Thin Superglue in bottle thicken with age?

[Bax Burgess]

Whenever I get around to using it, I clear the tip of dried glue, so it's well sealed. The glue in the bottle is close to a year and a half old.

[Bruce Sexauer]

CA stays thin longer if it is air tight and refrigerated, I ‘m told. But I keep it handy and ready to go on a ledge above my work bench. The super thin goes about 6 months before it becomes gooey, and eventually even if unopened.

[Bax Burgess]

OK, thanks.

[John Arnold]

Buy it fresh.
I keep it in the freezer until I open the bottle.
I buy my CA online from a supplier that sells a lot, and I use it up in a couple of months.
In the past, I had problems with shelf life when I bought from local hobby shops.

[redir]

I've never actually tested this but it seems like the older it gets the longer the cure time is but it's still strong?

[Imbler]

Originally Posted by redir

I've never actually tested this but it seems like the older it gets the longer the cure time is but it's still strong?

I've read that the thickening of the glue is caused by part of it curing, so there is less active glue remaining, and strength is lost.

[redir]

Originally Posted by Imbler

I've read that the thickening of the glue is caused by part of it curing, so there is less active glue remaining, and strength is lost.

Good to know.

[Quickstep192]

Also, when using accelerator with CA, make sure the bottle of CA is closed or far away from the mist of the accelerator while you’re spraying.

[phavriluk]

I've used CA (superglue) for forty years on countless model aircraft. I've never been badly served by discarding any glue that shows any signs of thickening. And I have been badly served by my occasional misguided attempt to use aging glue 'one last time'. Whatever is being glued is vastly more valuable and important than the glue itself. Much easier for me to discard any aging glue than to try to make it work.

I think if any glue shows any sign of aging, it should be discarded.

[WaddyT]

The folks at Glu-Boost told me to keep it refrigerated until first opening the bottle, but not to do so after opening, as refrigerating would then cause condensation in the bottle, which would contaminate the glue. Don't know if that applies to all CA's, but it seems logical.

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by WaddyT

The folks at Glu-Boost told me to keep it refrigerated until first opening the bottle, but not to do so after opening, as refrigerating would then cause condensation in the bottle, which would contaminate the glue. Don't know if that applies to all CA's, but it seems logical.

CA glues are temperature sensitive. I don't know what the turning point is but once the glue gets above that temp, it can't properly adhere to anything.

[Alan Carruth]

I believe that one of the things that causes the glue to thicken up is moisture getting in. At one point I did try refrigerating CA, and found it to kick over very quickly in the bottle, which I attributed to the condensation. These days I use a short piece of Teflon 'spaghetti', sold as wire insulation in electronic supply stores, as an applicator. It's very small, and helps keep water molecules from diffusing into the bottle. It also makes it easier to apply small amounts where I want it, especially since the tube is translucent enough that you can see the glue as it approaches the tip. Since U started doing this I have not had to throw out any thickened CA.

[Rodger Knox]

The thickened CA is good for pore fill, it has less odor and a longer open time.