An early morning a few weeks ago my husband was getting his first cup of coffee. He inadvertently knocked my favorite mug onto the floor shattering it. Apologetically he said he would get me a new one. Almost in tears I forgave him for the accidental demise of my favorite mug as we picked up the pieces. I asked him not to throw it out, that when I found the gorilla glue I would try to glue it together.
I know it won’t be usable, that’s okay. You see this mug has sentimental value. My favorite childhood movie is The Wizard of Oz and a few years ago Mom and Dad went to Kansas. They bought me the mug as a souvenir. So there was no way it was going in the garbage. It was put in a safe place until I could find the gorilla glue.
A couple days ago while cleaning and getting things ready for Thanksgiving, I found the gorilla glue. So, I set it in a safe place till I had the opportunity to fix my mug.
Yesterday I decided was the day to fix it. So I grabbed the pieces of the mug and the gorilla glue. First piece on, I did good. Very little glue on my fingers. I didn’t get stuck to the mug. Most importantly, I didn’t stick any fingers together.
The second piece went on okay too, until I realized the third piece wouldn’t fit right and I had to take the second piece off and fit the third piece to it first. This is where it started to get complicated. When I say complicated, I mean messy, and precarious!!
The more pieces I put on, the more glue that was sticking to my fingers. It was dicey a few times when I thought for sure I was going to get stuck to the mug. I was extremely careful not to touch any fingers together, that would have been disastrous!
I finally fit all the pieces together, glue dripping down from the seams. Yes, I now realize less is more when working with Gorilla Glue. But most importantly the mug is together again, except a small piece from the handle I couldn’t figure out how to get back together. I figured I shouldn’t press my luck considering I had glue on every fingertip by now that was drying to a crusty finish.
As the glue dried it literally pulled my skin. The sensation was annoying to say the least. I tried to no avail to wash it off with hot soapy water. No luck, so I asked my husband’s advice. He jokingly said”That’s your problem.” To which my youngest son replied, “ Actually it’s yours, since Mom is in this predicament because YOU broke her mug.” He offered to try carburetor cleaner. I tried goop hand cleaner, which didn’t work. So I texted Mom and asked if she had any nail polish remover. She did, so I ran downstairs, which startled the dog and got her barking.
I grabbed one of the three bottles of remover and ran back upstairs. I don’t know if it’s just me, but the sensation on my fingertips was getting torturous. I preceded to pour the remover in a bowl and soak one hand while going to Facebook for advice. My friends never fail me. Within seconds I had tips on what to use.
The first tip was acetone. I looked at the remover bottle I was using, Non acetone. Okay, so that’s why it’s not working. Ran back downstairs checked one of the other bottles to make sure it was acetone. Bingo! I quickly put some in a bowl and got soaking eager to end the torture. Well acetone didn’t do the trick. It got some off but not much.
So out to the garage I went. My husband sprayed carburetor cleaner on my fingertips. Maybe a few flakes came off, but I was still being tortured by the dried glue pulling my skin. We tried starter fluid next. Nope, no dice! I was starting to think my husband would try setting my hands on fire next! Lol
Back inside, I checked Facebook, you know my trusty friends. The next one was WD40, but I had just come in from the garage. I figured I would go down the list and see what else was there. One well meaning friend suggested a knife.
A knife!!! Seriously, I obviously can’t be trusted with a knife considering the current predicament I was in. I’ll pass.
Next was Mayo. Well it can’t hurt, right? By now my hands were getting dried out from all the different “treatments “. I grabbed the Mayo out of the refrigerator, put some in a bowl, and started soaking my hands in it. Wow! It was soothing to the skin, but no luck in getting all the glue off.
Back outside to the garage I went. My husband sprayed WD40 on my hands and I scrubbed. Some more came off, but not enough. So inside I went.
A friend had mentioned a rough emery board. The closest thing I had was a foot file. I grabbed it and stood at my bathroom sink filing off the glue.
Yay! I was finally free! So a little tip when using Gorilla glue. Don’t, just have someone else do it! I am sure it will be a laugh to watch the fiasco that ensues!
Thoughts of an Over Thinker 