CA shelf life

smallboat

smallboat
Corporate Member
Does CA go bad? I have a bottle of low viscosity CA from Klingspor that appears to be good. It's a couple of years old.
I've tried it recently for some simple things and had mixed results. Could be the glue, could be the materials I was trying to bond. (don't recollect what they were just remember being surprised)

I have a bowl I've invested a lot of time into and need to keep it from blowing apart.
I can try it on some scraps from the same wood, but I don't want to find out the hard way that it fails when I start spinning the bowl.

Thoughts?
 

Skymaster

New User
Jack
ca has a shelf life of about 1 year. you can extend that by keeping it refrigerated, maybe get another 6 to 8 months
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
The thin seems to age faster than the thick. That's the 2 I stock & use. I buy the thin in the small bottle & the thick in the large bottle. The product I have trouble with it going out of date is Titebond HiPUR hot melt polyurethine glue. I like it a lot, but it's expensive and will age out unused.

Pop
 

Gripbd

BD
User
I bought several bottles of different viscosities a couple of years ago so that I would have it on hand when I needed it. Big Mistake. I needed it last week and all of it was rock solid.
 

nn4jw

New User
Jim
I only buy it now in the smallest amounts I can use for the job at hand to cut down on waste. Don't even try to store it any more. And if I can use some other type of glue that will store I do.
 

smallboat

smallboat
Corporate Member
Thanks all. I bought some thick at the same time and it was solid. I'd use epoxy but I need the thin viscosity to get into this crack. Looks like I ought to play it safe and buy fresh.
 

Skymaster

New User
Jack
The thin seems to age faster than the thick. That's the 2 I stock & use. I buy the thin in the small bottle & the thick in the large bottle. The product I have trouble with it going out of date is Titebond HiPUR hot melt polyurethine glue. I like it a lot, but it's expensive and will age out unused.

Pop
I stopped using PUR because of that reason plus the cost was ridiculous it is a great product IF you are using it daily, nut once you start a cartridge you have to use it completely unlike the hype of being reuseable
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Does CA go bad?

No, unless you open the bottle and don't exclude moisture when you close the bottle. It's moisture, not aging, that causes CA glue to polymerize and harden.

I have 2 bottles of TiteBond CA glue (medium and thick) that have been open for about 2 years and they're fine. Wipe off the top of the bottle with a little acetone and replace the self-sealing lid to keep moisture out.

A recent NCWW discussion:

 

smallboat

smallboat
Corporate Member
Jeff- if I read that right, the bottle of thin that hasn't hardened should still be good?
 

Barry W

Co-Director of Outreach
Barry
Corporate Member
I bought an "assortment" in a nice red plastic case about four years ago and have stored it in the shop refrigerator. Used some medium viscosity a couple of weeks ago and it's still holding. I normally allow it to come up to room temperature before using.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
I now buy most glues in as small a container as possible and accept tossing the remainder. Yellow glue excluded. I too find old CS to be better at sticking fingers than parts.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I bought an "assortment" in a nice red plastic case about four years ago and have stored it in the shop refrigerator. Used some medium viscosity a couple of weeks ago and it's still holding. I normally allow it to come up to room temperature before using.

I'm curious why you think that refrigerating the CA glue prolongs its shelf life. I think I've heard this myth before, but can't find a scientifically sound and chemically believable reason for it.
 

Barry W

Co-Director of Outreach
Barry
Corporate Member
I'm curious why you think that refrigerating the CA glue prolongs its shelf life. I think I've heard this myth before, but can't find a scientifically sound and chemically believable reason for it.

I'm only conveying my experience.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
I'm only conveying my experience.

That's fine. In your past experience what happened if you didn't refrigerate the glue after cleaning the tip of the bottle and closing it up tightly to exclude moisture? I'm not being argumentative but my CA glue has never gone bad or aged. All CA glues are CA glues so we should all have the same products. Information from the American Chemical Society, but there isn't any mention of heat instability, but water causes it to polymerize rapidly.

 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
I'm curious why you think that refrigerating the CA glue prolongs its shelf life. I think I've heard this myth before, but can't find a scientifically sound and chemically believable reason for it.

Chemical reactions are slower at colder temperatures. Significant? Can't say, but a valid property of physics. Yes, moisture is a catalyst.
 

Jeff

New User
Jeff
Chemical reactions are slower at colder temperatures. Significant? Can't say, but a valid property of physics

If moisture is excluded there will not be a chemical reaction at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
Only if that is the only important reaction. Some things break down by themselves. Some with light etc. Actually sealing one is the real trick which is why I buy small tubes. I have more important things to keep in my refrigerator. Made right here in NC. ( Gaelic ale and Mocha Stout)
 

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