Super glue on favorite tweezers

**sreinmann** · #1 12-22-2019, 07:55 PM

My wife, bless her, decided to be helpful and proactive in building a winter village we’d picked up late last year. She had wanted to build it together, but decided to get a head start.

“Hope it was okay that I used your tools.”
“Sure, hun. Sorry I’ve been so busy.”
“Elmers wasn’t working and it was taking too long so I got some gorilla gel glue.”
“Okay, I had some in another drawer but that’s fine.”

Next time I sat down with my set, I found my favorite tweezers, $12 stainless steel Showgard 909 stamp collector’s set, with the tip just covered in glue. Not glued shut, but ruined all the same.

Is there anything that I can do to release the glue? These are too thin to consider grinding and before I try to chisel them I figured I should ask.

**rickstef** · #2 12-22-2019, 08:07 PM

acetone
hot water
paint thinner

try those

**db-sa** · #3 12-22-2019, 08:07 PM

I'd try slicing it off rather than scraping. My preference would be a single edge razor blade rather than a knife blade.

After that a soaking in water might help remove any residue
Only a suggestion, good luck with whatever you try.

**Zakopious** · #4 12-22-2019, 08:17 PM

Some nail polish remover is 100% acetone.

https://m.wikihow.com/Remove-Gorilla-Glue

Caution: Acetone is very flammable.

**SCEtoAUX** · #5 12-22-2019, 08:18 PM

Pure acetone or nail polish remover with acetone. Soak the glue until it softens and then scrape it off.

**davelant** · #6 12-23-2019, 07:58 PM

I would use the flame from a match to burn it off. I understand that these are some very nice tweezers, and that high temperatures can make stainless steel more vulnerable to oxidation. However, that requires the metal to be heated to well over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
https://www.marlinwire.com/blog/what...-vs-316-vs-330 And if it were over 1,000 degrees the tweezers would be glowing red, which is unlikely to happen with just a match. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_heat Of course, my tool is a needle mounted in a wooden dowel, hammered flat on the free end to make a tiny super-glue spatula. I burn the glue off all the time.

**cfuruti** · #7 12-24-2019, 08:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davelant

However, that requires the metal to be heated to well over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.... Of course, my tool is a needle mounted in a wooden dowel, hammered flat on the free end to make a tiny super-glue spatula. I burn the glue off all the time.

I'd afraid the steel's temper would be disturbed at much lower temperatures. Your spatula isn't required to withstand big loads, unlike a tweezer's tips.

**airdave** · #8 12-24-2019, 08:20 AM

Just dissolve it in Acetone or Lacquer Thinner (Reducer).
Depending on how old the glue is, it may take some time, but it will dissolve.
Just be sure to put everything in a sealed jar/container (metal or glass)
otherwise the cleaner will evaporate.

**Renaud** · #9 12-24-2019, 08:45 AM

French version, just for you: I already used it over years when I get my fingers glued together.

https://www.amazon.fr/Loctite-Detach...7198566&sr=8-3

**John Wagenseil** · #10 12-27-2019, 02:49 PM

Supermarket brand or no-name nail polish remover.
It is mostly acetone with a thickening agent to make it stay in one place and slow evaporation and is in expensive. Dab some on the super glue, or put a little in a shot glass, enough to cover the tweezer tips, and wait until the super glue is dissolved or soft enough to wipe off.