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TRAVEL Hints and Tips Post your TIPS to travellers - all the interesting little tidbits you learned on the road about packing, where to get stuff, and how to cope with problems. Please make sure the subject describes the tip clearly!
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  #1  
Old 6 Sep 2007
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Interesting Use For Superglue

apart from the obvious.......

if you cut yourself badly enough to need stitches, and your MILES from a hospital, which if your planning an RTW its a possibility.... use superglue in the edges of the wound and glue it together.
also works on cats ears when they have been fighting. (honest!)

I have used superglue on various deep cuts ( i was a sign maker and slipped with a scalpel on more than one occasion, superglue came to my rescue on some pretty deep cuts, the end of finger sliced off type that cant be stitched on)

take a few tubes as once its opened, it dries up real quick but you can get it in discount stores ( in UK at "pound shops") for a buck for 5 tubes
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  #2  
Old 6 Sep 2007
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You might be able to get a Physician to give you some medical glue instead of super glue. The same thing but marked medical ? ? $$$

I have seen riders using duct tape but I would be concerned with infection. In any case flush or irrigate the wound well. The old rule was 100 ml of clean water per cm of laceration. Yet again we have to worry about the water. I wonder if whiskey/ whisky works ? Also best to take your own suture kit, and needles with you to be used for you in some parts of the world. I am not sure if customs would take them from you.

:confused1:
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  #3  
Old 6 Sep 2007
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i believe the medical superglue has a blue dye in it

yep statdawg, medical is much the same stuff, the tip i am passing on was actually given me by my family doctor who used normal superglue on himself after he ripped his ear half off when on a weekend fishing trip ( he caught the hook in it when casting.....OUCH!!!!!!)


he said apart from the slight stinging when the hook pulled through the ear healed well. and you could hardly tell he had ripped his earlobe half off, just a scar, which is where i got the idea of fixing my cat. saved me about £60 in vets fees too

you mentioned needles and sutures......... hey fella, I have the guts to inject myself if i have to ( had to many times with Heparin) but sewing my own flesh????? NAH, give me superglue to hold it temporary at least till i get to a hospital.

ride save
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  #4  
Old 7 Sep 2007
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Very interesting , but just use it on the very edges of the wound .The hospital will probably insist on ripping open the wound to clean it out .
Never be tempted to glue back tooth crowns with superglue , it contains cyano acrylate ,nasty and poisonous .
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  #5  
Old 7 Sep 2007
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further to dodgers comments....

yes, sorry ~ Dodger
should have explained myself a little more clearly.
ONLY superglue edges of wound but leave a bit on each end for "drainage" of blood or pus build up, to avoid any infection take "Betadine"" Gel which comes in handy 30g tubes here in Spain it is an IODINE gel, which doesnt sting but cleans well and helps avoid infection. also if you have room carry a small bottle of 6% or 9% Hydrogen Peroxide ( called Agua Oxygenada in Spain) it fizzez gently and cleans wounds beautifully without stinging like hell.
if you look after a wound properly the chances are you wont get an infection.

Half a teaspoon of bleach in a pint of water is also a good steriliser for washing wounds ( in an emergency) as is your own urine which is sterile untill airborne bacteria get to work on it. so pee on your wound to rinse the dirt out then use the peroxide/TCP/whatever......
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  #6  
Old 7 Sep 2007
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I've used superglue to close small cuts and calluses that have cracked for years. I learned it as a adventure kayaker. Although the medical grade would be best, off-the-shelf stuff works well.
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  #7  
Old 7 Sep 2007
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This is great info...stuff every traveling moto rider should know.

I'm looking the medical version too...or maybe "industrial"?. Carpenters here have used it forever. Its in a small can with a little brush kind of like PVC cement. The stuff is just amazing!!! Some good tool supply and construction outfits used to stock it. Forms an instant skab. Wonderful. Blood is such a bother! And scares people.

Another use I discovered last summer for Super Glue!!
On a trip with family in the car, central valley, temps in the high 90's.
Radiator hose springs a very minor leak. I smelled it first. I figured it wouldn't work....and I thought it would take forever for the car to cool and for the
coolant spary to stop....But to my surprise...

as soon as it did cool a bit I popped the Rad cap to relieve press., wiped off the area around the pin hole leak and applied Super Glue liberally. It dried quickly, applied another layer, and another and another. 3 more days at speed on Highway 5 in high temps....NO LEAKS!!! A miracle!!

Yes...I have since replaced the hose. This sort of miracle may only be temporary!

But in the middle of nowhere on your liquid cooled bike, this could come in handy. My guess is that even if you had a bigger hole, if you took the offending hose off the bike and did multiple layers of Super Glue, it just may get you to town. Got to love Cyanide!

