Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
Cleaning CA Glue Tips
George
For years, I've used an old olive jar to soak my CA glue tips to clear them. For years it seems as if I go to the jar and there isn't any acetone in the jar. I was thinking of using a deals and empty paint can to store them, but before that I'd ask what everyone else does. So, what type of container do you use?
Re: Cleaning CA Glue Tips
john lucas
I have used baby food jars and have the same problem. The Acetone evaporates. I'll be interested to see what others use because I packed all that stuff and will have to re establish how I do my glue bottle cap and nozzle cleaning.
Re: Cleaning CA Glue Tips
Lyle Jamieson
No Need for that. Leave the top off the glue. Leaving the top off will not shorten the shelf life. There is no down side and much to gain. Without the top the excess glue in the tip will drain down in the bottle and the tip will remain clear and clean. I have been doing this for decades. The only time I ever put a top on my CA is when I travel. Just store the accelerator in a separate cabinet or at least 3 feet away so the accelerator fumes will not affect the topless glue.
Re: Cleaning CA Glue Tips
Dennis in Southern Oregon
I am with Lyle. The secret is after each use, whack the bottle down sharply on something solid give it a sharp squeeze (pointing in a safe direction), and store with the cap off. If on occasion, I forget and get a plug, I simply trim a tiny bit off of the tip.
Dennis
Re: Cleaning CA Glue Tips
John K Jordan
I have a slightly different method that has worked for many years - hold the bottle upright and squeeze to blow out any glue remaining in the tip. Just don't stare closely straight down into the tip for this. Replace the cap, put back in the fridge. No clogs and no glue deterioration. I've never had to clean a tip with acetone.
The only clogs I get are rare and with those sub-millimeter slip-on tips that dispense a mere wisp of ultra-thin CA. (I love those - the tiniest drop, exactly where and only where you want it!) A tiny wire pushed through from the inside clears that.
These are one brand I use:
http://www.amazon.com/Pacer-PT21-Flexi-Tips-New/dp/B000H7H4NW/ref=sr_1_1
Re: Cleaning CA Glue Tips
Lyle Jamieson
After it is open it is not advised to put it in the fridge. The condensation from the temp chance will cause it to cure or shorten shelf life. Moisture is one of the curing agents.
Reference?
John K Jordan
>After it is open it is not advised to put it in the fridge. T
>he condensation from the temp chance will cause it to cure or
>shorten shelf life. Moisture is one of the curing agents.
I've read that advice many times but it doesn't seem to work that way for me. I have been using this method for at least 15 years and the shelf life seems fine. In fact, I had two bottles where the plastic in the bottle deteriorated from old age while the glue inside was still fine. I transferred it to new bottle.
I've heard this advice so many times I wonder if it is one of those thing that gets repeated without testing. Or perhaps the way I use CA there is not significant air exchange and temperature change to allow enough the moisture to condense inside the bottle.
Do you know of a study on this? (One based on science and experiment, not anectdotal "evidence"?)
JKJ
No total consensus
Bill Howatt
Even the manufacturer's aren't totally clear but do acknowledge the problem with moisture.
Permabond says put it in the fridge:
http://www.permabond.com/blog/2011/06/09/increase-usable-life-super-glue/
Satellite City who makes the CA sold by Lee Valley says opened bottles shouldn't be put in the fridge but that is better than having it in a hot shop since temperatures over 80F are worse than the cold storage alternative.
http://www.caglue.com/Product-FAQ_ep_42.html#How%20do%20I%20keep%20my%20glue%20fresh?
They mention that you can put the CA bottle in a larger bottle with the cap off and put some silica gel in with it.
Bill
Re: No total consensus
Geoff Whaling
CA glue rarely lasts a year here as we get near 100 F and 80-100% humidity for a few months of the year.
I've used the "tap the bottle sharply down on a hard surface" & "hold vertical & squeeze" routine for years to clear the tip. It doesn't work very well for me but it is far better than not doing it.
Leaving the lid off here, is a sure fire way to clog the tip but once its clogged its sealed. ;-)
CA glues seems to have many formulations and requires different accelerators so its possible that different protocols may suit different brand CA glues???
Re: No total consensus
john lucas
I'm with Goeff on this one. I rap the bottle and squeeze and still get clogs. Putting the cap back on seems to help the clogs but the caps get full of dried CA so I put them in a bottle with acetone to clean them out. I've also had knocked over bottles of CA cause a real mess and the cap helps this or course.
There is definitely a difference in CA glues. I used other brands than what our club buys and the bond can be more brittle of less brittle when i use accelorator. I also think some brands last a lot longer than others. Being in Tennessee with high temps and high humidity is probably part of the problem. I use the brittle CA/Accelorator bond to do my hand mirrors and even the brands of Accelorator will change how brittle the bond is. Never done any definitive tests but when you do this as often as I do with the wasteblock and CA glue up method you get a pretty good feel for what is happening.
Re: No total consensus
John K Jordan
Maybe the humidity is the big difference here. My shop is heated in the winter and air conditioned in the summer - humidity is pretty low.
I keep the bottles in the fridge, take one out for use (I don't wait until they come to room temperature), use, clear tip, recap, and put it right back in the fridge. I put it in a shelf on the mini fridge door. There is very little air exchange inside the bottle and that air is pretty dry even when the humidity is over 90% outside. When glue builds up in the cap I pry it out with a pointed tool.
I rarely use accelerator.
Most of mine are 4oz StickFast, some is HotStuff, some is EZ-Bond, and a few miscellaneous. I don't like the EZ-Bond as much. It doesn't seem to bond as well as the others although it is great to soak into and stabilize punky wood. Their plastic bottles are low quality too.
One of my unopened 8oz bottles of EZ-Bond cracked at the bottom and the glue leaked out and solidified an inch thick in the small cardboard box that held 3 bottles in the fridge. The two good bottles are nicely glued in place!
JKJ
Re: No total consensus
George
I have the same issue as others, my basement shop is not heated or air conditioned and the humidity can get rather high here in SE PA during the summer months. CA glue does not last too long here.
Still looking for the perfect solution.
Re: Reference?
Lyle Jamieson
Do your own test. Take a drop of thick CA on a scrap piece of wood. Use a nail or toothpick and stir it around and see how long it takes to cure. Now take the same drop of CA and put a drop of water on it and stir it up. It will cure quickly in a foamy sticky mess. Water has a negative affect on CA.
Re: Reference?
John K Jordan
>Do your own test... Water has a negative affect on CA.
Thanks Lyle, but I may not have been clear. I have no question about the reaction of CA with water; this is well documented.
My question is whether any research specifically found negative effects in returning the bottle to the fridge or if this is something that just gets repeated so often we all accept it without question. I have indeed made my own test: decades of storing bottles in the fridge after use with no obvious ill effects.
Perhaps my environment (air conditioned=low humidity) is a factor. I remove the bottle from the fridge, use it cold, clear any drop in the tip, then recap and replace in the fridge. Perhaps this procedure does not let enough moisture into the bottle to have a significant negative effect.
Another thing not mentioned here is the bottle itself. Mercury Adhesives, a US maker of CA glue, mentions "the bottle that the CA is packaged in is a vital link to the shelf life of CA. Mercury Chemist have tested over 4500 different HDPE resins and there are only a handful that can properly store CA and isolate the liquid inside from the moisture in the air."
I never tried the Mercury Adhesives CA but after reading some of their info the other day I ordered some from Amazon to test. I particularly like the description of their cap design.
JKJ
