ABK                        Solvent cement                                                                   Update  26 July 2007

The sort of stuff I am talking about is generally used for gluing plastic pipes into the fittings.  It is a clear goo, generally in a screw-top tin whose lid has a brush for applying the goo to the pipe.  As both plumbing and electrical trades nowadays use plastic pipes and fittings, the cement can be bought at most building merchants and electrical wholesalers.

Years ago this sort of glue was used to stick labels onto radio accumulators. It was then made by cutting thin strips of celluloid and putting them into acetone.  I imagine the cement that is now on sale is made in a similar manner.  Until a few years ago it was possible to buy acetone in a pharmacist, but the world has got so safety-conscious that it is probably  unavailable now except through specialist suppliers who want a pint of your blood and a sworn affidavit to satisfy the HSE people.

Acetone was also used as a test fluid in certain urine tests, but it is cacogenic if you go in for glue sniffing.  (I wonder whether the reason that the Americans can't make a decent cup of tea is because boiling water too can be dangerous, so it is forbidden to use the stuff.  What they call tea is made with tepid water and tastes like maid's-pee)

But back to DIY, not Yankee-bashing.  They are doing that themselves at the moment having not fully sorted out their New Orleans and the Iraq problems  I use this cement (I don't know what else to call it) as a quick-setting glue.  As it has a fairly thick consistency, it fills in small gaps between the things that are being stuck.

As the stuff hardens rapidly, you need to keep the lid fairly tight all the time.  I am not certain, but I believe the stuff dissolves the surface of the pipe and fitting.  If this is the case, separation will be virtually impossible once it has hardened.

I found that for securing a telephone wire across the top of a brickwork fire surround, it was excellent.  I held the wire in place with a heavy piece of metal and smeared the goo across the top of the wire.  The goo, of course, smeared down on to the brickwork.  But as it is transparent, it is invisible.  If the wire is rebellious, like mine was, you have to work a couple of inches at a time allowing the goo to harden each time before moving on to the the next two inches.  It's slow work but it is a good job.