I’ve noticed that even when it’s closed tightly, Tenax will slowly evaporate, supposedly through the lid even. Anyone else get this, and how to prevent it?
Keeping the lid on tightly and storing it in a cool spot away from direct light is about all you can do.
I’ve used Tenax for years, but never had this problem consistently until the last year or so—maybe there’s something new in their packaging. I’ve taken to keeping my “reserve” bottles in a zip-lock bag, which seems to help. I just make sure I seal the “working” bottle as tightly as I can.
Greg
its an idea, how about storing the tenax in a humidor ?
If you build more, you use it before you lose it [:)][;)].
Regards, Rick
I had the same thing. The bottle was going down, and I was certain I wasn’t using it that quickly. One day I opened it up, and it was gone!
I’ve had that problem from day one with this stuff. I’ve noticed that it sometimes goes quickly and sometimes not. The surrounding atmosphere plays a major role here, but I’m not about to conduct a scientific experiment to find out exactly what the ideal storage conditions for Tenax would be… [:p]
Just another ‘fact of life’ for the modeler, I guess…
Fade to Black…
Thanks all. Nice to know I’m not going nuts.[%-)]
What about the health hazardous, I think Tenax is supposed to be cancerigen, isn’t?
Saul
Well, pretty much every chemical we use in this hobby isn’t exactly good for us…
Fade to Black…
My son is conducting experiments on just how long an open bottle of Tenax will last. So far he has used three bottles of the stuff and has come to no significant conclusion other than dad (me) will always buy more. . .
I can make a bottle last for quite a while if I keep it tightly closed after use. My model room is in a basement, insulated and with a dehymidifier/humidifier on the furnace and in operartion depending on the season. Average temperature is 68F.
Don
It’s great stuff but I had to stop using it - seemed like it evaporated almost before my eyes. Couldn’t afford to keep up with it!
I just got my first bottle about a month ago… almost empty (humidity here is like 60% plus year round) the ambroids I bought 6 months ago??? still got about 1/3 of a bottle… wierd… think I am gonna stick with Ambroids…
and the bottle is sealed tight… ever since I saw this thread I always check it twice before I put it back on the shelf…
here’s an amusing story. i was ina hoby shop, and i noticed that half the tenax bottle they were selling were empty!!!
Has anyone tried using teflon tape around the threads of the bottle to assist in the seal? No idea how the tape and Tenax would react to one-another, however.
How about storing it in a vacuum chamber? [:o)]
Mike
I have the same issues with Tenax. Seems no matter what precautions I take, including a homemade Teflon cap liner, the stuff keeps evaporating right in front of me! It’s good stuff, but too darned expensive to let it try to glue atmospheric molecules together. I’ll stick with ambroid type products.
I use Touch-N-Flow applicators from flexi-file. Capillary action pulls the solvent into the glass tube when you dip it in the bottle or you can suck on the other end to speed it up.
A bottle will last a very long time because it is only open to load the tube and you also don’t have it evaporating off a brush.
It works great for Zip-Kicker also
try storing the bottle in a ziplock bag when not in use.
Do NOT do that! It is a carcinogen. [xx(]
Mike
Lol, I have been a professional model builder and sculptor for 12 years. I’m sure there are a lot of other chemicals that have dibs on my demise.
Mike is right though, that wasn’t a good tip for an all ages board.
About 6 years ago I was filling a syringe from a gallon can of weld-on. When I went to squeeze the air out of it, there was a bit of styrene clogged in the needle and instead of shooting up, it took a 90 right into my eye. It felt incredible.