How do you get superglue off blackwood?

Is there a way, I mean without dynamite?
It looks alright, really…
At least I didn’t try to eat
the stuff.

There is a debonder that you can buy that desolves super glue.
Jon

I’ve not used the solvent for superglue on wood its a nasty chemical I don’t know how much the wood would absorb it ( Carrying the dissolved superglue with it). I’d be tempted to scrape with a blade (Gently!!) and then refinish with a fine abrasive though if the flute is laquered in some way this might be a problem. If you just sand it tends to take the wood rather than the glue as the glue is harder. All the solvent is is acetone, so nail polish remover should do it.

Yup, it’ll sand right off. You might want to try a very high grade sandpaper, though, so as not to take too much wood away. Try Rio Grande’s sanding cloth (item number 337-307). They can be reached at 800-545-6566.

Acetone will dissolve superglue, and shouldn’t harm the wood (but will make it very dry). You can buy acetone by the can in most hardware stores. Acetone smells funny but i don’t think it’s horribly toxic (i wouldn’t drink it).

Quick Google for acetone toxicity (clickme).

Jimbo, just some good advice to make sure this doesn’t happen again:-

Next time you are training your pinky to stay where you want it,
get you wife to adhere it with some sticky tape.

Jim, Jim, Jim…Been fixing some cracks, have you? :laughing: Or maybe not, I’m just guessing here.

The way to get the best finish is by filing and then sanding the glue away, however this takes some fairly good filing skills (so the instrument stays round) as well as the proper files.

I’ll assume files aren’t your forte, so you next best bet is the specialty solvent specifically for superglue that has been mentioned, it works great and won’t harm most woods, including Blackwood, we use it in the shop when filing all the way to the wood isn’t an option, like on aged or dyed Boxwood. This solvent does work well (perhaps you can find it at a hobby shop or on-line) but it may take some time, and a number of q-tips to get all the glue off.

Acetone will work, however it has a tendency to leach the color out of dark woods, somtimes this can be counteracted by oiling and/or buffing immediately after using the acetone, but this doesn’t always work, so use acetone at your own risk - your flute may end up multiple shades of grenadilla.

Good luck,


Loren

Okay…how did superglue get on your flute?

P.S.

Dynamite does work Jim, I’ve tried it! Unfortunately it blows the Grenadilla right off the flute, along with the superglue :astonished:

Loren

At last! My flute support problems are solved. I can’t think why I didn’t think of it before. A dab under the lower lip, the base of the left hand, my right thumb and we have “Ultimate flute stability” It might make mealtimes tricky but sacrifices must be made for art.

Come on…fess up…how did superglue get on your flute?

FWIW, re. filing, I have a nice pointed fine diamond-surfaced file which never wears out and cuts material away incredibly slowly and controllably, leaving a pretty smooth surface which can then be refined with a bit of Jessie’s type of finest sandpaper/glass cloth. You just have to enjoy taking half an hour to remove half a millimetre of superglue or whatever. I find this file much better than those little kits of metal files you find. I originally bought it for smoothing between the ribs of a miniature limewood skeleton! It was an expensive tool but worth every penny.

You think this is funny, all of you, don’t you?
Imagine having a large blackwood flute permanently
stuck to your right pinky! Consider what this would
mean for many everyday acts that make
life possible. Mock me if you must–
it’s living hell, I can tell you.

My wife suggested that I might dissasemble the flute,
at least, which would leave only the bottom section,
but then, how can I play?

OK, I’ll fess up. Several months ago I tried to superglue
a silver ring on a flute and the gremlins shhprrritzed
the glue along the barrel. It’s translucent and it’s rather
hard to even notice; still it would be nice to take it off.

Since then I’ve used the ‘narrow strip of paper under
the ring’ method, which works fine.

Thanks everybody! Much appreciated.

For all you fancy file and abrasive fans in the UK.
http://www.hswalsh.com/

Having read the additional information Jim, I’d say superglue solvent is what you want, call the local hobby shops and you should be able to find some without much difficulty.

Loren

[quote=“jim stone”]OK, I’ll fess up. Several months ago I tried to superglue a silver ring on a flute and the gremlins shhprrritzed
the glue along the barrel. It’s translucent and it’s rather
hard to even notice; still it would be nice to take it off.[quote]

AH HA! Superglueing a silver ring on a nice blackwood flute!! Tisk Tisk!
May your pinky stay merged with the flute for a week and a day!
:wink:

FYI, next time you try it, you can use t-shirt material to make a snug fit for the ring. Place the cloth evenly around the flute, slide the wring over so that it’s snug and cut off the excess material.

Search around for Terry McGee commenting on the “t-shirt trick” for better instructions.

Hammy Hamilton recommended a silk handkerchief to me for the same thing. However, once the flute got rehumidified after its long plane trip the ring stayed on just fine, so I’m glad I didn’t bind it too much too soon!

Also, superfine steel wool and a lot of patience seems to work for removing Superglue; that’s what John S. suggested for managing Superglue “lip plates.” I’ve used a drop of acetone a couple of times but it does want to leach the color out of cocus, so it’s not my favorite for that flute …

I have superfine steel wool, thanks. Will try.

I actually used a black silk hankerchief. The only problem I had was cutting the material with an exacto knife. Hard to get all the threads.