Does CA get stale?

[kruland]

Hi everyone.

I'm wondering what the shelf life of CA is. I don't mean, how long until the applicator gets glued shut. I mean, does it get old and thicker with time. I ask because my "thin" seems quite a bit thicker to me and my thick has turned into super-duper thick with lots of stringies every time I try to use it.

Thanks.

[cavecentral]

With a loose cap, my thin is not thicker than my gap filling. Not completely solid, but it was stringy. I think the lid wasn't sealed completely.

[GDJ]

Properly sealed, CA has a very long shelf life (years)

Not sealed, it can be measured in days or weeks.

[o1d_dude]

UNOPENED CA can stored in the freezer.

I store my opened CA in a sealed glass jar that contains a number of dessicant packs. Water is what makes CA "go off". For example, breathing (exhaling) on a stubborn joint sometimes will help the CA set. If that doesn't work, try using a spray "kicker".

CA does not adhere to itself.

[Pem Tech]

Yep, my thin is suffering the very same fate, amd it isn't the first time. As was suggested, keep CA tightly sealed. I keep mine in a ziploc bag as well.

[Micromeister]

Air & moisture in the air are the enemy of all CA's. If allowed to sit open to the moisture in the air you CA's will thicken and eventually become a solid mass. Keeping the top of the bottle when not actually using the adhesive and keeping it as air free as possible will greatly extend the usable life of any brand CA.

I've learned to keep my 4oz. open bottle of medium CA in a Qt size zip lock baggie rolled as tightly as possible when not being use allow the entire bottle to be used before it has a chance to thicken. Acutally using the baggie and top on most of the time method i've been able to actually refill and use the same 4oz. bottle of Zap medium CA over and over. I replaced the bottle this summer after about 5 years because the nozzle became to short to keep the cap on

[cavecentral]

The smaller bottle the better until the price gets too high. 1/2oz or 1oz works for me since I use epoxy > 90% of the time.

I still end up having o pitch some due to poor bottle managment.

[gdjsky01]

My issue with larger bottles of thin CA is the nozzles almost alway crud up and become brittle long before the CA is gone. Trying to unclog a brittle CA nozzle almost always winds up cracking the nozzle rendering it useless.

I've taken to unscrewing the the top (1 ounce bottle of Great Planes thin CA) and using a 7ml eyedropper to draw and place the CA. The eyedroppers, which I bought on eBay, can be pulled with pliers into a very fine end. When that fine end gets too brittle or clogged you just cut it off with a knife and stretch the end again. This can be done 4 or 5 (or more) times before its time to chuck the eyedropper and use a new one.

I learn of the trick when I bought a Bob Smiths applicator. Seeing how they illustrated pulling/stretching the end into a finer end made me look for eyedroppers on ebay I could try the same with.

The hazard is spills while the top is off. Make sure you put the top back on religiously when done.