BillS

CA always gets hard.

Seems that I never get to use more than about 20% of a bottle of CA. Has anyone tried adding acetone to extend the life of a bottle when it starts to harden? Any other tips to prevent premature hardening?

Bill

Acs_guitars

My Feedback: (3)

I keep mine in a cool, dry place, out of the sunlight (old military ammo box) and have never had one dry up. Not sure about adding acetone.

LesUyeda

Once it is hard, it is done. Keep it in the freezer when not in use.

Les

Jburry

Moisture, alcohol and heat will cause CA to cure. Keeping it cool, closed and dry will help alot.

I've finished every bottle I've opened in the last 3 years, the dregs of the current bottle (2 oz foam safe medium GP) are now 6 months old and still flowin'. Used some last night. About 10 drops left....

J

zx32tt

My Feedback: (9)

1. Build more planes.
2. Buy smaller bottles.
3. Always keep CA as far away from the kicker as possible.
4. Keep it capped and cool when not in use.
zx32tt

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

number one

flipstart

I posted this once before-I know it does not make sense and goes against all logic -old builder told me to just leave CA open(but with small applicator tip installed) on the work bench-temp humidity in my shop gets cold in winter and hot in summer. No problem at all-seem to use it up before it goes bad-just finished a bottle of Zap thin that was about 3 months old-worked the same from beginning to end.
All I use is Zap and I build just about year round, but most bottles are around about 3 months as I like to use Titebond II whenever possible. All I can say is that it works-go figure.

Acs_guitars

My Feedback: (3)

A friend of mine has done that same thing for years.... I seal it up just as much for safety as I do longevity though. With a dog in the house nothing is safe, and I would hate to have a big spot of CA on the carpet. [&:]

BillS

Acetone did seem to thin the CA but didn't appear to be a solution. Decided to store CA in a sealed mayonnaise jar in the refrigerator.

Thanks for all the information.

Bill

Birman

I bought a pack of modeling clay. I use a pinch of it over the applicator tip to seal the tip when I'm done using it. I haven't had a bottle go bad yet.

flipstart

The problem of CA going bad may be "brand sensitive" rather than the way it is stored. I noticed that when I used Tower brand CA, it did seem to thicken over time, stored as described in post above. The Zap brand seems to last when stored in open container with nozzle attached.

Jimmy Bananas

My Feedback: (13)

I store mine,when not in use, in the fridge...take the top of a "Gillette Foamy" (Red), shaving cream and put both bottles (Thick and Thin) in it and use what you need and put the unused CA in the fridge..Not the freezer...mine lasts a long time...

Campy

My Feedback: (1)

I have had no problems with Zap or Great Planes CA. On the other hand, after 1 experience with Tower CA, you could not give another bottle of the stuff.

The "new" brand "Mercury" CA is reported to be excellent.

FlyerInOKC

My Feedback: (6)

My CA spends half it's time riding in the trunk of my car. I keep it sealed and sitting next to the acelerant and it never goes bad. I do scrape any over flow of the tip so the top fits tight. I use the Bob Smith brand of the foam safe stuff and never had to throw away anything but an empty bottle. I only use the foam safe I have allergic reaction to the regular stuff. Naturally foam safe is more expensive!

cyclops2

Cheapest in Home D lasts a year or more. CLEAN THE INSIDE OF THE CAP. You know where. The deep hole. CAREFULLY. DO NOT BEND the pin at all.

If the cap starts to screw on differently than new. Clean it.

Edit:
Always rap the open bottle on the table to knock the slug of liquid out into the rest of the glue.

That prevents closing the hole in the bottle.

Stick 40

I keep mine in the freezer untill I open them and then I only put them back into the fridge. The freezer will cause them to draw mosture after opened.

I think one big thing is to make sure the nipple is open and the glue is drained back down into the bottle after using it and before putting the cap back on.

FlyingGreg

My Feedback: (4)

I always thought prolonged exposure to air caused it to thicken up. Maybe not. At any rate, I put a small length of fuel tubing over the tip with an air tight plug in the open end.

marktur

It's mostly exposure to the kicker that starts the curing process...buy small bottles of CA anyway...I've found that when I use a large bottle of thin stuff, it comes out way to fast anyway. I believe air and heat start the curing process, so once it's opened, you start it's countdown clock...

I've heard of CA getting hard and staying hard for over 4 hours if you drop in that "little blue pill" !!!! DOH!