Have you ever used up a CA bottle?

[SolarYellow]

I just realized I never have. From the first 1/4 oz bottle I of Goldberg gap filling I got from the hobby section of the Coast to Coast hardware store when I was a kid to all the others I bought along the way, I am certain that I have never thrown one in the trash because it was empty. Every one except the last one has been because it got thick and was no longer usable.

I guess I buy 1/2 oz from now on. Even though the 1 oz and bigger are cheaper per unit quantity of glue.

Did some minor, small stuff with BSI thin on Sunday, just a few drops total. Barely caught the fumes, used breath control to avoid them and all that. At the end of the day, it seemed like something wasn't quite right in my chest. Not far off, but off. Buying Super Gold thick and thin right now before ever using that stuff again. If I'm on the edge of a problem, I don't want to go over.

 

[Marc_G]

All nearly full, all set up in the bottle:

 

[BEC]

When I was actively building wood RC airplanes, I would often use up a one-ounce bottle before it set up in the bottle. For a big project I could use up a 2-ouncer. This also was true more with name brands (Jet, Hot Stuff, Zap, Balsa USA Gold) and less so house brands or outside-of-hobby-channels brands.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a bottle of that stuff from Hobby Lobby (as in @Marc_G‘s post above) last long enough to use it all up. But I use FAR less CA now that I am not building airplanes. I mainly use it for field repairs on rockets, seldom for initial construction except for localized strengthening.

 

[KenECoyote]

I've bought bottles of the good/expensive stuff only to find them hardened in the bottles the next time.

Since then, I've been using either Krazy Glue in the brush bottle or the small tubes available at Harbor Freight or the dollar stores and I've never had a problem (seems to glue my fingers together just as well!).

I've used dozens of those small tubes through the years. Most recent is this build.

An added tip is to store the tubes upright after use and they can last a very long time.

I've used a lot when building the Aerotech kits that instruct you to use CA on the motor mount and fin lock system. Also when I was strengthening fins with CA.

 

[cls]

Once, I used a 2oz bottle of Bob Smith medium - putting all the corrugations (half dowels) and other trim on a 10" diameter PoleCat Saturn V.

Wow, my fingers had some build up. Peeled over the next couple days. I should have done some crimes with my new blank fingerprints.

 

[KenECoyote]

I recommend using gloves and if you're using a large amount, turn on some vent fan or do it outside.

 

[kuririn]

I have heard that it lasts longer if it's refrigerated.
Even worse are the spray foam cans from home improvement stores.
If you use it on two or three projects then let it sit for a month or two then it's probably internally clogged.

 

[rharshberger]

More than once.

Refrigerated works to store unopened bottles, allow to warm for several hours before opening so moisture does not condense inside bottle. Once a bottle is opened I never put it back in the fridge, to easy to get more moisture...but then maybe I am wrong on all counts too.

 

[teepot]

I have used up a 2 oz thin and a medium. The thick has about an inch left. They have never gone bad on me. They just sit on the shelf until needed. Each bottle come with 2 caps, the red plugs and micro applicators and another spout. Good stuff.

 

[Hobie1dog]

I rarely use CA glue so it always goes bad in the bottle before I use it up. the last 3 or 4 years I have become very allergic slash sensitive to all types of adhesives so I have to wear a full face mask with dual respirator cartridges when I get glue out.

 

[neil_w]

I use up the thin stuff, or at the very least I can get pretty close to the bottom. All depends on how many balsa nose cones I am building with at the time.

Nowadays it's almost all BSI SuperGold and SuperGold+, blissfully fume-free.

 

[Antares JS]

I always wipe down the nozzle with a paper towel before putting the cap on and make sure the cap is all the way down before putting it away. I don't know if that's really the trick, but I usually use up the vast majority of the bottle before tossing it.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

I rarely use CA so I buy the little tubes. Even then, most of the time it hardens before I use it all.

 

[jazzviper1]

Yes just last night.

 

[Titan II]

All the time.

 

[Donnager]

Used up the second of a pair of 2 oz thin bottles hardening the outside and inside of cardboard couplers, and gluing in shear pin shim brass. Epoxy or CA (and the subsequent sanding) does a pretty good job at making the couplers slip fit more smoothly, and less likely to cock and jam. I keep a couple of bottles just to fix large areas. CA for when I'm impatient, Epoxy when I want it to be more uniform.

A little epoxy resin soak&wipe is easier, with less fumes and excitement about what you are stuck to, but you don't get instant gratification.

 

[jmasterj]

I've used up a bunch of these bottles, but they don't have a whole lot of actual glue in them:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Loctite-Ultra-Liquid-Control-4g-Super-Glue-1647358/203210839
I've since moved to Super Gold in 2oz bottles, we'll see if those are too big.

