If you’ve ever glued a 3D print and immediately fused two fingers together, congratulations — you’re one of us. And today, we’re taking that universal maker experience to the next level with the Super Glue Olympics, a five-event showdown featuring ten popular super glues and a whole lot of 3D-printed bike handles.

This competition isn’t just fun (and occasionally painful). It’s a full torture test designed to answer the question every maker eventually asks:

“Which super glue actually works best on 3D-printed parts?”

Grab your safety glasses — and maybe some acetone for your fingers — because things are about to get sticky.

Meet the Competitors

Ten super glues entered the arena. Only one walks out with the gold.

Loctite - https://amzn.to/49lhPUz
Kraken Bond - https://amzn.to/3LFsEaj
Gorilla Glue - https://amzn.to/485GGcW
Harbor Freight Super Glue - https://www.harborfreight.com/super-glue-68347.html
Star Bond - https://amzn.to/4oD9XCz
The Original Super Glue - https://amzn.to/4oDIErH
DAP Rapid Fuse - https://amzn.to/4oGZiqJ
JB Weld Super Glue - https://amzn.to/47GvkwV
BSI Maxi Cure - https://amzn.to/485Ha2K
Krazy Glue - https://amzn.to/47HSGCo

Each glue was tested on pairs of 3D-printed PLA+ bike handles, bonded flat-to-flat with no mechanical advantage — no key & cut, no alignment aids, no tricks. Just raw glue strength vs raw layer lines.

The Five Brutal Events

To keep things fair across brands, every event was scored:

• Gold = 3 points

• Silver = 2 points

• Bronze = 1 point

• Fail = 0 points + eternal glue shame

1. The Snap Test

Classic bending failure. We apply downward force until the glue fails or the print fails.

Top performers:

Loctite, Star Bond, JB Weld (the bond held solid)

Partial performers

Kraken, BSI, DAP (held strong but messy overflows cost them)

Failures:

Gorilla Glue and Crazy Glue (broke instantly — not great)

2. The Twist Test

Torque-based destruction. Makers know prints rarely fail cleanly — they twist first.

Gold:

Loctite, Gorilla Glue, Harbor Freight, Star Bond, Super Glue, DAP, BSI, Crazy Glue

Fails:

Kraken (snapped quickly)

JB Weld (surprisingly underperformed here)

3. The Drop Test

The “oops I dropped my print again” simulation.

Gold:

Almost everyone

Fail:

DAP — the one glue that didn’t survive gravity.

4. The Heat Test

We heated the bonded joint past what PLA would ever want to experience and tested whether the glue or the plastic failed first.

Gold tier:

Loctite, Harbor Freight, Star Bond, Crazy Glue (shockingly), Gorilla Glue, Kraken (bond held but messy)

Fails:

DAP

JB Weld

Downgraded for messy overflow:

Kraken, Super Glue, BSI

5. The Water Test

We submerged each bonded pair for 24 hours to see how “waterproof” these glues actually are.

 

Gold:

Loctite

Harbor Freight

BSI (bond held but messy application cost it points)

Silvers:

Kraken

Star Bond

Fails:

Gorilla Glue

Super Glue

DAP

JB Weld

Crazy Glue (the clear worst — glue looked frozen in time)

Bonus Round: The Pocket Test (Cost per Ounce)

Because price matters just as much as strength, we also ranked glues by cost per ounce:

• Loctite: ~$27/oz

• Star Bond: ~$7/oz

• Harbor Freight: ~$7.13/oz

• BSI: Mid-range

• Others: $5–$35/oz range

Not all glue costs match performance — and some budget brands shocked us.

Final Rankings

Based on total points across all events:

🥇

1st Place — Loctite

No surprise. Loctite dominated almost every event.

Pros:

✔ Ridiculously strong

✔ Consistent across heat, twist, and impact

✔ Rarely failed

Cons:

✘ Expensive — very expensive

🥈

2nd Place — Star Bond

The quiet assassin of the competition. Nearly perfect performance with only one silver.

Pros:

✔ Strong in every test

✔ No catastrophic failures

✔ Affordable at ~$7/oz

Cons:

✘ Slight weakness in water test

🥉

3rd Place — Harbor Freight Super Glue

The shocker of the entire Olympics.

Pros:

✔ Consistently strong

✔ Only failed in one test

✔ Dirt cheap at ~$7.13/oz

Cons:

✘ Not as clean bonding as Loctite or Star Bond

Honorable Mention — BSI Maxi Cure

Extremely strong, but messy application held it back from podium placement.

So… Which Glue Should YOU Use for 3D Printing?

Based on all five events (and cost):

Best Overall:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Star Bond

Strong, reliable, budget-friendly, and didn’t fail once.

Best Premium Option:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Loctite

If you want absolute strength and don’t care about price.

Best Budget Glue:

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Harbor Freight

Shocked us by outperforming much pricier brands.

Not all super glues are created equal — and this test proved it. Some bond like steel, others crumble like stale PLA. Some survive heat and water; some fail instantly. And yet, even the cheapest glue can impress with the right formula.