RapidFix 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.

RapidFix works exactly as stated in their advertisement and instructions. It is excellent for repairing and reinforcing solid objects but it does not have any adhesive properties on shiny surfaces. RapidFix is great as long as you prepare the surfaces according to the instructions by dulling the surfaces to be joined and it is better if you can bridge the surfaces. This resin will only cure with ultra violet light so the resin must be visible in order for it to cure. I was able to fix a pair of sunglasses that had broken near the nose bridge on one side and I was able to form a reinforcement using the support for the nose pads. I also reinforced the other side of the bridge since I saw that that was a weak point and now the glasses are stronger than they were before. I was also able to repair the head on a grooming trimmer which saved me from having to purchase an new one. I have found that this is a great product for the right applications and I would suggest watching a couple of YouTube videos before you purchase to make sure you understand it's limitations. In my opinion once you know how to prepare the surfaces of the item to be repaired this is a great product to have on hand for many applications.

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.

I've bought and used this product in the past with great results, but the re-order I received today soured me a bit. The new kit came with a new light source. I added a new AA battery, but nothing. I dug the UV light source from the last order out of the trash, and threw out the new light source. Success! The adhesive still works great, bonds well, and cures with a hard adhesive surface. I'll keep buying the adhesive in the future, but I won't toss the old light source out until I'm sure the new one works

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.

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.

OH....I do love this stuff. This is a big 'ol bottle of the brew and the flashlight is way cool! My latest fix was my Head tennis racquet, which after being slammed into the tennis court service on numerous occasions while either scooping up or flat out missing a short ball, was worn down to the last laminate layer on the head hoop! Forget the bumper, that was disintegrated eons ago. So, before i put on a new bumper (next string job), I decided to use this stuff to build the laminate layers back up. The worn areas, 2 of them, were both indented (worn away) probably to a depth of 1/16", and so I layered on layer after layer until I built the depressing back up to the surrounding un-trashed areas of the head. It makes for a very hard plastic finish which looks to be on par with the actual tennis racquet construction! Layer it on, flick on the killer flash light and be amazed! One word of caution though, the flashlight heats up a bit so I try not to overdo it. turn off between layers and I would suggest storing the light without the batter inside! Great stuff though, fixed tons of other stuff.....pretty magical stuff and this is the largest amount of the actual adhesive offered by anyone with the best light IMHO!

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