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The terms “accelerator” and “activator” are usually used to describe chemicals that speed up the curing of adhesives and sealants. They are often applied to surfaces prior to applying the adhesive or can be used in one component of a two-part adhesive system. A good example are amine-type accelerators that speed up the decomposition of peroxide initiators in reactive acrylic or anaerobic adhesives – see my article on reactive acrylic adhesives in the May 2003 issue of this magazine. I hope that this clarifies the situation for you, but bear in mind that some suppliers will often misuse these terms. The best advice I can offer is to ask the supplier specifically what the material does.