Fast Cap glue dried up & doesn't work"

[Bill Sutherland]

Bought a Fast Cap kit with a nice snap lid box with various degrees of the glue in small bottles and the activator in a small spray bottle last year. It also had some tips and small brushes. First thing I noticed was once I used the small brush to apply the glue it hardened up and was useless after 1 use. Now all but the "Liquid" glues have hardened and they are also now useless. I purchased a can of Activator last fall and yesterday applied the Liquid glue and Activator to the end and face of a couple of small boards and tried to join them. Nothing stuck! Finally I clamped them together and after a few minutes I got a semi "stick" but could easily separate the two. I've stored the kit and Activator in my house so cold/heat has not been a issue. Anyone else experience this?

[Rick Lizek]

CA glues are only good for a year unless you keep them in a refrigerator. Temperature is an issue.

[Bill Sutherland]

Te that apply to the Activatir as well?

[glenn bradley]

Moisture is an issue as well. I keep mine in a Mason jar for preserves and suck the air out with a 'food saver' vacuum sealer. I then store it in my home office. This is not quite as convenient as having it in the shop but, having it stay useful till I run out makes it worth it to me.

[Bill Sutherland]

How long have you been able to store yours this way Glenn?

[Joe Jensen]

I've stored CA gule in the freezer for years and it stays good. You do have to let it warm to room temp to use which is inconvenient. I keep the Fast Cap kit in the house and away from the Arizona hot garage but it still thickens noticably in about a year.

[Robert LaPlaca]

Te that apply to the Activatir as well?

I don't recall the activator being as sensitive to time, temperature or humidity as the CA glue was.. Kind of makes sense because the activator used to come in much larger quantities than the actual glue.. Used to use tons of CA glue back in my RC airplane days, some brands were always better than others, Zap was my favorite

[Edward Oleen]

As far as I am concerned, three day old CA glues get tossed. The problem, as I see it, is that while you may do everything in your power to store them properly, who knows how much they got baked before you bought it? I once saw a display of CA glue perched on top of a radiator "...to warm it up because the warehouse was very cold and it had gotten too thick to use."

Given that most store help thinks gluing their finger to their forehead is "funny", I try to avoid such fragile products whenever I can.