UV Liquid Plastic Adhesive with UV Flashlight, 10 mL

UPDATE: RapidFix have sent me a replacement UV flashlight that works fine (I hope as I've only tested it briefly, but it should be OK?). Now I can continue my project as the UV glue itself is very good. Revised this review to 5 stars as they'll even support their international customers, which some companies refuse to do. Good on you, RapidFix! Original Review: I'm bitter. But I wasn't before. It just... happened. Let me fill you in. I imported this from the US to the UK and Amazon quickly accommodated my order. I was so surprised at how fast it arrived (I think it was a little over a week) that I wasn't really ready to use it yet. I wanted to make something decorative for my mum from some glass items and this seemed to be the best (and most cost effective) bet in gluing the parts together securely since the glass would allow the UV light to pass through. I gave a test demonstration for my mum and she remarked that the "glue set like glass". Which it did. I really loved the cute little UV flashlight (which drew me into buying this product) and it looked well made for the price (with a really bright UV glow compared to a 12 led UV flashlight I have that is powered by 3 x AAA batteries!), since most manufacturers only sell you the glue alone. Sadly, that first great opinion has soured into disgust, as now I am ready to use the glue and lo and behold, the UV flashlight just died. On its own. Just lying on a desk. Doing nothing. Not abused in any way at all. I couldn't understand how after that short demo (about 30-40 seconds long) the flashlight just couldn't take it anymore and keeled over! First I tried fresh batteries (alkaline and rechargeable), then opened it up and nothing looked out of place (It simply unscrews apart with some help of needle point pliers. Yes, I went into the tailcap that housed the switch and also into the front where the bulb was. Everything was still soldered in place, nice and clean), so I diagnosed it to be the bulb itself, which I find ridiculous. I did use my other light in the end, but was sorely disappointed that the UV flashlight didn't even last long enough for me to even use the UV glue for what I intended! Worse than this is that since it is a US product which doesn't exist in the UK (unless you pay over inflated prices from other suppliers who have imported it themselves), there is no support internationally. I can't see RapidFix being willing to send me a replacement flashlight. I suppose that's what happens when you buy overseas. Sometimes you're lucky and sometimes you're not. I'm going to see if I can replace the LED diode inside as I still like the flashlight, but I don't think I'll be buying any more glue from RapidFix even though it seems to cure OK (and I really live that the UV glow helps you see where you placed the glue to insure you cure all of it). My other flashlight (the 12 LED one) did cure the UV glue, but it had a sort of greasy finish. I don't think I noticed this with the RapidFix UV flashlight, so it could be a stronger wavelength even though it's just one diode. And that just makes me more bitter. :( So overall, I can only give two stars. And that's just because the UV glue does do what it's supposed to do. I'm still wary to test the strength, so I'm going to leave the glued items for a while until I get a better UV light or get the RapidFix one sorted somehow.

So Far, So Good. I have not used this glue for a lot of stuff yet, but it has worked perfectly on some broken jewelry, a 5 gallon plastic water jug, and a few other things. I recently attached the rear view mirror to the windshield of my truck with it - will just have to wait and see if it lasts. I was not sure about that use, since I had originally put a drop of the glue on a glass table and cured it, then found it was not particularly hard to pop off. But the last real mirror glue I tried did not work properly (it was very old), so I thought I would try this stuff that I already had before I spent money to buy another single-use package of mirror glue. The glue cures fine with either the supplied flashlight (mine seemed very good quality) or just natural sunlight. In fact, so far I have put each repair out in the bright sun for a few hours even after curing with the flashlight, just as some extra precaution to get it lots of UV light. Yesterday I glued two halves of a broken glass piece together by not using the flashlight at all - just positioned the two pieces together and then walked outside with them - they held together enough to put them down in just 10-20 seconds, and that was under a slanting winter sun! After the glue is cured, it has a definite blue/violet color in full sun, but is mostly clear indoors. I do find it hard to get just the right amount of glue on a project - even though the bottle has a fine tip, it seems to need a little squeeze to get anything out, and then I end up with too much. I will update this review if any of the repairs fail (especially the inside mirror mount to the windshield). Update, 2+ years later: This stuff is not perfect, but I still REALLY like it for many things. The truck mirror is till solidly in place, despite the fact it is a 3/4 ton truck with overloads that bounces like mad on the washboard dirt road in and out of my property!. Use on plastics seams to be the weakest point - it initially worked great on a number of hard and semi-hard plastics, but after a year or so of use and washing, the glue started flaking off. My 5 gallon water jug did start leaking after a lot of bouncing around, but I repaired it again with the same stuff, and it is still in use.

