Is super glue safe for microwaving or not? Microwave ovens infamously undo glue on woodworks and many work pieces such as glued ceramics, thus they’re not recommended for microwaving. Is fast-hardening super glue the exception to this rule?
Accidents due happen. Be careful when you knock out a breakable vase or plate. However, it might be better to buy a new plate instead of gluing one back together. Ditto with mugs. Why? It’s because you might have to microwave them sooner or later.
People ask, “So is super glue microwave safe?” not because they’re about to microwave a tube of Gorilla Glue or Loctite from out of the blue. It’s more because they’re concerned that ceramics or chinaware they’ve glued together would come undone in the microwave!
Is Super Glue Microwave-Safe or Not?
No. One of the things you should avoid using super glue on includes items that you’ll place in the microwave (plates, bowls, dishes, and so forth). The others include using it to glue wool or cotton. Super-glued objects shouldn’t be placed in the dishwasher or oven either.
It’s also one of the first things you should know not to do when gluing back a cracked plate or bowl. Once they’re glued, you should never place them in places that could undo the super glue that binds them together.
The thing about super glue is that its weakness includes microwave radiation, the traditional oven, or anything emitting heat that could melt or undo its bonded adhesion. It’s also for this reason that duct tape or scotch tape shouldn’t be microwaved either (on top of their plastic parts melting).
What is Super Glue Anyway?
Super glue or cyanoacrylate adhesive works as a high-strength, fast-bonding, and instant adhesive much stronger than the glue you use to stick paper together back at school. It’s been developed to bond on almost any material except wool or cotton.
Super glue has great value when it comes to temperature resistance and moisture resistance. Therefore, you might be wondering why placing super-glued bowls in the microwave or oven isn’t kosher, to say the least.
Even super glue has its weaknesses, and it includes the high baking temperatures of a typical oven or the penetrating effects of microwave radiation that proves super glue is merely temperature resistant rather than temperature proof.
Who Invented Super Glue?
Dr. Harry Coover invented super glue back in 1942 not as a means to glue most objects together is a nearly permanent manner but for another purpose altogether—gun sights. He and his team weren’t looking for a new super glue compound at all.
Super glue first came about in him and his team’s research development of clear plastics for use in precision gun sights. It’s to prevent them from fogging up like their glass counterparts would.
Accidental Discovery and Applications
They accidentally discovered a chemical compound known for its stickiness yet saw no application for it in their research at frist. It then gained usage as instant gauze or stitching in the war. If you have a wound no deeper than a laceration, you should use the substance to close the wound up.
Later on, Coover discovered the compound’s “true” potential as super glue. Back in 1958, it gained first commercial usage as glue made by Loctite. The compound then became incredibly popular as a versatile and useful household adhesive for quick fixes of various objects.
How Strong is Super Glue?
As glue, super glue offers an incredibly strong adhesive bond that can only be undone by applying acetone or nail polish remover. Thanks to cyanoacrylate’s unique features, the bond formed by the glue is nearly unbreakable or similar to the bond that used to stick the broken pieces together.
Loctite’s cyanoacrylate glue in particular offers such bonded strength they broke the Guinness World Record by lifting a car weighing 5 tons using 9 drops of the adhesive. Yes, the same adhesive that could be undone with a few drops of nail polish remover was able to lift that much weight!
You can commonly use the glue on items made of glass, ceramic, plastic, wood, metal, and stone as well as paper (although that’s overkill and usually Elmer’s glue is enough for paper to paper contact).
How Fast Does Super Glue Dry?
Most super glue products like Loctite, Gorilla Glue, and so forth are fast setting. It’s able to dry and set in seconds rather than minutes or hours. If you wish to gain full bond strength though, you should make sure the glued pieces remain undisturbed or untouched for a full 10 minutes
As for full curing, it should come about in a whole day or 24 hours. Despite its bonding and curing times, many people find the glue to be reliable because of its amazing adhesion or stickiness that keeps the bond locked tight even before it’s bonded and cured.
Can Super Glue Fix Your Broken Ceramics like Brand New?
No matter how careful you are, you will end up slipping and breaking various mugs, plates, saucers, figurines, and even toys. The super glue allows you to fix minor and common cracks and breaks on your ceramic dinnerware or chinaware.
However, you have limits in regards to the strength of the bond or the aesthetics of the ceramic. Its effectiveness can keep the bowl together, but it will never be the same again and a brand new bowl will always beat it in terms of wholeness and aesthetics.
Limitations and What Not to Use It On
Some ceramic cracks are easier to hide than others but this is still just super glue. It’s not like it’s bonding the ceramic back to a molecular level. Also, microwaving the bowl can undo the bond like you’ve just bathed it in acetone or something.
On that note, avoid using super glue to glue together cotton or wool as well as any items you’ll be placing in the microwave oven or dishwasher on a regular basis. Even if super glue withstands a microwaving, its chemicals could leach unto food.
Over the Horizon
Don’t microwave super glue. Don’t microwave it while wet to dry it to hardness. Don’t microwave it when dry thinking it won’t be affected by the microwave rays. Just don’t microwave it.
Long story short, glue is not microwave-safe. You’re cautioned to use it on items that might get placed in the microwave specifically because they adhesion and hardness afforded by super glue might get rendered moot by microwave and its ability to heat certain things up within a minute’s time.
References:
- “SUPER GLUE: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW“, LoctiteProducts.com, Retrieved December 11, 2021
