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Cyanoacrylate adhesives: blooming effect

BORN2BOND™ ULTRA:

When using cyanoacrylate adhesives, aesthetically very annoying whitish halos can occur after curing.

In some cases, blooming is not a problem as the assembled parts can later be painted or finished; but in high-end production where aesthetics are paramount, it cannot be underestimated. Stains on expensive fashion accessories or consumer electronics are not acceptable.

So what causes blooming?

Blooming is due to the fact that these adhesives consist of very volatile particles that react with moisture and settle, ‘blooming’ on the parts, giving a dusty, halo-like effect.

When these volatile ingredients condense on the surfaces of parts, they can generate stains and this is particularly noticeable on black or shiny parts and on optically transparent parts, e.g. lipstick cases, glass lenses and covers, high-end writing instruments, perfume bottles and the like.

Instant adhesives: ECA VS MECA

In the world of instant adhesives, there are two main categories, ‘ethyl cyanoacrylate’ and ‘methoxyethyl cyanoacrylate’, abbreviated as ‘ECA’ and ‘MECA’. ECA-based adhesive products are well accepted and well used. They are generally inexpensive to produce and have become the mainstay of the adhesives industry, being convenient and easy to use and providing strong and immediate adhesion. But they suffer from two major disadvantages, both associated with their volatility: they create blooming and have an acrid odour and must be used in a suitable environment.

The new generation of MECA-based products is designed to completely overturn these disadvantages – they have negligible blooming and are totally odourless and do not burn the eyes, but work very well as instant adhesives and can bond different types of substrates without the need for additional chemicals.

Thanks to innovative technology, MECA-based instant adhesives are now accessible with these advantages in a cost-competitive manner. The technical reason why MECA-based instant adhesives work so well is related to the design of the molecules from which they are formed, which have a greatly reduced volatility.

THE WORLD’S FASTEST MECA ADHESIVES

To date, the performance and applications of instant adhesives have been bounded by the limits of cyanoacrylate technologies. Through a unique process, Born2Bond™ unlocks the potential of these technologies.

Born2Bond™ Ultra adhesives are odourless, bloom-free instant adhesives with a wide viscosity range, specially designed to bond most substrates, including plastics, rubber and metals. They do not suffer from speed problems like other MECA adhesives.