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  #8  
Old 8 Sep 2007
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Cool Patrick, nice one!

looks like I may have started something here.....lol!

another use for superglue..... just remembered
when travelling i use old innertubes cut into fat "rubberbands" to hold all kinds of stuff, spanners tool rolls, etc, well, one of those " rubberbands and some superglue can be handy! in an emergency superglue and a bit of old innertube will patch an innertube when you get a puncture, not as well as a pukka repair kit, but it beats walking!

also superglue on a bit of cloth then dip it in dust or sand, let it dry for 5 mins makes a handy emergency emery cloth if you need to clean anything to bare metal ( say before using some JB WELD on cracked casing)

Ride safe n keep it shiny(ish) side up!

Last edited by Martynbiker; 9 Sep 2007 at 10:15. Reason: adding more info, didnt explain clearly, as usual..lol
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  #9  
Old 9 Sep 2007
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wound suggestion

I have used superglue quite a few times for minor gash repair. I reckon close the wound up with your fingers, pad as much blood off as you can then pour glue onto the outer surface, this will stick the edges together whilst minimising the amount of glue that gets under, and sticks your skin to your flesh (not a good thing). Mainly recommended for 'flapper' type injuries rather than a deep tissue gash!
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  #10  
Old 9 Sep 2007
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not sure where i remember the snippet of information from, so it may not be true,
but wasn't superglue developed for the american soldiers in vietnam for medical field emergencies?
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  #11  
Old 10 Sep 2007
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spot on. The chemical itself was developed by the US military and called 'crazy glue'. I believe it was first deployed in Vietnam.

Is there much that hasn't been invented by the US military these days, I mean microwaves, superglue, speed, the concept of 'Unilateral Multilaterism'. The list goes on and on...........
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  #12  
Old 10 Sep 2007
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Head wounds and super glue

This is an actual procedure used in rural montana by a doctor in a middle of nowhere hospital. Whith a minor head wound ( lots of blood but no deep trauma) tie the hair from each side of the wound together and secure the knot with a drop of super glue. By the time the hair grows out the wound is healed.
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  #13  
Old 11 Sep 2007
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"Dog Soldiers" - it gets a mention in the film, as being first invented for medical use by the US military.

Just in case anyone's spent an hour, like me, thinking "Now which film did I hear that in?"

US military, the inventers of "friendly fire"
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  #14  
Old 16 Sep 2007
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Thumbs up Superglue pitted fork repair

I have repaired quite a few bikes that have had the chrome on the forks go rusty or pitted and rip seals, using superglue. I have bought and used several bikes that were really cheap because the cost of a "proper" repair on the hard chrome was more than the bike was worth. One bike, Yamaha XJ550 which cost me NZ$250, was sold to a friend about 5 years ago and it's still good. Here's how to do it.

You can dismantle the fork if there are lots of rust spots or dents, or you are replacing the seals or you can't get to the pits easily. Leave the forks on the bike if you can get to pits and the fork seals are still OK.

Very carefully clean the outside of the stauntion tube (I use lots of contact cleaner).

Use a fine pick to remove any loose particles out of the rust holes.

Use fine sandpaper, preferably at least 400-grit wet and dry, and sand away the raised rust pits or stone chips. IMPORTANT!!! Always rub up and down lengthways on the fork tube, NOT around.

Follow up with some 600 or 800 grit paper if you can.

Clean again with solvent and dry carefully. This is why I use contact cleaner. It will wash any oil away and drys without residue but I'm sure other things will work.

Find a warm sunny spot, and put a dab (small drop) of superglue on every rust spot or stone ding. Leave the fork tube in the sun for about half an hour. The superglue will go rock-hard and stick like... well... glue... to the clean metal.

Superglue shrinks quite a lot when it dries, so usually a second layer is needed and sometimes three in deep stone dents or where a rust spot is very deep so repeat the above step.

When the glue is completely hard, use the 400 and 600 grit wet-and-dry sandpaper to smooth back to an even dead smooth contour. Pantyhose will not snag when rubbed over the repair if it has been done properly. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ilies/clap.gif


You will still be able to see the holes and pits, but they will have a very hard and very smooth layer of dried superglue over them, that seems to last for many years. It only costs a few hours work and a few cents worth of glue. It sure is a lot cheaper than new fork tubes or re-chroming!

Now, if you want me to, I can tell you how to long-term repair CV carb diaphragms for less than five cents too! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...s/thumbup1.gif


Kind regards

Nigel in NZ
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Last edited by Nigel Marx; 16 Sep 2007 at 22:56. Reason: Trying to make the instructions clearer!
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  #15  
Old 16 Sep 2007
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Thumbs up And also repair body panels.

You can use a slurry of superglue and talcum powder to repair cracks and small holes in side-covers and fairings. A strip of cloth can be added to the glue on the inside of the cover or fairing to reinforce large cracks. Of course it is VERY easy to stick yourself to whatever you are repairing so be careful!

Kind regards

Nigel in NZ
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