Put a cheap ca glue accelerator on an open mortise...

I was in a hurry on a kitchen job in Boulder last month and grabbed a little bottle of super cheap accelerator from a hardware store. Sprayed it on a mortise before pressing in the tenon and that stuff frothed up like crazy, then set so fast it left a white haze inside the joint that wouldn't sand out. Lesson learned: spend the extra $8 on a quality brand that doesn't leave residue, or just let the glue cure naturally. Has anyone else had a brand of accelerator ruin a finished face like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayes.jake16d ago

Have you ever noticed how the stuff that promises to save you time is usually the stuff that ends up costing you double? That cheap accelerator got you on the quick fix, but now you're spending way more effort trying to fix the mess it left. It's the same with half the shortcuts in life, honestly. You grab the cheapest option hoping to cut a corner, and next thing you know you're dealing with a white haze on a finished piece that you can't sand out. There's a reason why proper woodworkers stick to a few trusted brands, it's not just snobbery. They've already learned the hard way that saving a few bucks upfront can mess up a whole day's work.

leo61216d ago

True, but that white haze is usually from too much moisture in the air, not the brand.

johnson.jesse16d ago

Yeah, that "too much moisture in the air" thing is exactly what I ran into. I was spraying some lacquer on a humid day and it came out looking like a ghost town. Let it cure for a day in a dry room and I just hit it with a light sanding and a fresh coat, that fixed it right up.