic rod, but a dowel will work too), you can make your own applicator which will last for years.  I mentioned this in a post here, back in 2021

I have made these many years ago. Needles are made from hard steel and will not break like the photoetched applicators.  Yes, they will eventually clog up, but I just scrape the glue out with an old hobby knife blade (not burning it off) after each modeling sessions, and as you see in the photo, they all look clean and ready for use.   As you can see I have several sizes for dispensing different amounts of glue (although I mostly use about 3 sizes).  The double wire design looks useful for dispensing  larger amounts of CA than what I usually need.

Thank you Peter. if you scroll up you will see you already posted this same response. I tried the needles and wasn’t impressed. My latest version is something new that I find works very well. You can pick up however much CA you want with it. Just another option for anyone who wants to give it a try.

Edit: I think I will drill two holes in a large piece of sprue or Evergreen and mount two separate wires. That’ll free up the hobby knife handle for other uses.

Edited June 2 by NOBLNG

[Matt Bacon]

Google "silicone fidget toy"... you'll find them in various sizes, but they are basically a grid of 1/2" diameter hemispheres which can be "popped" from one side of the sheet to the other. 100 little wells to put small amounts of glue or paint into, and when it's cured/set/solidified you can pop them the other way and 90% of the time the remaining little divot of glue comes straight out...

best,

M.

[NOBLNG]

1 hour ago, Matt Bacon said:

Google "silicone fidget toy"... you'll find them in various sizes, but they are basically a grid of 1/2" diameter hemispheres which can be "popped" from one side of the sheet to the other. 100 little wells to put small amounts of glue or paint into, and when it's cured/set/solidified you can pop them the other way and 90% of the time the remaining little divot of glue comes straight out...

best,

M.

There was a thread on those a while back…the one I got didn’t release the CA.

 https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/185538-ca-glue-and-paint-fidget/

[peteski]

On 6/2/2025 at 11:55 AM, NOBLNG said:

Thank you Peter. if you scroll up you will see you already posted this same response. I tried the needles and wasn’t impressed. My latest version is something new that I find works very well. You can pick up however much CA you want with it. Just another option for anyone who wants to give it a try.

Edit: I think I will drill two holes in a large piece of sprue or Evergreen and mount two separate wires. That’ll free up the hobby knife handle for other uses.

Sure, we all find or of fabricate tools which give us best results.  As I also mentioned, the needle ones work really well for me. I have multiple size needles for when I need different amounts of CA dispensed.

I agree that mounting your applicator in a permanent handle does seem like an excellent idea.

[bill-e-boy]

What a great tip Greg especially the glue holder tray 

I will take inspiration from the posts above

Good to see cool low dollar tips

 

[sidcharles]

i'm the needle eye cut into a pickle-fork school.

i use strips of waxed paper for glue, and the majority of times for detail painting where a drop or two is enough.

and of course for mixing 2 part epoxy.

[Nicholas]

i love the glue looper,it was a game changer for me,i jut put it into spring water bottle caps,with looped masking tape on one of those small paint tins that ammo/mig makes that way if it spills it stays in the well!