CA Glue (Super Glue)

[David King]

Shelf life of thin CA is typically stated as 6 mos in unopened bottles. LocTite is a top shelf product. I'm sure they will try to accommodate you.
Most manufacturers will recommend freezing product until you need it to extend the shelf life. The trick as Manuel states is to avoid any moisture coming in contact with the glue so warm it up before you open it.

You might try the Starbond line of CA glues which are guaranteed fresh from the factory and are shipped directly to the end user via their website.

[tedmich]

Water seems to be the main villain for CA, and keeping it in the fridge is USUALLY good unless its been used in a humid environment in which case the water vapor can condense in the bottle if its cold. Probably best to use it in the desert, sort of the opposite of urethane glues I like the tiny sealed metal tubes and use them when fresh.

[big_teee]

The bottles of Loctite were just a few months old, and were still new and sealed up.
My wife had a package of generic small tubes of liquid CA in the house.
They were several years old in a drawer.
I used one of those to finish my project, in place of the Loctite.
Her glue was still liquid, and worked great.
Something about the outside shop building storage did my loctite in.
I don't really understand it?
I'll start using something else.
Probably the cheap small tubes from the dollar store, Like my wife has.
T

[jonson]

Freezing it Terry below 2 deg will kill it but storing it in a fridge above 2 degrees and below 8 deg will make it last a lot longer. Below that then you are getting into the problem area. Also how big were the bottles and how much air was in those bottles even though they were new. If they are similar to the stuff I use then nearly a quarter of the bottle contains air which does not help whereas your wives tubes were squeezed so very little air in them and no probs as they will go on for 2 or 3 years.

[big_teee]

I threw my 2 new bottles of hardened loctite super glue away.
I bought some of the Permatex super glue at walmart, 4 tube pack for 97 cents.
It says fast drying, and it does dry a bit faster than other CA glues I've used.
So far so good.
Permatex Super Glue, 4pk - Walmart.com
T

[mr fab]

I have always had problems with larger bottles of CA going hard, thickening up etc. nowadays I tend to buy small bottles (maybe 3ml) of CA glue which get used up quickly, and I always keep 4-5 fresh ones stored in the fridge. and it doesn't matter which brand, they always tend to do thicken and harden after open the bottle.

I find this a better solution than throwing away a large amount just because the bottle has been opened a few times.