Hafixs "superglue"

[John Candy]

Having been told that this (German-made) cyanoacrylate is the best/strongest available, I bought (at huge expense!) two 50g bottles at a show in April 2017.

I was told they have a shelf life of 5 years if stored in the freezer and 2 years if kept in the fridge after opening.

Today, I removed one bottle from the freezer and it is now standing on the table, to bring it up to room temperature, ready for use (it doesn't freeze solid but remains liquid whilst in the freezer).

In recent years I have been using Everbuild "industrial grade" CA in High and Medium viscosity grades and that is really strong but for the purposes of bonding the cab "noses" to the sides of the "Flying Banana" kit, decided to use the Hafixs together with screwing..... a"belts & braces" job.....since the railcar is very heavy!

The Hafixs instructions tell me to tap the bottle firmly after use (to clear liquid from the nozzle), wipe the nozzle and grease the thread of the screw-on cap.

Has anybody here used Hafixs and have any additional advice/comments?

John.

[Spitfire2865]

No advice on the brand specifically, but I thought it was just a myth that cold storage does it any good.

If youre worried about strength, why didnt you just go with a slow cure epoxy?

[Andy B]

Whatever it does or doesn't do, John, I don't think much of a company that sells chemical products yet has no material data sheets available!
By contrast, data sheets have their own tab on the front page of Loctite's site. (http://www.loctiteproducts.com/)

On the sheet for 'Super Glue Professional' it says: Not damaged by freezing in the unopened container. Optimal shelf life is achieved when unopened container is stored from 36°F to 46°F (2°C
to 8°C). After opening, it is not recommended that the product be stored cold or frozen. Once opened, the product is best stored tightly sealed,
in an upright position, in a dry location away from heat sources or sun exposure. Humidity and high temperatures may decrease shelf life.
Might be of interest to browse and see what variations there are for their other cyano products.

Andy

[Sleeper Agent]

I'm still new to large gauge I admit but where No More Nails etc stuff is too thick i've always found two part epoxy to be perfectly sufficient provided the surface area isn't particularly minimal, especially with both surfaces pre-ruffed to create a key. Only real downside to it is the expensive but if we're talking large surfaces areas then cheaper glues are good enough.

[John Candy]

Well, I have now used the Hafixs on the GRS railcar and it makes a very strong bond.
Before using it on the kit, I glued together two scrap resin castings. The bond was strong enough after a few minutes such that the joint held but the resin cracked when I tried to part it.

Whether it is worth the premium cost (it cost around five times what I normally pay for "industrial grade" CA) is another matter.

At the exhibition demo, the chap formed an instant joint under water and the joint held after only a few seconds.

Without mentioning names, it was a prominent G3 exhibition layout owner who first drew it to my attention a few years ago.

Regards,
John.

[John Candy]

Well, digging deep into the bottom of one of our freezers a few days ago, I came across a plastic bag ..... containing a long-forgotten, unopened, bottle of Hafixs, which I bought more than 7 years ago .... see first post in this topic.
I half-expected it to be thickened and useless but it is as good as the day I bought it and is being used to assemble the GWR O33 and other "Siphons".
It is still as fluid as when it was bottled and produces super-strong bonds.
A 50g bottle is 25GBP but I guess "you get what you pay for" and it is a high-quality German product!