How to tell if CA finish is bad

[Dick Mahany]

I went to open an unopened bottle of CA glue and found that the bottle had ruptured from within. I grabbed a second unopened bottle and it was showing the same signs starting near the bottom of the bottle. These are just over a year old, and even though I live in the desert, my "shop" has AC. I'm glad I only bought the 2oz bottles.

Does anybody have recommendations on a CA glue brand that is long lasting?

348761

[Bob Vavricka]

Dick,
I buy Star Bond CA by the pint and keep the bulk in the refrigerator with a small bottle left out for use. I get a year or two out of it with no problem.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Before getting into bigger bottles, I used quite a bit of the Special T you are using and I never had any problems like yours. That is really strange!

[Bob Bouis]

Bigger bottles last longer, I think, because they have better ratios of exposed surface area to volume -- like for the same reason it takes a thick piece of wood a long time to dry.

[Dick Mahany]

Dick,
I buy Star Bond CA by the pint and keep the bulk in the refrigerator with a small bottle left out for use. I get a year or two out of it with no problem.

Thank you for the information, it looks like Star Bond gets high recommendations from the pen turning community as well and I think I'll try some. They claim up to 30 months shelf life if refrigerated.

The manufacturer of Hot Stuff said that perhaps the supplier I purchased mine from wasn't rotating their stock and the problem could also have been exacerbated by the climate that I live in. The thing I don't understand is that I have a third bottle that hasn't shown the same problem, although it is a thinner viscosity than the others were.

[David Herring]

Thank you for the information, it looks like Star Bond gets high recommendations from the pen turning community as well and I think I'll try some. They claim up to 30 months shelf life if refrigerated.

The manufacturer of Hot Stuff said that perhaps the supplier I purchased mine from wasn't rotating their stock and the problem could also have been exacerbated by the climate that I live in. The thing I don't understand is that I have a third bottle that hasn't shown the same problem, although it is a thinner viscosity than the others were.

Dick,

There's a ton of things that can happen with CA that can cause it to polymerize early(too many variables to mention), but moisture or high humidity, are really the biggest and only culprits. CA relies on moisture to cure. Going from a warm environment to a cool one, or visa versa, can create the moisture in the bottle to cause it to polymerize. Most have a shelf life of about 1 year, but as was stated before, placing them in the refrigerator or even freezing them(up to and including putting them in your deep freezer) can extend that shelf life quite a bit. Seeing the pictures that you posted, the two bottles that you had burst on you, had to have a good amount of moisture in them to do what they did. While CA isn't a void filling type of acrylic resin, it will expand if the top seals off and the the resin below it continues to polymerize. It can also create a exothermic reaction to numerous different household and items we usually have laying around our shops.

[John K Jordan]

Does anybody have recommendations on a CA glue brand that is long lasting?


The Mercury Adhesives CA is high quality although a little more money. However, they have unlimited replacement guarantee if you ever have a problem (no time limit). They claim to use a special plastic that keeps air and moisture out better than that most others use. They use a great stainless pin seal cap. Manufactured in the USA. I've been happy with what I've bought.

I have had two bulk bottles of cheaper glues crack open and spill the glue. Leaked out and set up in a small box in the fridge, embedding my other bottles in an inch and a half of solid glue.

JKJ

[David Herring]

The Mercury Adhesives CA is high quality although a little more money. However, they have unlimited replacement guarantee if you ever have a problem (no time limit). They claim to use a special plastic that keeps air and moisture out better than that most others use. They use a great stainless pin seal cap. Manufactured in the USA. I've been happy with what I've bought.

I have had two bulk bottles of cheaper glues crack open and spill the glue. Leaked out and set up in a small box in the fridge, embedding my other bottles in an inch and a half of solid glue.

JKJ

I couldn't agree more John, the Mercury Flex CA, is about the best I've found so far. I've been reading up and starting to test the Solarez finishes, but, as with CA it has its limitations as well.

[Dick Mahany]

I couldn't agree more John, the Mercury Flex CA, is about the best I've found so far. I've been reading up and starting to test the Solarez finishes, but, as with CA it has its limitations as well.

The information is greatly appreciated, John and David. It's good to know that there are some nice options out there. Although I did relocate to the desert from the SF bay area within the last year, the bottles that failed were never opened and that is why I was surprised to see the failure. Thanks for the help..........i'm off to experiment :)

[John K Jordan]

Another thing I do now instead of the fridge is seal the bottles in a jar with some desiccant beads to remove any moisture. If there is no moisture, it can't seep through cheap plastic bottles. I use blue indicator desiccant (bought from Amazon) which turns pink when it needs to be "recharged" in the oven:

348928

I told a friend about this idea years ago but didn't implement it myself until he recently told me how well it has been working for his CA glue!

Since I took this picture I found a much better container in Walmart with a wider mouth and better seal.

JKJ

[Dick Mahany]

I never knew such material existed. Thanks much for the great suggestion. The manufacturer did acknowledge that they have had a number of people report the same thing and also attributed the failure in part to "micro cracks" in the plastic bottles that are not detectable. The dessicant idea should be a sure fire fix for those cases.