How to Get Superglue Off Anything, Including Your Fingers

As any arts-and-crafts fan or frequent DIY attempter can attest to, there are a million situations where superglue comes in handy. Whether it’s as a tool to make your crafting projects come to life as you’d imagined or a quick and easy solution to fix just about anything you may have broken around the house, superglue is a great thing to have on hand and can be used in a million different ways. But while superglue like Gorilla Glue can be incredibly useful, it also can prove to be a mess when it gets on something other than the project you’re working on, especially if you tend to be an accident-prone individual. So how can you remove superglue when you need to? Turns out, there are a few easy things to try, so there’s no need to immediately panic. Here’s a closer look at how to remove superglue from a variety of surfaces. Feel free to bookmark this ahead of your next DIY adventure.

How to Remove Superglue From Plastic

Superglue is a great way to reassemble broken or cracked plastic, but if you accidentally get glue on the wrong area, you might be concerned about how to get it off. If the item with the hardened glue can go into the sink, put a couple drops of dish soap into hot water and submerge the item to soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Once the plastic item has soaked in the hot, soapy water, scrape off the remaining residue using an old credit card or plastic scraper, suggests Vera Peterson, president of Molly Maid.

“You can also try a little peanut butter on the spot, and let it remain long enough to soften the residue,” Peterson tells POPSUGAR. “Clean up the glue and the peanut butter using a clean rag. Mayonnaise, canola oil, and other cooking oils could work if you don’t have any peanut butter on hand.” Turns out the classic sandwich spread has uses beyond just being delicious.

How to Remove Superglue From Glass

For hard surfaces like glass, Peterson recommends soaking a paper towel in room-temperature rubbing alcohol, then laying it over the sticky residue for about five to 10 minutes. “This will soften the residue so you can scrape it away with a credit card or plastic scraper,” she says.

How to Remove Superglue From Skin

As anyone who’s ever gotten Gorilla Glue on their fingers knows, it can be a (literal) pain trying to remove superglue from your skin. The first thing to try if you get some of this stronghold glue on your skin is to soak the area in warm, soapy water, which can be especially useful if the glue isn’t completely dry yet. Then, gently massage the area until the glue softens.

If the warm, soapy water isn’t working, you can try to soak your skin in nail-polish remover or acetone. But before soaking your skin, test the solution on a small patch of your skin to make sure you don’t have a reaction to it – and don’t forget to properly wash your hands after to remove the harsh chemicals.

Additionally, just like removing superglue from plastic objects, you can try butter or oils on your skin – massaging them into the skin to dissolve the bond.

If you’re unable to carefully remove the superglue from your skin, you may want to seek medical attention before trying any more aggressive measures of removing the glue. You definitely don’t want to tear or damage your skin, so proceed with caution, and don’t be afraid to get medical aid if you need it.