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When I was five my Dad used some kind of a good glue to put together a set together so I didn't loose any pieces. Putting the ethics of that action aside, I want to split the bricks from another and remove the glue. I tried heating up the set in boiling water but the glue didn't budge. Any ideas out there?

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Unfortunately, knowing which kind of glue was used might be a crucial piece of information. And some may be impossible to remove altogether (Methyl-Ethyl-Ketone like they use in LEGOland parks, for example, as it fuses bricks together) – Joubarc♦ Jul 21 '12 at 20:18
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See also this answer regarding glue. – cornbread ninja Jul 21 '12 at 20:28
And why do we even have a tag glue anyway? – Joubarc♦ Mar 6 at 7:42

2 Answers

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Tough job.

You can try using some nail polish remover to try to start breaking down the glue.

From Removing Super Glue, which they give for advice for people that accidentally glue their fingers together, this procedure might also work for the bricks.

...even though Super Glue is incredibly strong, it has one weakness: acetone.

Acetone is often found in household nail polish remover, and a small amount on the end of a Q-tip or cotton swab applied directly to the glue should dissolve the bond without damaging the skin.

A lot will depend obviously on how much glue was used inside the bricks, but perhaps a little crack and a small screw driver to help pry them apart and keep applying the acetone to the reachable edges can help break them apart.

I don't know if acetone will do something to the brick's color or structure, so proceed carefully.

Good luck.

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Yes, be very careful with acetone as it's been shown previously to ideal for melting bricks together – Zhaph - Ben Duguid♦ Jul 21 '12 at 10:05
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Well, maybe you could try using a nail in between the bricks. I personally have never glued legos together, so I am just giving an idea. Odd, right?

Good Luck!

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