# TIP: Seal your CA, Urethane and Epoxy bottles!



## pturley

Many of you may know this one already, but I picked up this trick from years of building model airplanes!

If you dab a bit of Vaseline on the threads of any adhesive bottle after opening it, the glue will last MUCH, MUCH longer...  

This is particularly the case with Urethane and Cyanoacrylate glues that cure by hydrolysis (moisture cure!).  

It also increases the storage life of epoxies (stays clearer longer, doesn't yellow as quickly!)

Just a quick tip!

Sincerely,
Paul Turley


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## Jim15

Thank you.


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## pturley

The guys at work have more than one 2 oz. bottles of CA with 1.5 oz left that they cannot get open!!!


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## jttheclockman

Not following. Aren't these bottles the ones where you clip the top off and you have the snap on cap after you open them??  Why are you unscrewing them again. All my epoxy and CA glues work that way.


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## larryc

I have been finishing pens with CA for years and never had a problem with the CA hardening or the bottle clogging. I leave the bottle open and uncapped on a shelf near the lathe. I have had some CA that had hardened before I even opened it that I took back to the store for a refund.


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## WriteON

Good tip thanks. My wife’s nail polish bottles are getting  vaso’d.


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## Woodchipper

I had one bottle of Titebond CA that I had to use two pairs of pliers to unscrew the cap. Now I clean the tip with acetone each time I use the CA. Problem solved.


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## WriteON

The cap on the Tru-Oil bottle is GLUED! Some Vase might help that.


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## sbwertz

If you give the bottle a sharp rap on the workbench, then a quick squeeze, it will blow any residual CA out of the tip and will never clog.


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## JRK

pturley said:


> Many of you may know this one already, but I picked up this trick from years of building model airplanes!
> 
> If you dab a bit of Vaseline on the threads of any adhesive bottle after opening it, the glue will last MUCH, MUCH longer...
> 
> This is particularly the case with Urethane and Cyanoacrylate glues that cure by hydrolysis (moisture cure!).
> 
> It also increases the storage life of epoxies (stays clearer longer, doesn't yellow as quickly!)
> 
> Just a quick tip!
> 
> Sincerely,
> Paul Turley



I used make RC Planes.  Used CA and Epoxy.  Glued my hand to a 6' wing once with CA.  Lucking a tube of CA de-bonder was near by.  lol


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## More4dan

I usually seal my CA bottles with CA. I have started making a habit of having an open container of acetone within reach when using CA. 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## penicillin

Okay, someone please help me understand this tip. 

I use StickFast CA glue, which comes in small clear plastic bottles. The cap has threads that screw onto the bottle, and has a long tip with sealed end. The sealed end is pierced with a pin to open the bottle and use the tip to dispense glue. A long, cone-shaped cover snaps over the cap. In normal use, I never unscrew the cap. I remove the cover and squeeze the bottle. 

Are you saying that I should unscrew the cap (never done under normal use) and apply Vaseline (petroleum jelly) around those threads, use the glue normally, and somehow the glue will "last MUCH longer" because of the Vaseline?

If not, please give more details of where and how the Vaseline is applied, so I can understand better.


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## jttheclockman

penicillin said:


> Okay, someone please help me understand this tip.
> 
> I use StickFast CA glue, which comes in small clear plastic bottles. The cap has threads that screw onto the bottle, and has a long tip with sealed end. The sealed end is pierced with a pin to open the bottle and use the tip to dispense glue. A long, cone-shaped cover snaps over the cap. In normal use, I never unscrew the cap. I remove the cover and squeeze the bottle.
> 
> Are you saying that I should unscrew the cap (never done under normal use) and apply Vaseline (petroleum jelly) around those threads, use the glue normally, and somehow the glue will "last MUCH longer" because of the Vaseline?
> 
> If not, please give more details of where and how the Vaseline is applied, so I can understand better.




The OP never did give any update on his idea but I think he was saying if you unscrewed the cap and put vasoline on the threads it will prevent them from clogging and at some later date you should be able to unscrew it without problem. You do not want to put anything on the tip of the glue nozzle because it will contaminate the glue. I see no value in the idea but to each their own. If the glue gets clogged, soak it in a container of acetone and it will melt it away. Follow the ideas other gave about tapping the side of the bottle and other things given here.


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## More4dan

Oxygen and moisture can degrade many chemicals and I’m guessing the post was about keeping air and water out of the glues and resins mentioned. 

Temperature makes a difference too for CA and Cactus Juice. I keep both in the fridge to prolong shelf life. 


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app


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## lyonsacc

Stickfast, EZ-bond, and probably a few other brands of CA have a "snap" type of cap.  Mercury, Gluboost, and possibly a few other brands have a cap that screws on/off.   

