Grip Cyano. Is it any good?

[Jon H]

Per title, does anyone have experience with the grip branded cyano? Its much cheaper than its competitors but one chap i know said its rubbish as it seems to not actually grip at all! 

 

I have no reason to doubt him but he may have got a bad tube or batch so i am casting a wider net. I normally use the rocket cyano but at 8 quid a bottle now the grip at under £3.50 for the same amount its a no brainer which to buy if performance is equal. 

[Cuban8]

Have used Grip brand cyano for years - never a problem.

Not sure about the hype surrounding the expensive brands - I've used Poundland Brand cyano as well and found it perfectly OK. My favourite was the Hobby King stuff which was actually Bob Smith Models brand but rebadged. I think BSM products are available from various UK outlets - hopefully not gone up in price too much. Depends on the size of bottle I suppose.

just checked.....https://stevewebb.co.uk/index.php?area=glue&make=Bob+Smith&title=Range+of+Specialist+Glues

Edited March 2, 2023 by Cuban8

[Richard Wills 2]

Bob Smith stuff for me, great stuff.  

 

http://www.bsi-inc.co.uk/

[Don Fry]

Cheap cyano tends, note tends, to be less filtered, and contains a bit more bits in in. That effects shelf life. Once opened it goes off quicker. It sticks the same as expensive stuff. 

Solution is to buy smaller bottles (1 to 2 oz). Store unopened bottles in fridge. I buy multipack builders merchant stuff, it sticks stuff fine, small bottles are easier to use, uses standard Rocket Z end dispensers, and is available as thin, and thick versions. 
The likes of Rocket, I don’t think are manufacturers of the stuff, but repackages of big drums. 
Tangent, a friend of mine is a chemist. She tests glues. They sell to industry, and the aviation industry. The aviation industry stuff gets a document of conformity and test results on the batch. Difference from the stuff supplied to industry, none, it all gets the same test process, but the paperwork does not get included, and the package has not got a batch number. At a quarter of the price. 

[Eric Robson]

My local Tesco has Loctite super glue 20g bottles for £6 and on occasions it is on offer at £4 that is when I buy it. They have the same offers on Gorilla super glue but it is more expensive as the same size bottle has only 15g and I found the glue is more like superglue gel, I had to look twice as I thought I had bought the gel. Prior to that I found the Pound shop super glue very good but the last time I visited they only had the tubes which I despise.

[Engine Doctor]

Used to use Grip Cyano some years ago and it was fine but then started using the cyano sold at Toolstation. It comes in 50 g bottles.They only do thin or thick grades. The thin is equivalent to modellers medium grade and goes off nice and quick costs £3.79 . The thick is the same as modellers grade thick but IMO is much stronger and has a slightly longer set time cost £4.57. For delicate or light building only Zap is thin enough  .

I did try some other modellers brand recently but it was useless , think I had a duff bottle. 

It will undoubtedly go up in price as everything seems to be !  Get stuck in while you can  . 😉.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Engine Doctor

[Jon H]

Thanks for the input chaps

 

I used to use the poundland thin cyano and rocket medium but poundland stopped doing it. I have heard good things about bsi in the past though. The only glue i have ever thrown out was some from hobby king and that just would not cure unless it was clamped and left for ages. Aliphatic dried faster than their nasty cyano. 

 

 

[Richard Wills 2]

I tried some of the HK unbranded stuff a couple of years ago, useless, like you say refused to go off without kicker.

 

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

I used to get the cheap HK stuff big bottles at give away prices, not available now, Great stuff no kicker and the bottle left open in my garage 

from 4°c to 35°c no worries.

Edited March 2, 2023 by Paul De Tourtoulon
looks like the BSI stuff

[Jon H]

28 minutes ago, Richard Wills 2 said:

I tried some of the HK unbranded stuff a couple of years ago, useless, like you say refused to go off without kicker.

 

 

Yea mine came in a blank bottle. No label at all and i had to shake it to try and work out if it was think, thin, or medium. Even with kicker it would get a crispy film on the top but still be gloopy in the middle. Really naff. 

[kc]

A couple of weeks ago my local Poundland were selling £1 packs containing 4 tubes of 1.5ml cyano.   Batch date says Nov 2022.   I have not tried it yet.   I think that is the best way to buy  - small tubes which are just right for use.  I prefer to use PVA but sometimes a thin cyano is needed for repairs or fixing wing ribs after assembling.  Cyano always seems to go off a week or so after opening, so small tubes suit me best.    

[Outrunner]

I buy 50 gram bottles from Screwfix for a tad over £3. Don't like using the stuff so it goes off after many months before I use it all.

[Cuban8]

Never used HK's unbranded cyano so can't comment on its quality - their Bob Smith Industries stuff was fine though. Whatever the brand, store it in a dry, sealed container in the fridge. I have several bottles of cyano that have been in the fridge for a couple of years (maybe longer) and are still in perfect condition. Some cheap stuff from Wilkinson's and some branded stuff from the model shop (now closed).

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Wickes own 20g bottles are good.

[Nigel R]

I've been using Expo 'fine grade'. It's thin enough to use through a very narrow dropper tube. Cost is reasonable. Also bought Inwood's own branded stuff a number of times. I tend to buy 50g bottles and decant into a small one. I recycle the small bottles through some acetone. Let the acetone evaporate before you let it near fresh cyano though!

 

I'm certain all of our hobby brands are simply rebadged from an industrial wholesaler / supplier. Most of it seems to turn up in identical 20g or 50g containers with different brand stickers on the front.

 

The only dodgy cyano I've had has been pound shop stuff, which was very thick and simply never set.

[ken anderson.]

have a try with Screwfix(geordie dating agency) different sizes and reasonable prices..

 

 

ken anderson...ne...1...glue dept.

 

[Andy Stephenson]

I noted this at Toolstation, it's not cheap but I think it's the low viscosity type which is hard to come by outside of the modelling trade. The viscosity is 120 CPS if anyone can say what this actually means...

 

[Flying Squirrel]

120CPS is quite thick I think.

[Andy Stephenson]

I picked up a bottle of cyno on a display stand when I was at TS the other day and shook it, it was definitely the thin variety but I didn't buy it. I will check the next time I'm there.

[Jon H]

Looks like we have plenty of alternatives to the established model brands. Always handy in a pinch as a trip to the model shop to top up with glue is going to be nearly 3 hours round trip for me i suspect. 

 

 

[Engine Doctor]

3 hours ago, Andy Stephenson said:

I picked up a bottle of cyno on a display stand when I was at TS the other day and shook it, it was definitely the thin variety but I didn't buy it. I will check the next time I'm there.

The TS thin is equivalent to our medium . By thin I am comparing to Zap thin. Their thick is very strong and doesn't seem to go brittle like cheaper varieties.

Edited March 3, 2023 by Engine Doctor

[Paul De Tourtoulon]

On 02/03/2023 at 12:22, Jon - Laser Engines said:

 

Yea mine came in a blank bottle. No label at all and i had to shake it to try and work out if it was think, thin, or medium. Even with kicker it would get a crispy film on the top but still be gloopy in the middle. Really naff. 

I used a lot of that stuff, really good, as good as the branded stuff, maybe it's the British climate, or you are building your planes in Iron🤐

[Jon H]

I made a little trip to hobby craft for some tamiya masking tape and airfix glue. While mooching around i found a 20g bottle of bostik branded cyano for £4.50 so i am going to try that over the weekend. 

[SIMON CRAGG]

I use the "Mitre Bond" two part kits from Toolstation. Medium Cyno and bottle of kicker.

 

Brilliant stuff!.