Keeping the entire vial of superglue from hardening (in the vial)

October 19, 2017 9:45 AM

So I just went to superglue a butt cap back onto the bottom of the handle of a tennis racket, but the entire bottle of glue (which I bought about a month ago and used only once) has hardened in situ. Now here's the thing--this is nothing new. In fact I'm pretty sure this has happened every time I've bought superglue. Again, the sequence goes: new bottle, few drops, put away, weeks pass, need some SG, all the SG has hardened fuck now I have to buy more. I'm trapped in self-destructive pattern here, amigos. Anyone have any ideas?
posted by BadgerDoctor to Grab Bag (17 answers total)

Only buy the mini-tubes of superglue like these. Most brands of superglue have them. Use each for one job, then throw the whole tube away.
posted by GuyZero at 9:47 AM on October 19, 2017 [21 favorites]

Cyanoacrylate has an inhibitor in it that prevents it from hardening until moisture is introduced. So this is more likely to be a problem in more humid weather. Which isn't really helpful other than to confirm that if you let a bunch of moist air into the bottle, there's nothing you can do to stop it from hardening.
posted by aubilenon at 9:51 AM on October 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

I have a tiny tube of Scotch brand "super glue gel" that has seen only occasional use but over the course of a whole year and it's still viable. Every time I open it to use it I'm shocked it's still good. It has a really good cap design, so maybe it's that?

But I agree, generally the only thing that ends up making sense is to buy the tiniest unit of glue available and use it like that. (Which is actually why I bought the mini tubes of this Scotch stuff, never expecting it to be good past the first use.)
posted by phunniemee at 9:51 AM on October 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

(the moisture thing is also why it polymerizes on your fingers so much faster than it does on the things you're actually trying to glue)
posted by aubilenon at 9:52 AM on October 19, 2017 [5 favorites]

I know exactly what you're talking about, which is why I'm continually surprised the superglue I bought like a year ago is still good in the tube. I like the mini-tube idea and will probably get that next time.
posted by rhizome at 9:52 AM on October 19, 2017

If you keep it in a little jar with some rice or silicate kitty litter, that will absorb any moisture and keep the glue from hardening.
posted by ananci at 10:39 AM on October 19, 2017 [2 favorites]

I really like Zap-a-Gap for CA glue. They have thin and medium flows. I've had a bottle going for a couple of years now. Once in a while I need to take a pin to the dried glue on the nozzle but other than that, it's fine.

Avoid tubes at all costs, stick with bottles and keep them stored vertically.
posted by bondcliff at 11:20 AM on October 19, 2017

There is a trick, with super glue, that you want the cap to GLUE shut in a way that seals it from the outside environment but can be cracked open when you need it again. It usually involves squeezing the tiniest drop out before screwing the cap on. Obviously the risk there is that you can't get the cap off the next time you need it. Practice makes perfect!
posted by Dmenet at 11:20 AM on October 19, 2017 [4 favorites]

I’ve always stored mine in the freezer, and that seems to help. It’s probably not the temperature but that there’s virtually no moisture there.
posted by rodlymight at 11:52 AM on October 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

It's down to moisture in the air, and how air-tight your bottle/tube is. Water is what activates superglue (and also Gorilla Glue, incidentally)/

Obviously the cap is a big factor. If needs to be air-tight. If it's a super-cheap bottle, or you didn't tighten the cap fully, the glue will gradually harden. A small amount of air between the cap and the glue won't contain enough moisture to cause a problem, but when air is leaking in all the time, that moisture is getting constantly topped-up.

If you're finding that the brand of bottled glue you're using is prone to going hard, try keeping it in the smallest size of zip-loc bag that fits it. Squeeze out as much air as you can before sealing.

Also, keeping your glue refrigerated may help. Refrigerator air tends to be quite dry.

The mini tubes are also a good idea, although not very cost-effective. I've found that the more expensive brands of bottled superglue tend to have caps that seal better, generally.
posted by pipeski at 12:20 PM on October 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

I was annoyed when a tube and a larger bottle dried up on me after one use each (maybe because I was carefully wiping the tip which Dmenet advises against) so the next time I bought these small bottles which I figured would be disposable and I'll be darned, they have lasted at least four years (humid climate, no fridge).
posted by TWinbrook8 at 12:23 PM on October 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure that this would work for everything super glue works on, but I bought a pack of JB Weld about 6 years ago to reattached my side mirror after I side-swiped a pole or something, and I used it again maybe a year ago and it worked like new, tubes still nice and fresh. JB Weld also makes a super glue, might be worth trying.
posted by jabes at 12:42 PM on October 19, 2017

i keep mine in the fridge and it never ever dries out.
posted by hollisimo at 5:21 PM on October 19, 2017

I have a 20g bottle of LOCTITE Professional Liquid Super Glue that's a couple of years old now and still fine. It's probably just a really good bottle design, it lives in the kitchen crap-and-crud drawer with no special treatment.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:13 PM on October 19, 2017

Seconding LOCTITE super glue, both liquid and gel forms. No problems with hardening in the bottle; seems to be good cap design.
posted by wym at 11:48 PM on October 19, 2017

Likewise, LOCTITE gel with the squeezy sides is the only superglue I have ever successfully used twice. Hardening in the bottle just seems not to be a problem.
posted by musicinmybrain at 5:25 AM on October 20, 2017

Largely what's said above. Things that help:

1. Keep moisture (i.e., air) out - bottles with needle / dripper tips work best; the metal needle tips are doubly good because you can let them glue themselves shut and then re-open them with heat (cyanoacrylate decomposes at quite a low temperature). Open, apply glue, immediately recap with a little glue still in the tip.
2. Keep it dry where you store it - a little tin can of silica beads, etc.
3. Keep it cold - the polymerization happens slower at lower temps and will essentially entirely stop in a typical freezer (~ -20 C). Downside: you now have condensation to worry about. It'll completely ruin the glue if you take it out of the freezer and try to use it without letting it warm up. Be mindful of self-defrosting freezers.
4. Good bottle design - some bottles seem to be more moisture-proof than others
5. Tiny tiny bottles, because even manufacturers admit that the shelf life of an opened container at room temperature is measured in weeks

posted by introp at 9:41 AM on October 20, 2017