Can't really tell from the OP, but the threads on the Mercury/Gluboost caps might be what he is referring to.  





jttheclockman said:


> penicillin said:
> 
> 
> 
> Okay, someone please help me understand this tip.
> 
> I use StickFast CA glue, which comes in small clear plastic bottles. The cap has threads that screw onto the bottle, and has a long tip with sealed end. The sealed end is pierced with a pin to open the bottle and use the tip to dispense glue. A long, cone-shaped cover snaps over the cap. In normal use, I never unscrew the cap. I remove the cover and squeeze the bottle.
> 
> Are you saying that I should unscrew the cap (never done under normal use) and apply Vaseline (petroleum jelly) around those threads, use the glue normally, and somehow the glue will "last MUCH longer" because of the Vaseline?
> 
> If not, please give more details of where and how the Vaseline is applied, so I can understand better.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The OP never did give any update on his idea but I think he was saying if you unscrewed the cap and put vasoline on the threads it will prevent them from clogging and at some later date you should be able to unscrew it without problem. You do not want to put anything on the tip of the glue nozzle because it will contaminate the glue. I see no value in the idea but to each their own. If the glue gets clogged, soak it in a container of acetone and it will melt it away. Follow the ideas other gave about tapping the side of the bottle and other things given here.
Click to expand...


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## penicillin

Thanks for the helpful answers above. I thought that maybe the OP was using vaseline to seal the bottle from air leaking around the threads. Now that I understand more about the screw covers for some CA glues, it makes more sense.

I am using a tiny bottle of Gorrila glue for the brass inserts in pens. It has a screw on lid similar to what you describe. I try to squeeze the air out of the bottle, then screw the lid. Maybe vaseline would help there, but I doubt it makes a real difference.


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## CaptainJane

I live in a very humid area near Galveston TX.  The moisture in the air reacts with the little bit of CA on the tip, and hardens.  Often, it will glue the cap to the spout, and almost always, the big cap gets enough CA into the threads to form a thick bond.

Those lucky guys who have never had 1-1/2 oz of a 2 oz bottle harden are lucky.


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## sbwertz

larryc said:


> I have been finishing pens with CA for years and never had a problem with the CA hardening or the bottle clogging. I leave the bottle open and uncapped on a shelf near the lathe. I have had some CA that had hardened before I even opened it that I took back to the store for a refund.




That works here in the dry climate of Phoenix...but not during monsoon.  I cap them up during the monsoon months when the humidity is up.  It will draw moisture from the air and harden.


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## pturley

Both CA and Urethane glues react with moisture in the air.  Epoxies age and yellow as they absorb moisture from the air.

The Vaseline acts as a moisture barrier.  Anywhere you can seal a tube of glue (but keep it away from the dispensing tip) will help prolong the life of the contents.

As sbwertz indicated, if you live in a dry climate, it is much less of a problem.


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## philipff

I have had 2 bottles of CA in my freezer for 2+ years, one with and one without a cap.  NO difference when put to use.  P


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## penicillin

philipff said:


> I have had 2 bottles of CA in my freezer for 2+ years, one with and one without a cap.  NO difference when put to use.  P


... but all the pizzas are stuck together in one giant block.


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## vtgaryw

More4dan said:


> I usually seal my CA bottles with CA. I have started making a habit of having an open container of acetone within reach when using CA.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app



My wife now requires me to have a bottle of CA within reach at all times, along with a fire extinguisher (but that's another story...) :giggle:

-gary


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## WriteON

I wrote earlier about the cap on Oils (Tru-Oil, Tung). After several uses they chemically bond to the bottle. I might try "O" ring grease on the jar thread..... and wipe the lid before re-attaching.


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## philipff

penicillin said:


> ... but all the pizzas are stuck together in one giant block.


~~~`nothing worse than pizza in the freezer~~!!


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## FrankH

Using Vaseline on the threads of a CA bottle might work well for me.  For the life of me, The tip gets clogged with CA that hardens.  And the threads are locked with CA so I can't unscrew the tip and drop it in a jar of acetone.  I drill out the tip or snip part of the tip off - but you can imagine what the tip opening eventually looks like.  I have some spare new CA caps, but again, If I can't unscrew the original cap, I can't cycle in a new cap.  Of course, I'm probably doing something wrong.

I admit I sometimes go a week or two without making any pens.  Bad me.


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## RicklesssS

Good timing with this thread..
I've gotta a fairly mangled tip, maybe the cap itself too, on a half full (half empty?) bottle of C.A.
I've been wracking my brain what kind of bottle I can buy, or repurpose, to replace it with?
All I can come up with is either buying and dumping out a visene eye dropper bottle, or using some small glass bottles that have glass eye dropper built into the cap.


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## Sylvanite

You can buy empty CA bottles and tips.  I have 16oz bottles of CA glue in my shop fridge that I decant into 2oz bottles for use.

Whenever I have a 2oz bottle of CA glue with a glued-on, clogged tip, I simply grab the tip (over the threaded area) with a pair of pliers, and twist hard.  The glue fractures (it doesn't adhere well to the plastic the bottle is made of and CA has low shear strength anyway), allowing me to unscrew the tip.  Then I drop the tip into a small jar of acetone and let it soak (actually, I keep spare tips, so I just rotate them).  The acetone dissolves the CA clogging the tip.  When it is clear, I dry the tip and put it back on the bottle (or put the tip back in rotation).  When the bottle is empty, or if the glue sets up inside it, I drop the bottle in the acetone jar to clean it out.

I hope that helps,
Eric


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## RicklesssS

Yes, actually that does help. Where do you get your bottles from?
I'll bet Amazon sells them come to think of it. I'll have to check on that.
Thanks.


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## Sylvanite

RicklesssS said:


> Where do you get your bottles from?
> I'll bet Amazon sells them come to think of it.


I bought mine directly from E-Z Bond, but Exotic Blanks also sells them, as well as Amazon.

Eric


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