I am an RC model builder and bought "RapidFix UV Liquid Plastic Adhesive Refill 10 mL - Twin Pack, 6121830ES" for $16 and "Bondic Refill 4 Gram Liquid Plastic Cartridge UV Adhesive Glue (Pack of 2)" for $10 to test. The test was gluing a toothpick to a plastic eyeglass lens. The lens was cleaned with alcohol before the tests. Bondic is slightly thicker than RapidFix but both maintained a dot shape and cured in 30 secs with a 51LED 395 nM Ultraviolet flashlight. Both had a very slight yellow tint that was only apparent on white backgrounds. The tint is not apparent on color or off-white surfaces. The RapidFix glue fluoresced under UV light both during and after curing. The Bondic had a nice metal applicator needle. Both are "refills" but can be used without the original product. They had no noticeable smell and the containers sealed well. The RapidFix dot of glue pulled loose from the plastic lens on all 3 tests. The Bondic dot of glue stayed on the lens and toothpick broke first on all 3 tests. I was able to scrape both types of glue off of the lens with my fingernail in an additional test. A super glue dot on the lens did not maintain a dot shape and did not cure. After 5 minutes I cured it with Insta-Set but the glue dot hardly stuck at all to the lens. Both UV glues stick better to this type of plastic than super glue. A relatively weak 1200 ft/lb 5min epoxy stuck better to the lens than the other glues but did not dry clear due to bubbles created by mixing. Conclusion: Both UV glues stuck better to smooth plastic than super glue but not as strongly as epoxy. They are very convenient glues in that they do not run and will stay liquid until cured by UV light. I like the cost per gram and fluorescence of RapidFix. It might have some interesting uses in black light art. Bondic was stronger during my tests and I will probably buy it again since strength is my primary need.

I had some serious reserves about this product after reading the reviews. What I usually do is read a few of the five-star and then checkout the 1-star review to see what the issues are. I went for it anyway because I was out of options for a few things a care for and that no other glue could fix. I had three things to fix . . . an expansive brochure holder (these things cost $12 a piece and they snap easy), my favorite Happy Hour driveway glass (which I brought back from Las Vegas, so I can't replace it easily), and a soap dispenser container that is part of a set and that the company that makes it doesn't exist anymore. With nothing to lose I went for it. As you will see in the pictures below . . . My precious soap dispenser made of thin, aged, brittle plastic was fixed!!!! This is something that we use everyday as it hangs inside the shower and endures hold and cold shower. It doesn't link, feels strong and works as new! My brochure presenter is holding up and feels stronger than the unbroken ones. I buy these 10 at a time and place them in stores that agree on allowing to promote my services. My Favorite cup is fixed and holding strong. The ONLY downside is that the liquid coming out of the container is rather thick and comes out quick. So, if you are trying to fix something thin (as a glass) you will likely end up with a glue drip that shows. It is not thin and almost invisible as superglue is, BUT it holds when flexed and it is a lot stronger. With some practice one may be able to make a tiny repair with no drip mark, but I am just not that kind of guy. Bottom line is: it is easy to use, it is tough, and it does fix things that other gules have failed to fix.

