First, to toot our own horn — This glue won BEST OF SHOW at SEFF in 2007. Yes, it’s that good!
M100XF is the result of nearly 2 years of lab work by Mercury Chemist. This work has resulted in a formulation that is among the fastest, strongest and highest quality ever available.
This product is from the Ethyl family of CA with a few proprietary additives included to increase speed and strength. M100XF is 100cps in viscosity but yet still has very good wetting out qualities when applied to a joint, it will not wick into the joint but will soak into to the joint and surrounding wood to make a very strong bond. M100XF can be used by either applying to one surface before positioning or it can be applied to the joint after the parts are positioned. With these properties M100XF is a great adhesive for using over the existing joints in ARF aircraft where a good once over is needed before the first flight.
Another strong attribute is it’s low vapor properties, while it is not a low odor product like M100F or M1000F we have noticed, during the many hours of testing, that M100XF does not produce the same amount of vapors as the standard Ethyl grade CA.
One of the best uses for this product is on poplar plywood, or as we know it Lite-ply. We have also found it to work great when sheeting with balsa or working with any tough to bond surfaces.
The reason this product works so good on the poplar plywood is due to the high alkaline content of poplar. Alkaline is a neutralizer to cyanoacrylate, which will prevent the product from reacting with the moisture in the wood; in this case an accelerator would be used to promote the curing process. The accelerator will cure the CA but with a more brittle joint, the very thing we want to avoid when gluing plywood.
Based on extensive testing this product is a great choice for assembling the ARF type models. Because of the extensive use of poplar plywood in these models most manufacturers use a PVA (polyvinalacetate) type of glue. This glue is an air-drying adhesive that cures by solvent evaporation. Simply put, when the water, that carries the adhesive to the joint, evaporates the adhesive that has spread into the joints grain and crevices dries and forms a flexible, mechanical bond. These types of products are heavy, slow and do not posses the strength of CA.
With the excellent wet-out capabilities of M100XF you can go over the joints on your new ARF and be assured the glue joints are solid. Also you can use this product during the many assembly and gluing steps required to complete the model.