Super Glue Remover

I recently looked at using Super Glue Accelerator to speed up the drying time of super glue. But what if you want to reverse the process? There are nasty chemicals you can soak models in to dissolve super glue... there are also nasty chemicals you can buy specifically designed for the job.

That is the thing to be aware of with this kind of stuff - super glue is really strong, so anything designed to remove it is also going to be a strong chemical. Even something like the "UN-CURE" pictured is a harmful chemical. FYI, manufacturers have to provide what's called an MSDS document which details how dangerous their chemicals are and how to clean them. I always recommend keeping a strong cleaner available for just this reason.

It's really not that tricky to use super glue remover. Before you start, I'd suggest you make sure the chemical has access to the glued area - scrape some paint off with a knife or a file.

First, apply some to the area that's glued.

Then, wait a bit for it to soak in.

Finally, don't be too abusive, but apply some pressure and wiggle the joint until it gives. As it loosens, you can apply some more of the chemical to help things along.


Notice in the final pic here that even the paint is eaten away by this stuff - it's pretty strong.

It's a little trickier to use on plastic and resin, since they're more fragile than metals. Once you've applied it, I would recommend using a knife to either cut through the glued area or to at least to poke and "massage" at the glue to work the remover in.

You'll notice in the bottom pic here that the arm is missing a hand... that's because even after waiting a little while, I snapped his hand off trying to peel off the arm. (But it did help the knife cut the joint.)

This stuff is also great at getting super glue off your skin.

Apply a little and rub your fingers together - the super glue just gums up and peels off.

** NOTE ** If you decide to apply some more while rubbing your fingers together, the one thing you don't want to do is grab the super glue bottle instead of the remover. This just makes things worse.

Just remember - it is a chemical, and like any chemical, does things like turns your skin white... or whatever. Like I said above, have a good strong cleaner available to use after.