I was first introduced to Starbond because they solved a problem I had, and that problem was finding a CA Glue that was not clear, but colored so that I could use it for filling knot holes and cracks in wood ... Starbond was the only supplier I could find the filled that need ...
Watch it on Youtube: https://youtu.be/AfHr6lYG4os
Since then I have come to rely on them for other similar kinds of products and Starbond has continued to innovate their line of products by making a new product that fills other needs in woodworking and other mediums that have unique requirements for their specific line of work.
Another item that caught my attention early on was that Starbond seemed more interested in providing me fresh CA glue, and not only that, they wanted me to get the best use of the glue so informed me that to get the longest life of the glue, store it in the refrigerator and that way I should get at least 18 months of useful life from each bottle of glue and that has proven to be true ... I often get even more.
Over the years Starbond has expanded their product line to fill many different needs of clients, and below is just a sample of what is available. You can see details of all the glues and accessories or even purchase HERE
The Starbond Medium-Thick Flexible is easily my go-to CA Glue. I like the viscosity and more than that, I love the fact that this glue is a bit less brittle than other CA Glues, which means it has a small amount of flex, even when dry and hard so more likely to bend a tiny bit before is simply snaps.
Here is one use I find most useful ... a dab of CA glue on the wood, then spritz the back of the metal hinge and bond it to the wood. It makes a good solid attachment and much easier to drive screws that are well-placed. At one time I did use double-sided tape for this, which takes longer to fuss around with, and then it often comes off or comes loose even before I drill the first hole for the screws ... turns out, a lot of double side tape often, doesn't bond well with wood.
And here is another place where double-sided tape always failed me.
I have found that any of the metal wood rasps I have purchased are just too aggressive for most of what I do so making my own is inexpensive and works well as long as the double-sided tape held up, which wasn't long.
I decided to try CA Glue and WOW ... what a difference. I can make a solid woodworking rasp now in less time than it takes me to fuss around with double-sided tape (which normally comes loose after several strokes) and now, the coarse grit that I use bonds solidly to the wood, and last until the sandpaper finally wears out .. they use the other side of the wood to make another rasp ... or sometimes I put 60 grit on one side and 80 on the other side.
I have talked about this topic before, but don't recall giving so many examples ... every wood that I can ever recall working with has Knots or Crack or other Defects that are ALWAYS darker than the wood in which it is embedded. Below are Red Alder, Big Lear Maple, Douglas Fir, and Black Walnut, all of which have defects and all of which are DARKER than the base on which they grow.
The quickest, easiest, and arguably the most stable way of fixing all these defects is with CA Glue. Starbond has 3 excellent options for this, Medium CA Glue which provides a lighter coloration, Medium Thick which provides a much darker version and finally Black CA Glue which is ... black, and not to be discounted because of all the versions, the black might be the most useful of all of them.
When it comes to repairing voids there are 2 things to avoid.
1 - Don't use clear CA Glue
2 - Don't make a mess of your repair by using too much glue
One of the things I love about Starbond is that it includes a small package of Micro Tips with each bottle of glue and these are very useful for making repairs like filling voids, cracks, and knot holes in wood. The best approach is to use a small amount and spritz the repair with the accelerator as you go along. This "sets" the CA glue so more can be applied over so that you build up layers. If you try to lay down too much glue it can build up above your repair and when it dries and hardens it is often much harder than the wood so that when you go to sand with your random orbital sander you can in fact sand out a bit of a gully around the glue which often doesn't show up until your have applied the final top coat of finish.
Also watch crack filling, even thick or medium thick glue, and seep down a crack and onto whatever is underneath ... like your workbench. Sometimes covering the bottom of a crack with something like masking tape will help to resolve this issue.
These are Colin's most frequently used CA glues.
* NO-05 Starbond Infiltrant Odorless Thin CA Glue
* KEG-500 Starbond Flexible Heavy Medium
* BR-500 Starbond "Dark Brown" Medium-Thick CA Glue
* Starbond Pump Sprayer Accelerator 2 oz
To purchase any of these products and more, directly from Starbond ... click HERE
For more information on Starbond Superglues and to have some enjoyable reading, download their e-Magazine called Meet the Makers, it's free and also provides a lot of great information on CA glues, ideas for what glues to use in different situations, and more. Download it from here - Starbond e-Magazine
