Copyright © Honortronics Inc. 2011

Super Glue vs. Super Glue vs. Epoxy

Which is better for the job?

Honortronics Picks for the Best Value

(In Order)

Overview:

This glue was the only one that had a “perfect” score on the Strength Test and is the third cheapest per ounce of all 15 tested.

It is clearly the winner.

#2

Overview:

This glue got a very good score in the Strength Test and is still reasonably priced

This glue claims to be earth friendly, so this adds a degree of value.

#3

Overview:

This glue got a very good score in the Strength Test , but is a little more expensive than the glue above.

#4

Overview:

This glue got a very good score in the Strength Test , but is a little more expensive than the glue above.

#5

Overview:

This glue got a very good score in the Strength Test , but is almost twice as expensive as the glue above.

#6

Overview:

This glue got a very good score in the Strength Test , but is almost 5x as expensive as an equally performing glue

#7

#8

Overview:

This glue got a decent score on the Strength Test , but is one of the highest priced glues tested.

#9

Overview:

This glue didn’t perform nearly as well as the version above (that didn’t have the Skin Guard) on the Strength Test yet it is the same price as the one above.

Overview:

This glue didn’t do very well on the Strength Test at all.

#10

Overview:

This glue didn’t do very well on the Strength Test either, yet costs a little more than the glue above.  Though the glue didn’t perform that well in this test, the convenience that this packaging offers definitely adds value.

#11

Overview:

This glue did poorly on the Strength Test, but is less expensive than the glue below.

#12

Overview:

This glue also did poorly on the Strength Test, but is over twice as expensive as the glue above.

#13

#14

Overview:

This is the best performing out of the epoxy’s but this version still failed miserably.

#15

Overview:

This is the only one that started to separate itself before being tested.  If the glue below didn’t completely fail the Strength Test, this was the most obviously failing glue.

Overview:

This is the worst performing out of all of the glues.  This was the only one that completely failed the Strength Test.  It is expensive to boot, so this one takes honors at the bottom of the list.  Clearly the loser in this experiment.

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The following is a completely independent assessment of every name-brand of Gel Super Glue or Epoxy that advertises to bond Plastic on their packaging that is available in the general Houston area.

There were 15 samples tested from 9 different glue manufacturers as detailed below:

1. Loctite x 6
2. KrazyGlue x 2
3. Gorilla
4. Chemence Inc
5. Scotch/3M
6. Kwik-Fix
7. The Original Super Glue
8. Surehold
9. Devcon

Objective:

• To get an LED strip/stick to adhere to a piece of plastic-based glass.

Notes:

• The chemical composition of both the LEDs and the glass are unknown.
• This will be a commercial application, so durability and price are the paramount criteria.
• The prices were taken from the smallest commercial sizes available, so they may not reflect price breaks given for the volume discounts in a production environment.
• Judging from the results, Epoxy-based glues are not appropriate for this type of application.  This is not saying that they would not out-perform Super Glue in other applications.

The Strength Test was the primary criteria for ranking the different glues.

Ranking:

A ranking from 0 (lowest) to 5 (Highest) was used to classify the bond.

Basis for Rank:

An LED stick has 12 LEDs.  If all 12 LEDs are bonded to the glass by the glue with enough strength to break the solder bond on the circuit board before breaking, that is considered a “perfect” score.

If the LEDs are not bonded to the glass and are removed, the resulting residue is inspected for firmness and shininess to determine how well it was attempting to adhere to the LEDs.

Test:

The actual test was performed by suspending the glass assembly by the LED wires and then slowly adding weight (water) to the glass until the bond broke.  The resulting weight can then be measured.

Note - A “Passing” score on the weight was considered over ~25oz of force as that was when the solder bonds seemed to break.

Click Here

To view the raw Excel data used to derive these conclusions.

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