GT4494 Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 Funny you should ask. I've been using a two or three year old tube--opened for the first time just recently--and it was working fine. And then I went to glue something with it Sunday, and I held the thing and held it and held it, and nothing at all seemed to be happening. I finally gave up and glued the joint with Testor liquid, though it didn't do as clean a job as the CA would have, if it had worked.Walmart USED to sell four tubes of generic CA in a blister pack, very cheap, and the stuff worked good. But I've been looking for that again for the last month and they don't seem to have it anymore.Harbor Freight carries it here the way you described. 4 tubes in blister packs for pennies. I call it a one use tube but it will last about 30 days after opening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 FWIW, I've been using the same 3 bottles of CA for a year now; 1 each of Thin, Thick and Medium. This is the "Extreme" brand, sold at Hobby Lobby. All seem to be still working good without any special handling. I just keep them on the workbench in my basement. The biggest problem I have is the one that everybody probably has - hardened glue build-up on the applicator, so the top no longer fits tight. I used the extrem brand from Hobby Lobby in the past until I bought a bottle that would not hold or went bad. I have been using Loctite since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JARRNO88 Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I have a bottle of ZAP MEDIUM that I have been using for a little over 2 years now and it works fine. Since it was brand new I have kept the bottle in the refrigerator and the only thing that I need to do now and then is clean off the buildup from around the lid area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel-Dan Posted September 23, 2016 Share Posted September 23, 2016 I am Cheap. I get mine from Dollar Tree3-4 metal tubesor 2-3 plastic bottles$1.oo eachThat is the Best part of Dollar treeEverything is $1.oo or LESS!!!! I will check the brand later at home Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danno Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 Everything goes bad in CAlifornia, even glue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinfan5 Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 Actually, no. "Anerobic" means "in the absence of air". CA WILL cure in air, because of the moisture present.Loctite's thread-lockers are all true anerobic adhesives. CA is not.But don't take MY word for it. From the IPMS / Stockholm site: "A common source of confusion is mixing up CA glue with Locktite thread locking glue. The main reason for this seems to be historical. The Loctite brand that initially produced the thread locking glue became for many users synonymous with that type of glue. Nowadays, Loctite has an entire variety of glue products in its range, CA glue among them. The main difference between the two types is in the medium activating the bonding reaction. In the thread locking glue, polymerisation starts in the absence of oxygene (air), while CA bonds with the aid of humidity.How it WorksThe cyanoacrylate glue hardens very quickly when trapped between two surfaces. The reaction is caused by the condensed water vapour on the surfaces (namely the hydroxyl ions in water). The water comes from the surrounding air, so obviously the air humidity is a factor that may affect bonding capabilities, or cause them to differ from application to application.The curing reaction starts at the surface of the bonded material and develops towards the centre of the bond. Because of this, thick seams or large blobs of glue may harden less satisfactorily than surface-to-surface bonds with good fit. In a thick blob of glue, a polymerisation reaction may stop before it reaches the centre of the blob. A rule of thumb is that seams thicker than 0,25 mm should be avoided. Thick seams will also take longer time to cure.The described relation between seam width and curing time can be used to advantage: a thick superglue-filled seam will allow adjustment of the parts, but will bond instantly and definitely when they are pressed together, so that the gap decreases below 0,25 mm. Pressing the parts harder against each other will make the glue cure instantly."This is what I learned today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie8575 Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 I've also had good luck with the thickened Loctite products lasting much longer after being opened than the 'regular' little-tube CA adhesives, but in my experience, the performance does degrade over time.I'm going to see if we can scare some of this up for the store. We sell BSI and Zap, but I wouldn't mind a second option.Anyone have any experience with the gels either manufacturer makes? Charlie Larkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Anderson Posted September 24, 2016 Share Posted September 24, 2016 Yes. definitely. It varies from product to product. I've had some that's useless one month after opening, and some of the Loctite stuff has lasted for years...though it doesn't work as well as it ages.Actually, for years, Goodrich was the sole producer of CA glue--as it was their invention (they held the patent on the stuff), and they simply shipped the stuff in bulk to whomever would package and brand it. It's hard to believe now, but CA glue was developed, rather by accident, in 1942! Here's the Wikipedia on the stuff! (rather interesting read, BTW) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanoacrylateArt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dartman Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 While not for modeling,I use thin ca as a finish on wood pens that I turn.Once it is opened.the cap never goesback on and have never had a bottle go bad.A bottle will last me about 6-8 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Geiger Posted September 26, 2016 Share Posted September 26, 2016 (edited) I use Zap-A-Gap primarily and anymore I will only buy the smallest bottle. Anything more is a waste of money because the stuff goes bad faster than I can use it. I have found that once opened I can get about 4-6 months of satisfactory use before there is a noticeable decline in performance. I usually find out the stuff has gone bad when it's most inconvenient, too.I also like Zap-A-Gap and also have learned to buy the smallest bottle. You can tell as it ages because it becomes thicker and eventually stringy. When it starts to thicken I will get a new bottle and use the old one for filler etc and try to use it quickly. Once it's stringy I toss it because the next phase is to dry solid in the bottom of the bottle. I get maybe six months from a bottle. It seems every time I walk away from the bench for a period of time, when I come back it's dried solid! Edited September 26, 2016 by Tom Geiger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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