Starbond Glue EM 02

Starbond Glue EM 02
Contents: 1 oz. (approx. 28.35 g)

What is CA glue:
Starbond Glues are so-called CA (cyanoacrylate) adhesives. CA-based adhesives are one-component reaction adhesives that cure spontaneously under atmospheric conditions with the residual moisture of the bonding surface and the environment. In linguistic usage, they are therefore often also referred to as instant adhesives. CA adhesives reliably bond a variety of materials together such as bswp. wood, glass, porcelain, ceramics, stone, steel, aluminium, epoxy and polyester laminate; however, they are not suitable for bonding with Teflon, PE or PP.

Preparation and application:
Appropriate preparation of the surfaces to be bonded is simple and quickly done, but important for the result:
The surface should be free of grease, oil and dust. The CA adhesive is applied as thinly as possible to one of the surfaces to be bonded and joined together with light pressure. The adhesive effect is impaired on very smooth surfaces as well as on silicones; we therefore recommend roughening the corresponding areas with sandpaper beforehand. The time required for polymerisation depends on the materials of the surfaces to be bonded, their absorbency, the adhesive application thickness, the ambient temperature and especially the air humidity. Depending on the CA type, the curing time is a few seconds to a few minutes; depending on the constellation of the aforementioned factors, up to 24 hours can pass before the adhesive is fully resistant.

If you want to prevent a highly absorbent substrate from becoming saturated with adhesive before it forms a desired bridge and closes a crack, use the Starbond accelerator (activator) in addition. Spraying the substrate promotes immediate setting of the adhesive, creating a barrier layer and preventing CA loss from penetrating too deeply. In the same way, the activator helps in situations where a quick surface reaction of the adhesive is desired, e.g. when producing a CA surface seal, so that work can continue without delay (applying the next layer, sanding, polishing, ...). The accelerator also helps to bond two materials that are difficult to join together. In this case, one side is sprayed with accelerator while adhesive is applied to the other side.

Special properties of Starbond Glue:
All Starbond glues have the special properties that they are water and UV resistant and do not yellow. They resist attacks by alcohol, grease, oil and aggressive hand perspiration for an exceptionally long time. Even during the reaction process, they remain bubble-free and cure crystal clear without clouding. They are excellently suited to be applied on top of each other in several layers to form thick laminar layers. At the same time, they have a lower odour than conventional instant adhesives and are particularly distinguished by the fact that they produce a very robust surface finish that can be polished to a high gloss.

The EM 02:
The Starbond EM 02 is a very thin-bodied, crystal-clear adhesive with a viscosity of 2 mPas (for comparison: water at 20°C has 1 mPas), which makes it extremely easy to penetrate porous materials and the finest cracks (from a gap width of approx. 0.05mm). Due to capillary action, it can also be used very well to stabilise porous materials such as wood, ceramics, stones, minerals and fossil bones.

Fields of application:
- Repair and filling of small cracks, inclusions, flaws and knots in wood.
- Excellent surface finish for woodturning products, writing instruments and knife handle shells, creates a hard, crystal clear and waterproof surface
- Incorporation of frets on stringed instruments
- Gluing in bindings and purflings on stringed instruments
- Gluing in and repairing guitar inlays, e.g. on the headstock, body or fingerboard
- Preparation of fossils
- Filling small cracks in rocks
- Production of metal powder and turquoise inlays
- Manufacture and repair of jewellery
- Restoration and repair of antique furniture
- Repair of ceramic materials
- Repair of marble, granite and quartz stone
- Bonding of glass fibres and balsa wood
- Suitable for taxidermy

Compatibility with other fabrics:
- Wood
- metal
- Rubber / caoutchouc
- leather
- ceramics
- Precious Stones
- Rocks and minerals
- Carbon fibre
- Glass fibre
- PVC and other plastics

The adhesive comes in an HDPE long-nose bottle with additional application tips for extra precise application.

Storage:
As CA adhesives essentially react through moisture and heat, we recommend storing the adhesive in a dark and, above all, cool place (ideally in the refrigerator). If the adhesive is stored in this way before and after use, it will retain its promised viscosity for up to 30 months before it slowly begins to thicken. Before storing the adhesive in a cool place away from light after use, we recommend that you briefly tap the bottom of the bottle several times on a hard surface to allow any adhesive remaining in the application cannula to settle into the bottles. By gently pumping the body of the bottle, you also achieve a free blowing of the cannula course, so that you can start immediately with the next use. If the cannula does become clogged, you can simply shorten it with the scissors... Clean the application tip of any excess adhesive residue and put on the cap.

Notes:
The polymerisation reaction of cyanoacrylate adhesives is highly exothermic. While sufficient heat dissipation is always ensured when bonding workpieces over a wide area, spontaneous combustion can occur if the adhesive is spilled on flammable materials. A few drops on a cotton shirt are not enough for this, but caution should always be exercised when handling cyanoacrylate.