Glue gone bad!?!

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Techniques
1

I don’t get much time at my bench…in fact I will steal away a few hours a month most months…sigh…

The problem is that I will find my glues (Tenax, Testors Liquid (in glass & plastic) and some superglues) all dry up or tend to loose their strength…

Some of the liquids will disappear, even with the cap on or they just don’t bond well anymore.

I have been buying small tubes of superglue at craft/dollar stores and I use them like a open and toss solution, but this seems wasteful…

Any ideas on glue that stores better or ways to store glue better would be great!

Thanks,

The Moose

2

I know CA can last longer when cool - sealing it up in a ziplock back & storing in the refrigerator has been recommended by others. I’ve been using Tamiya liquid recently & it doesn’t seem to go bad quickly, for me anyway.

The best answer is… build more models!!! [:D]

3

and with fermis’ speed [whstl]

I placed my bottle of Tenax in a small zip lock bag to stop evaporation and store my

Überglue ( CA ) in the freezer or refrigerator.

4

Some of the glues are ‘welders’ that melt the plastic and bond it…those seem to fair the worst…

Ideas anyone?

5

I use hardware store MEK and keep in in an industrial solvent pump bottle.

The reservoir design and flip-top help minimize evaporation while it sits on the bench between sessions. The wide base and valve top design minimizes spillage. Pump the top and get some solvent in the top reservoir. Touch a fine point brush to pick up the MEK and apply to the joint.

I got mine from work, where they were being discarded. The image is from Amazon - search under lab equipment

6

It could be that the cone seal in the bottle has been damaged by over tightening. If the liquid is stored in areas where it is exposed to light, that too can cause the solvent to loose its potency. I offer brown bottles because like beer it keeps it fresher longer.

7

I Got a bottle of Ambroid Pro Weld that’s about 3 or 4 years old. It has been sitting untouched for a good three years and 3/4 of it has evaporated, turned a yellowish color (a new bottle is clear as water) and has black specks floating around which I assume is the brush dissolving.

I also do like the idea of that bottle in the photo.