LongRC

Few weeks ago, my HALF bottle of thin CA glue had hardened up with the cap still on. How can I take better care of my next bottle?

NOTE: I herd somewhere that the best method to prevent the CA glue from hardening up in the bottle was to just leave the bottle open. Is this true?

barto

Well I never close my bottles, never had a single problem. Maybe it has something to do with moisture, dunno really.
I was told that CA only cures when in small quantities, so if you have have a full bottle it shouldn't dry out.

I'm interested to know the answere to.

dr_wogz

My Feedback: (3)

I have a few bottle, and over time, I do notice it thicken. We;re talking a few months (maybe a year!!) and teh thin has tunred to 'medium thick'

Curious to know as well, what it eh shelf life, and how shoudl it be stored when not in use (heard the freezer to prolong its shelf life..)

campbec

dr wogz has the answer. Store CA in the fridge and it will last longer than you will.

Cheers,

Colin

spokman

My Feedback: (2)

Moisture from what I remember causes CA to set. I leave mine laying about with a CA tip on it and that seems to keep most of the moisture out of it.

I store it with the cap on though. I think the key is to have as near an airtight seal as possible.

ysrcflyer

store in the freezer. The only problem is you have to let it warm up to room temp before using.

narpets

Yep as the others have said, cold storage of unopened bottles. Don't put open bottles in cold storage. Condensation when they warm up will kill them. I think a lot has to do with brand also. Or maybe it just seems that way. I never store y CA with the cap on. I've had Zap last a year without turning. I get the next best results with Bob Smith CA and Jet. The Great Pains/Hobbico stuff seems to set up within a week of openeing the bottle. I quit using that stuff long ago.

Also try not to let the tip touch anything. This helps prevent the tip from clogging. Also don't store you kicker near the CA. Fumes may help kick it off while in storage.

SDR-Hammer

I too had heard several years ago the moisture in the air is what makes CA go bad. So I keep CA bottles in a jar with packets of silica gel.

The fridge works well too because they are essentially de-humidifiers.

MTEXX

For the record, H2O sets CA.

If you have a very small opening in your bottle and the humidity is low, then your bottle will prolly last a considerable time with no cap.
Consequently, a "crust" may form on the surface that inhibits further H2O penetration into the submerged liquid.

Here's a good 5$ experiment to demonstrate the premise:
Squirt a bottle of CA directly into your toilet bowl (or for the more environmentally conscious, a washtub).
You will see that the exterior of the stream sets instantly while the interior of the structure is fluid.
It's really kinda neat!

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

Keep the tip far away from the CA kicker. I had the same problem, and I think its because I sprayed the kicker then used the CA directly from the bottle. I think the kicker "travels up" the glue stream. Or maybe its the fumes from the kicker. Sounds crazy, but thats my worthless opinion. I also, as stated above, started storing my CA, and kicker in seperate containers (I have to lock everything up from my 3 cats).
Joe

Kaos Rulz

Put the cats in a bag in the freezer.

DustOffUH1

My Feedback: (2)

Actually Thunder has a thing for the fridge,,, esp in the summer time