I had bought me some new bottles of CA last May, and I stored them in a cardboard box over the winter. All was fine when I took them out this spring. I went to grab a bottle of my med. CA the other day and it was hard as a rock. Checked the rest of them and all my med. and thick CA bottles were hard as a rock. My thin CA bottles are just fine. Btw, my med. and thick CA bottles have never been opened. I have one used and one new bottle of thin CA and both are just fine. Very odd! These were Bob smith's brand and I've always used them in the past with no problems.
My CA bottles hardened up!
- Thread starter bsshog40
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Any chance there was an air leak, like a cracked cap or bottle? I had a bottle of stickfast go hard as a rock years ago, ended up finding (once I managed to get the cap off) that there was a crack all along the nozzle, down into the top of the part of the nozzle that screws onto the bottle. I couldn't see it, as some small CA runs had built up and seeing a crack alongside the edges of those would have been pretty hard, and the cap had ended up glued onto the nozzle. I don't know how long it took to actually solidify, but, it could have been in that state for a number of months.
I still have the bottles and nothing looks wrong with them. They are sitting up and no signs of leaking. It could be the caps just didn't seal as they should. I've never attempted to open them. But they never did leak in the cardboard box when stored during the winter either. The bottles don't have any type of seal under the cap. Who knows.
Woodchipper
Member
Bummer, to say the least. When I finish with CA, I wipe the nozzle with acetone so there's no buildup to keep the cap from sealing tight. Heard of keeping it in the refrigerator. Not good on a ham sandwich, though.
Jans husband
Member
Would sort out that cracked tooth though!!
Mike
JohnU
Member
That sucks. I've had previous brands do that to me also, but it's been a few years.
A CA manufacturer told me to only keep new unopened bottles in the fridge. If it's been opened don't.
A CA manufacturer told me to only keep new unopened bottles in the fridge. If it's been opened don't.
leehljp
Member Liaison
This has been quite common over the years. We assume that our choices of CA will last for several years and disappointed when not. We need to look at it differently: For CA to last 2 to 3 years and more is the exception, not the norm.
I have had my CA last longer in my shop when we were in west, tx. No humidity out there. My shop here in E.tx. is mostly insulated now but still gets in the 90's with high humidity. I'm thinking this combo may have caused the problem. I'm thinking I may get me one of those plastic food storage containers and start putting my CA in there when not in use and see if that works.
jttheclockman
Member
Not a good idea to put open bottle of CA in fridge because it will develop moisture in it and ruin it. Unopened bottles is fine. I have had a bottle of brand new CA crack for no reason and leak in my cabinet in my shop. To this day I have no idea why it happened. It was a bottle of Satellite City Med CA. My shop is a basement shop so no humidity to speak of and temps are never extreme. Always noticed Med hardens much faster than thin. My biggest problem is I do pens in spurts. I am not an all year round person working in my shop any more so I lost my share of bottles of CA.
Woodchipper
Member
I don't even like to work with a cap off. Forunately, my shop has central heat and air so humidity is low. Meduim might harden faster due to something to do with viscosity. I'm not a chemist. Is there something that afffects viscosity?
leehljp
Member Liaison
As some have said, air/humidity but as much as anything else, is aging. I have had full bottles get hard after 18 to 24 months that I never opened. (I put them behind something and forgot about them. And this is for more than once. Similar to what John said, I turn pens in spurts too, and for that reason have had new bottles of different brands go bad - usually 2 oz or 4 oz but also 8 oz.
CA and aging. Some Chemicals have a (general or specific) lifespan, similar to canned foods. Jon Rista should research this. He is good at looking at the details and finding the truthful nuggets. I mean that is a positive way too.
randyrls
Member
I store my CA in quart paint cans purchased empty and sealed. You can get these in any of the borg stores.
Penchant 4
Member
During an inlay workshop with Scott Groves, he recommended keeping CA bottles in a sealed container with bags of desiccant. Since adopting this method, the lifespan of CA has been extended in my shop.
egnald
Member
I do exactly what Bill (Penchant 4) does and have never had any problems. I put each bottle in a zip top bag with a bag of desiccant, then keep the bags in a sealed ammo can in the refrigerator. I let the bag and desiccant warm up to room temperature before taking the CA out of the bag to keep any moisture from condensing on or in the bottle. - Dave
Penchant 4
Member
Sorry...it is Scott Grove, not Groves. Should have been more diligent in proofreading.
mmayo
Member
I store large bottles of CA in a mini frig. Some has been opened without issue. My CA vendor schooled me how to do it. Take the bottle from the frig and leave it overnight in room temp. Dispense to smaller bottles- seal again a re-refrigerate. My stuff can last for years.