How do you keep your glues, epoxies, and paints from settling or going bad?
Asked by
LuckyGuy (
43867
)
November 30th, 2021
I have at least 15 different types of glues and epoxies on a shelf in my basement. 3 different grades of Titebond wood glue: indoor, outdoor, ultimate strength, 5 different epoxies from quick drying to slow cure, 2-part underwater epoxy, epoxies for metal, glass and plastics, quick set glues for plastics, etc.
I don’t use them regularly. Usually, I buy one for the job at hand and only use a small amount. I keep the rest around when I need it again. That might be years later.
Most of the time when I do need the glue or whatever, it has settled out or solidified in the nozzle or turned into a solid mass of goo. My basement is a temperature stable environment that ranges from 57F to 61F, 14C to16C, all year so they are not being overheated.
Which brings me to my question. What do you do to prevent that? Do you regularly rotate or turn your glues upside-down?
I needed wood glue today and found all three glues so settled out they were unusable. I’ve been shaking them and turning them upside-down for the past 2 hours so they seem to be workable now. I am not going to drive 10 miles to the hardware store.
Do you have this same issue?
Do I need to invent a rack that turns over periodically so my epoxies are always at the ready?
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7 Answers
I do have this issue. The best you can do is try to keep those things in a climate controlled environment. Once they settle out like that I no longer trust them for projects. I generally just buy as little as I require and plan on getting more when a new project presents a need. Two part epoxies seem to do fine if they’re not opened. I keep super glue in the fridge, wood glue and paint in a climate controlled garage. You may just set a reminder to stir them all up when you change the clock for DST. That may help a little.
Yes you do need to invent that rack @LuckyGuy.
As for paint…when it has separated I take it to Walmart and have them shake it up for me.
You can’t – I have never found a way to keep them from drying out. So I end up buying smaller containers/tubes/cans (at higher prices).
I used to play with adhesives a lot at work. I have a good collection of adhesives at home.
Wood glues: settle out but you can shake them to re-mix. But after several years, it just seems to dissociate and go bad.
Rubber cements: tend to lose their solvent over time, so get thicker and thicker.
Gorilla glue: moisture tends to leak in and cause it to react and thicken. I keep my bottle upside down and never let it suck in air as I use it.
Silicones: moisture tends to leak in and cause it to harden. I have even contaminated a few, and they became dissociated slimy messes.
Epoxy: one part or the other reacts after a while, so becomes useless.
Superglue: I buy the cheap 3-packs. As moisture leaks in, it thickens up. Or sometimes more and more glue gets stuck to the cap so I can’t open it. I have never used up a whole tube. At least for the 3-packs, I get the same few grams but I get 3 container’s worth of use.
So I think the trick is to store cool and dry.
I put 3 containers of wood glue in a coffee mug with room temperature water and have been turning them over every t time l pass by the kitchen table – at least 100 times per day.
I used a small BBQ skewer to scrape the sides and bottom of the containers and stirred the sediment.
They all appear to be mixed up and ready to go.
If only I could remember what I was supposed to be fixing!
I probably inverted the tubes 20 – 30 times today. They are now mixed up more than a group of Florida seniors on election day.
The chair is being glued as we speak.
Glad you remembered what you need the glue for.
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