Super glue for a cup handle

The handle has cracked on your favorite coffee mug. Which glue do you grab? A super glue (cyanoacrylate) forms a quick and lasting bond -- but there might be side effects.
Recorded as part of Repair Café TV: Stuck on You, the World of Glue, 16 September 2020.

[@CatzDolz]

After the "repair" you can put the cup on your desk with pencils in it because to think that you can ever pour hot coffee in it and use it again, is folly. After a while, that handle will just snap off.

[@regineannbautista1776]

Thanks for your short tip. ☺️

[@jimbecarroll5780]

I have had a cup with a handle I repaired for more than 6 years and it holds up strongly even in washing it. I used epoxy though. These "super" glues are too rigid for ceramics that have any pressure use with them I found out

[@repaircafenc]

Yes, we agree that super glues are inflexible and even brittle. JB Clear Weld is a nice 2-part epoxy alternative. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJeVfKOAfLWcfbM

[@Harris_will_steal_election]

I agree I wouldn't trust holding a cup of coffee with super glue

[@nevisstkitts8264]

Food safe concerns: shoulda asked the corpsman if that superglue stitching me up was food safe ...

[@TW39]

Is it still holding up

[@willisverynice]

Yeah, but you’re no Larry, RIP

[@joehommes7364]

Skin glues (cyanoacrylates) have been used in healthcare for many years with lots of publish safety data. I don’t understand your comment about toxicity? Or touching the skin?

[@repaircafenc]

Lots of stuff used effectively in a clinical setting is not stuff you want to be exposed to everyday. Food safe is a relatively high standard. Some products are, some aren't. And there are a variety of cyanoacrylate formulations. Dermabond and Krazy Glue are not necessarily the same stuff.

[@SpearChuck777]

The Gorilla Glue calls for moist surfaces before gluing, did this tutorial skip that part?

[@repaircafenc]

The original Gorilla Glue is not a cyanoacrylate glue. It is a polyurethane-based glue. Gorilla Glue expands as it cures which makes it unsuitable for most applications. Super glues, as shown in this video, do rely on water vapor in the air as part of the chemistry of the bond they create. However, surfaces should not be moistened. There are accelerators which can be applied to prepare the surface, but those are not discussed here and are not needed for this type of application.

[@Inbarreto]

does it hold even with hot tea or coffe??

[@repaircafenc]

This video is an example. The cup went through many subsequent cycles in the dishwasher. Considering the safety concerns of spilling hot liquid, we recommend you use your own judgement about the appropriate use of any object that has been repaired with super glue.

[@anneliesepadilla2553]

Is this microwave and dishwasher safe?

[@repaircafenc]

Yes.

[@thenobullshtchannel8768]

I tried gorilla glue that didn’t work, I should have kept my bob Marley coffee cup handle now I keep the cup as a decoration on my window pane, but my other coffee cup broke my Long live rock mug & I will be trying superglue this time

[@julial3758]

I use my broken cup to put plant in. I accidently broke a perfect cup handle today... im so disappointed. That is now going to be forever another plant holder :(

[@kwphl]

Does it hold up to the weight of a full mug?

[@DonFick]

At Repair Café events, I am always cautious about repairing handles on pots, tea kettles, and similar items where a failure could result in a burn. Here, my focus was on the material more than the specific application. I can confirm that I ran the cup through 10 cycles of my dishwasher and it remained more than strong enough to hold its volume of water.

[@Harris_will_steal_election]

It will hold up until it doesn't