Super Glue toxicity

Posted by: Chisel

Super Glue toxicity - 08/11/20 06:04 PM

I have read a few times that super glue is used to close wounds. And that made me wonder about its toxicity.

What makes me ask the question is that an old blender in our kitchen has broke (a plastic piece chipped off) and I could not find the part anywhere. Then I thought of trying to glue it back before thinking of throwing the whole thing. Now the question is : this is a food processing appliance. Will it be safe enough for the food to come in contact with super glue ???

The glue will be sandwiched between the plastic and a steel sheet I am going to add for reinforcement. Contact with food will be minimal. But I am worried nevertheless.

What do you think ??
Posted by: Phaedrus

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/11/20 06:13 PM

I wouldn't worry about it at all but I don't really have any scientific evidence of it.
Posted by: dougwalkabout

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/11/20 06:46 PM

My understanding is that medical tissue glue has a different chemical composition than hardware store super glue.

Food safe? Opinions are all over the place. Two manufacturers say it's not intended for food use (Loctite and Gorilla).

In normal situations, I probably wouldn't use it on food containers. Though I don't think it will kill you once cured.

In an emergency, I would if I needed to.
Posted by: M_a_x

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/11/20 07:24 PM

Super glue is very brittle. It may not be up to the vibrations in the blender. In some plastic it may cause cracks.
Do you happen to have an idea what kind of plastic it is?
Posted by: chaosmagnet

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/11/20 08:24 PM

While I would not recommend that one deliberately ingest super glue, I would perform the repair and not worry about toxicity.
Posted by: RayW

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/11/20 09:37 PM

For a little light reading,

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002894.htm

Essentially it can stick your skin together, don't get on your eye, and may cause skin sensitivity. It may also be used medically in the right situation. From what I understand it is basically a plastic when cured.

This link has more information than you ever want to know about cyanoacrylate adhesives.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanoacrylate

While I personally would not worry about it using it to repair something that would be used in food preparation, I agree with Max that it might not be the best choice because once cured super glue is hard and has a low shear strength.

If you decide to use it for your repair use one of the higher grades of cyanoacrylate adhesive. The normal tubes in a blister pack are not very good, those are formulated for a long shelf life which degrades the strength of the glue.
Posted by: Hanscom

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/12/20 12:03 AM

One thing to note is that the food will be in contact with the glue for only a brief period of time. It's not like it will be in a container that has the patch in the refrigerator for days/weeks .
Posted by: dougwalkabout

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/12/20 12:57 AM

Good point. A cooking vessel would be a very different level of exposure (if not for toxicity, then perhaps for flavour and aroma).
Posted by: Chisel

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/12/20 06:31 PM

Thanks everyone

Can you suggest an alternative glue ??
Posted by: Chisel

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/12/20 06:35 PM

Posted by: Chisel

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/12/20 06:38 PM

Shown is a double blender from Braun
Our blender looks like the part on the right

The cover (shown with a "chimney") is the part that has chipped off while removing it. It got stuck and then broke

I have no idea what kind of plastic it is
Posted by: Chisel

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/12/20 06:40 PM

Since it is the cover that will be glued, I do hope it won't have much contact with food. But you can't be too sure.
Posted by: M_a_x

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/12/20 07:42 PM

That clear part could be Plexiglas (or whatever brand name that material may have). In that case it could be glued with aceton if you did not loose too much material. Aceton disolves the surface of the material and gives a good bond when evaporated. Use it very sparingly though.
If you want to and have room for it, you could still reinforce it.
Posted by: Chisel

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/13/20 11:57 AM

I think Acetone = nail polish remover. Right ??

Thanks
Posted by: Famdoc

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/13/20 03:23 PM

I've had good results repairing otherwise impossible (?) to repair plastic stuff with UV activated Bondic:
https://v20.getbondic.io/offer-01/?lpid=...e=United+States

There are other brands of the same/similar stuff, I think.

Yes, acetone is nail polish remover, among the other things it removes. It should only be used with excellent ventilation; it is not good stuff to inhale.

I've not heard of using it to attach broken plastic things back together.
Posted by: RayW

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/13/20 10:07 PM

I didn't think about using acetone, I have used solvents to fuse plastic as long as it's not polycarbonate. It is incompatible with acetone.

I would go with a epoxy just because I usually have it on hand. I have not used the UV activated glue that Famdoc mentioned but I have heard that it works well.
Posted by: dougwalkabout

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/14/20 12:08 AM

I'm 100% in favour of fixing things.

But sometimes it's a lot easier to snag a cheap replacement at a charity thrift shop or garage sale.
Posted by: Chisel

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/14/20 08:03 AM

Replacements are already there.
I have bought another blended already

This thread is only because of my OCD of not throwing anything that can be fixed, especially when 99% of the appliance is OK, and only a small part is broken.
Posted by: Chisel

Re: Super Glue toxicity - 08/14/20 08:04 AM

The UV thing is not available around here, or maybe I never paid attention to it.

I will go with epoxy.