This stuff is way better than super glue

Whether due to being dropped, misused, or aged, broken plastics are a fact of life these days.

My weapon of choice in the war against waste and sending things to the landfill has been cyanoacrylate adhesive -- this stuff goes by many names, such as Crazy Glue, instant glue, power glue, or superglue -- and on the whole, it's very good stuff.

But it's far from perfect.

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I find that the performance of cyanoacrylate adhesives varies a lot. It sticks well to some things but not so well to others. Also, its repairs last well at room temperature, but using it to repair something that's going to be in a hot environment (such as a greenhouse or car engine bay) or a cold environment (such as a storage box in a refrigerator) can be disappointing.

And after decades of using cyanoacrylate to repair things, I'm still wary of it. It gets everywhere, and while its performance might be subpar on some materials, you can be sure of one thing it sticks to really well, and that's human skin. This is why I always try to remember to wear gloves and keep some super glue debonder close at hand.

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And you definitely don't want to get super glue in your eyes (wearing safety glasses might seem like overkill, but I highly recommend it).

I'm impressed

A few people recommended UV curing adhesive for repairing things, so I gave it a go.

This kit I'm recommending comes with a small UV light, so you don't need to worry about buying that separately. (Note: The kit above has different branding from the one I'm using, and it comes with refills, but the resin and UV light are exactly the same.)

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Unlike cyanoacrylate, where you apply the adhesive and have seconds to work before it cures, the UV resin doesn't cure until you apply UV light to it (or expose it to direct sunlight), so there's less time to panic and more time to work.

Additionally, because the resin is thicker, you can use it to build up repairs more effectively and easily than with cyanoacrylate. While you can add baking soda to cyanoacrylate to achieve a similar effect (which does create a stronger bond), it can also get quite messy.

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UV resin also eliminates the risk of accidentally gluing your hand or face to whatever you're repairing. Don't think that could happen to you? Think again!

Another application that UV resin glue is ideally suited for is strengthening or reinforcing low-voltage wires. For example, take this charging cable for my amazingly useful label maker. The cable is looking a bit bent out of shape due to constant stress.

Ideally, I'd pop some heat-shrink tubing over this, but I can't get any that will fit over the connector and shrink down far enough to hold onto the wire.

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But not to worry, I can apply some UV resin onto the stressed area to take away some of the strain. I've found that the best way to do this is to apply thin layers, cure them, and then apply a few more layers rather than apply one thick layer that might not cure properly.

And here it is after a few layers have been applied and cured. Job done!

I've experimented with UV resin adhesives on a number of different materials, with impressive results. They seem to work much better for repairing things that will be subjected to heat and cold, subjected to flexing, and they're great for building up material when something has broken and the plastic has shrunk (which happens over time).

One drawback

UV resin relies on UV light to cure, so wherever you apply it, you will need to be able to get the light on it to cure it. Bear this in mind as it makes it unsuitable for some applications.

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For example, if you're sticking something down, adding the resin between two layers won't work because the UV light can't reach the resin and it won't cure.

But overall, I'm impressed. It doesn't fully replace cyanoacrylate adhesive, but it's another very useful tool in the toolbox.

And it's fast becoming an indispensable tool.