RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I did a few different searches on this topic with no result so I'm bringing this to you guys.

Just one of the many unexpected paths this hobby has taken me down has led to the world of adhesives, and I've noticed on my loctite 410 and 435 it says, "refrigerate for storage". Do y'all think that's a good rule of thumb for all super glues, or are there some that should not be refrigerated? I'm assuming that unless you have a dedicated ice box just for glue it's a good idea to keep them in an airtight container and well away from any food, eh?

Has anyone ever had glue go bad due to lack of refrigeration?

Never heard of this before but it sounds like a cool idea.

Yep, you can extend the shelf life of a lot of epoxy putties, CAs, etc be refrigeration or freezing.

The biggest issue with CA is moisture (thats why exhaling on it can speed cure). Isocyanates bond immediately with water. If your nose or throat gets tight when you use it a lot, it's bonding with the moisture on those surfaces, if you breathe too much it crystallizes in your lungs.

It's an odd compound, there are no respirators that filter it like an organic vapors, yet you can wet a dust mask and it will filter it out. It's why urethane resins go bad when exposed to air and you get a hard crust on all the containers.

I assume freezing is meant to keep atmospheric moisture to a minimum. I usually decant my CA into smaller bottles and store the original in an air tight bag. The smaller one goes belly up in a few months, but the larger bottle stays fresh. I always forget to freeze them, I should try it.

Some great tips there ausf, certainly food for thought. I'd always figured that refrigerating CA would worsen its shelf life since humidity in the bottle's headspace would condense out at low temperature, but I guess any water is going to start the curing process regardless of whether it's liquid or vapour. I think if I stuck it in the freezer I'd forget about it though.

Makes me wonder why nobody supplies CA in a toothpaste tube or syringe to minimise its potential exposure to air (and the water in it).