Be forewarned, the stars are for the overall package. I'd give 5 stars to the 'glue' and 1 star to the flashlight if I could. This stuff is really cool! I saw an ad for a competitor, which after watching the videos knew I had to get some. The pricing was a little better for this product (more 'glue' for the price) and I figured I'd be nice to have a replaceable battery for the flashlight (though I worry about misplacing it). I've used it a few times already, and I must say it works quickly, with a lot of strength, and is actually fun to apply. The craptastic flashlight is another story. It may just be the one I received... Sadly, it didn't come with a battery (I had to scrounge one from a friend) After getting the battery installed, the light didn't turn on. Ok...hmm..replace battery, check orientation, check tightness of both ends, check push button...all seems to be properly setup.. put battery back in, and still no light. hmm...maybe its an invisible UV light? No, it does shine purple; after spending 5 minutes clicking, twisting, holding button part way down and slightly loosening the top half of the body of the flashlight. Yea! I can now glue something...oh bother, the light went out again. I'd love to get a replacement flashlight. I plan to contact the company for another. Other than that, great stuff! I don't think I'll ever want to use superglue again.

I ordered this to use to repair some USB power cables for my electronics that were becoming frayed. I also used it to patch some Sony headphones as well as a few other items. The headphones had broken and the pieces were lost long ago but I used the adhesive as a hard covering for the electronics of the earpieces and it has worked out fine (see photos). The process usually takes a few steps where you layer coats of the adhesive to build up the repair. If you try to put too much on in one coat, it will drip. I purchased a separate UV light to harden the adhesive rather than the one suggested by the manufacturer of the product. I used a 365nm wavelength light and found that the adhesive hardened faster than with a 400nm light. (Americans' Preferred® 12 UV Light -365nm). IMPORTANT POINT: The adhesive works if you are trying to fill a gap or cover something with a hard plastic barrier, but will not glue two pieces together where there isn't any gap for the UV light to shine on the material in order to harden the adhesive. That would be a task for super glue where there isn't an airspace between parts that you are gluing together. The UV light has to illuminate the adhesive or it won't harden. Direct daylight works as well to harden the adhesive but you can be more precise with the UV flash light. I see many reviews where someone misunderstood how this is used to repair something. There must be a way for the light to illuminate the material otherwise it will not hold. It will work to bridge two pieces together if you layer the material and harden the material using the light between layers. Once the repair is complete, the adhesive is clear and gets even harder. The manufacturer says the material can be sanded but I haven't tested that yet. So far, no reason to do so. I would definitely recommend this product to anyone as long as they understand how to apply the material. Once I run out of this batch of adhesive, I plan re-order. This is a handy thing to have in your shop for fast repairs. The adhesive 000-

Absolutely amazing, at first. I instantly could put together ceramic dishes, broken glass, wood, plastic, you name it. It would only take 20 seconds. However, it was too good to last. Almost everything we have glued has fallen apart again. This is much like super glue, but faster to dry and easier to handle, but like super glue, the bonds are very brittle and can handle very little. We have even found that ceramics we glue fall apart on their own after a few weeks. It will not adhere to many plastics. It just pulls off the wood fibers when attached there. Breaks off fabrics or flexible objects. Good for a quick, short lived, fix. 11/17 update. Nothing we have glued with this held together more than a few days. I had originally purchased another vial of glue but the original and the replacement both will not activate any longer with the uv light. It appears that the adhesive doesn't have a very long shelf life.

Works very well, sets faster and harder than "5 second" fix. The UV light is MUCH brighter and nicer to use than the one from 5 second fix and you get tons more glue, so value is better, plus you can buy refills (without the light) for half the price of this. With the light from 5 second fix , you had to hold the button the whole time and there was no switch to shut it off completely - so if something heavy was resting on it, it would turn on and run down the battery. This glue isn't for things like gluing broken china back together, where the pieces fit snugly back together and no light would be able to get inside to where the glue is. However, if you have something like that to glue you could put superglue on the inside and put a bead of Rapidfix on the outside to strengthen the bond. That way the bond would (almost) instantly be strong enough to handle, and the superglue could set properly. Also, a cool feature of rapidfix is that it glows under UV light so you can easily see how well you covered the area with glue. Surprisingly useful! 5 second fix does not do this.

Alternate build up and curing of failed part then restoring surface to original contour with a file worked well in restoring wear area on an appliance part. The repair has not been tested for durability however, adhesion appears satisfactory.

well this product it doesn't work like they said, it brakes and last glued for days not like regular glues witch still are best won't recommend it