Superglue going solid inside its tube

[JohnPW]

Hello,

I've had superglue drying out/going solid inside the tube. Someone once told me that superglue actually only dries/sets in the absence of air, is that correct?

 

[Spindle]

Hi

No - CA glue is activated by moisture.

Regards Mick

 

[CHJ]

I believe thread locking (loctite) glue polymerises in the absence of oxygen.

CA bonds with the aid of humidity.
CA hardens very quickly when trapped between two surfaces, caused primarily by the hydroxyl ions in water vapour condensed on the surfaces. (from surrounding air)
Polymerisation starts on the moist surfaces and works towards the centre of the bond, if the bond gap is too wide the bond may not complete.
I suspect the small tubes have sucked sufficient air back in the tube before replacing the cap to activate the contents.
Moist air breathed out in the vicinity of the tube whilst working is far more humid than the ambient surroundings.

 

[Water-Mark]

I've heard it said that super glue should be kept in the freezer to stop it going off.
Never tried it myself though.

 

[bourbon]

Always Keep my superglue in the fridge, Not the freezer it's too cold

 

[bugbear]

I suspect the small tubes have sucked sufficient air back in the tube before replacing the cap to activate the contents.

There must be something else going on?

Much CA glue today is sold in little plastic bottles, so as soon as some of the glue is used, there's a good quantity of (presumably) air in the space above the glue, unlike a tube which shrinks to very little non-glue space.

BugBear

 

[CHJ]

My experience has been that the bottles deteriorate more rapidly as the contents reduce, 3/4 full will stay usable considerably longer than one with 10% of contents left.

I deliberately deform my bottles before sealing to reduce the air gap. (Oval or Flat Packaging is handier for this than round bottles)

 

[bugbear]

My experience has been that the bottles deteriorate more rapidly as the contents reduce, 3/4 full will stay usable considerably longer than one with 10% of contents left.

I deliberately deform my bottles before sealing to reduce the air gap. (Oval or Flat Packaging is handier for this than round bottles)

Hmm. One wonders why the manufacturers (who presumably understand the chemistry of their products quite well) moved from tubes to bottles.

BugBear

 

[CHJ]

Hmm. One wonders why the manufacturers (who presumably understand the chemistry of their products quite well) moved from tubes to bottles.

BugBear

Nothing wrong with Bottles, it's totally dependant upon usage rates, hence why it is normally packaged in 20, 50 or 100gram. quantities.
My normal usage makes 50gram packages viable with little wastage.

 

[bugbear]

Hmm. One wonders why the manufacturers (who presumably understand the chemistry of their products quite well) moved from tubes to bottles.

BugBear

Nothing wrong with Bottles, it's totally dependant upon usage rates, hence why it is normally packaged in 20, 50 or 100gram. quantities.
My normal usage makes 50gram packages viable with little wastage.

I normally throw away 4g of a 5g bottle, after about a year :-(

BugBear

 

[John Brown]

I bought 8 tubes(not bottles) at The Pound Shop for, you've guessed it, one pound.
I figured at that price I could live with a use-once then throw away policy.
So far my plan is working. I cut 32 small discs from old tennis balls with a cheap hollow punch, and glued them to the feet of some chairs, the next time I wanted to use CA I had to throw that tube out.
One down, seven to go.
Incidentally, in my experience discs cut from tennis balls are vastly superior to the crappy felt pads sold by B&Q etc.