Bottles for CA

I don't know who makes them, but most of our local hobby shops (that specialize in  Radio Controlled stuff) carry replacement tops for CA bottles. I've used many of these over the years and in close to 30 years of using CA glue I don't believe I have ever used a full bottle. The bottles  ALL have hardened or gone bad before I finish them. I buy only the tiny bottles anymore.  

D

Wrinkledm

I don't know who makes them, but most of our local hobby shops (that specialize in  Radio Controlled stuff) carry replacement tops for CA bottles. I've used many of these over the years and in close to 30 years of using CA glue I don't believe I have ever used a full bottle. The bottles  ALL have hardened or gone bad before I finish them. I buy only the tiny bottles anymore.  

D

Ditto.  I know some folks who keep their CA in a refrigerator to get it to keep longer.  But I just buy the smallest bottles or tubes.  Even then I sometimes have it go bad.  Once it starts curing in bottle/tube/cap, it isn't that useful for modeling.

Double Ditto. I used to get the 1oz bottles of ZAp but always found i was lucky if i used half of it. I am trying to stretch out my last one now. I found the half oz bottles and am hopeing i will be a lot less waiste.

Perhaps ill cut my losses and get a new, smaller bottle. Lesson learned. ;-)

The trick to maximize the shelf life of CA is to minimize the infiltration of air and humidity. Store it in a cool dry place with the cap tightly sealed. Also make sure you don't have any residue on the applicator tip that prevents the cap from closing tightly.

I have been using the Teflon tubing sold by some of the CA mfrs for years. My bottles seem to last for years without curing in the bottle. The tubing minimizes air infiltration, makes keeping the tip clean easier and delivers CA precisely.

If the tip gets clogged, you simply snip the end off. This works with all types of CA except for the thickest formulas.

Never heard of the teflon tubing idea, thanks.

Hawkeye,  Thats cool. I've had those for years and never expected them to work on anything other than the thin. I'll give it a shot.

KCCO

D

For gel CA, I'll put in a plug for Locktite brand.  Widely found in hardware stores, good stuff, may be cheaper than hobby specific brands.  Has a unique squeeze design that helps get last bit out of bottle, and bottle is just the right size for me- it is just beginning to age as I use the last bits.