 

[neil_w]

I've since moved to Super Gold in 2oz bottles, we'll see if those are too big.

They're pretty big.

I'm using 1 oz Super Gold and 1/2 oz Super Gold+ right now. Would rather run out and re-purchase more often rather than risk it going bad, given the price.

 

[Peartree]

I did at least once, but it was the gel kind that you squeeze out by "pumping" the sides. I use both the bottle kind and the cheap Harbor Freight tubes.

I tend to use the bottles while working on my workbench but keep the tubes handy for my range box.

My understanding, and my experience, with spray foam is that once it's open you might as well throw it out because there is no second use.

 

[neil_w]

My understanding, and my experience, with spray foam is that once it's open you might as well throw it out because there is no second use.

Yeah.

I love throwing away a 90%-full can because I only needed to fill a few cracks, and foam was really *the* solution. Wish they sold it smaller.

 

[jmasterj]

They're pretty big.

I'm using 1 oz Super Gold and 1/2 oz Super Gold+ right now. Would rather run out and re-purchase more often rather than risk it going bad, given the pricce.

I definitely didn't think about it hardening before I finished it when I made the purchase. I've used a decent amount of the thin stuff hardening tube ends, though, so that one at least should be fine.

 

[charrington]

When I was doing neuroscience research in college we used a lot of CA glue to mount brains for cutting and then examining. I STILL don't think we made it through a full bottle without either the nozzle getting glued shut or the bottle going hard.

 

[OverTheTop]

Never. They always go hard before I finish them. I do get the 25ml bottles of Loctite 401 though. Refrigeration only helps a bit.

 

[proflaser]

BRAINSSSSS

 

[Daddyisabar]

I go through many bottles, locktite, hobby lobby and fancy hobby store stuff. Use a lot to build three canted motor tubes, strengthen tubing (poor boy phenolic), fill papered fin edges, quick set fins along with tacky glue, strengthen witch hats, glue on Greebles, etc., etc. Makin' POBOY phenolic and it's a smokin'! YIPPEE!

Get a good plug on top of spout and a quick removal with your teeth will do the trick. A little on the tongue or lip, no problem, with patienceof the Jedi it will come off. Unclog with stick pin or paper clip. If really bad chop off with Xacto knife.

If the thin starts to go off in the bottle I just put it by the thick stuff. CA just needs a lage surface area, so great for fin tabs and mid cant motor mounts. I never tell the RSO I used only CA the motor mounts and wing fin tabs...are you crazy? It will surely sheer off!

Do a lot of parking lot repairs and fix rockets rejected at RSO table. Great when the youngster is standing in line with his first rocket at the club; the Apogee 5 D12 motor cluster kit with wet Elmer's glue on the fins/lugs and loose motors with starters smashed in them. Took almost a full bottle of hobby lobby thick and a lot of quick set spray to fix all the issues. After an hour of rebuild and reset it got a pad assignment and flew perfectly.

 

[Ladykate]

I buy it in bulk - lots of uses in different hobbies. I then put about 1/2 oz in a 1oz bottle with steel tip and put the rest in the freezer. It will set up over time if left out but keeping it cold makes it last a very long time.

 

[OZRoc]

I thoroughly recommend eRockets CA Preservative Centre.
Bought one 4 years ago and haven't had to chuck any CA at all.
Cheers

 

[GrouchoDuke]

After r/c airplane kits moved on from the likes of my Sig Clipped Wing Cub from 1985, I didn't know that finishing a bottle of CA was possible.

 

[SolarYellow]

I thoroughly recommend eRockets CA Preservative Centre.
Bought one 4 years ago and haven't had to chuck any CA at all.
Cheers

Wow. Search "Snapware" and see that Randy is marking up the heck out of that item. The particular one he offers is an unusual size, but if you're willing to go with a somewhat different size, maybe smaller, you can do a heck of a lot better going through non-rocket channels.

 

[jahall4]

Yes, when I'm using to stabilize and harden substrates. Using so much of the thin stuff recently I had to switch to 2oz Starbond. Good stuff.

Here is my process:
1) Unscrew flat shipping/storage cap.
2) Screw on a pointed cap.
3) Push on a disposable micro tip (need it any way to control the supper thin stuff) (e.g. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082Z39PMV/ref=syn_sd_onsite_desktop_339?ie=UTF8&psc=1&pd_rd_plhdr=t)
4) Dispense
5) When finished dispose of micro tip
6) Unscrew pointed cap and blow out w/compressed air. Watch your eyes and don't use your mouth
7) Clean top of bottle, threads.
8) Screw shipping/storage cap back on.
9) Refrigerate, until next use.

Note: Ensure the bottle stay upright during transport and storage. I place in a frame in the refrigerator to ensure it is not knocked over.

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