"Does superglue go bad?" Topic

I was working on a few figs for my Unhallowed Metropolis game, and I was doing a head swap, when my superglue seemed to stop 'sticking'. Even to my fingers… Which I thought was odd…

Does superglue go bad after a time?

In my experience, yes. It loses strengh eventually. Even though I've never seen it actually not work anymore, usually it just become so inneficient that I buy a new tube.

Does superglue go bad after a time?

Not as long as you keep it away from bad company!

But the blasted stuff is always going rock hard before I can finish using it.

A long long time ago, I used Super Jet glue and found it got gooey and not very sticky if I hadn't used it in a while. Nowadays I go through CA glue so fast I never have noticed it ever happening again. I currently use GF9's glue.

How is your luck with super glue for head (and other body part) conversions. I have found it to be brittle and easy to beak if figure drops. Do you pin the head to body also? I gave up on super glue and went to epoxy.

I normally use Gorilla Super Glue, and have never had a head pop off yet…

CA goes bad with exposure to humidity or UV light.

But this will make it set. I am not aware of an aging effect that can leave it as liquid but no longer sticky. There are quiet a few differences from brand to brand and between the different thicknesses. Some may contain fillers that might separate with time. Try mixing it up, this will require some effort. I suggest rapping sharply on the edge of a table holding one end then the other. And try it again.

DyeHard

Bob,
I use to have the same problem with "super glue" and the joint of miniatures being too brittle. I started pinning the joints, and the joints became much stronger. I know pinning means a little more work, but the results are worth the effort if the figures are going to be handled a lot.
Regards,
Rick

I pin when using CA glue. The bond is weak. That can be good when you don't want it to be permanent, but not great when attaching small pieces to miniatures. I find epoxy hit or miss as it needs to be fairly thick to work properly.

"I am not aware of an aging effect that can leave it as liquid but no longer sticky."

I've seen it do this. Either crystalization is underway in the goop, or some portion of the formula volatilizes away, leaving a vaguely sticky (in the normal sense) glop that won't set further without a lot of help and time, if at all. I suspect time and heat have something to do with this, as I've opened the cheap stuff, completely sealed in aluminum, only to find that most of the "full" look is a bubble of whatever at the bottom of the tube, with the rest being cohesive but not adhesive.

I've had some misplaced tubes dry out and harden on me.

I keep my supply in the fridge, much to my wife's and guest's amusement. It never dries out then. I've had some in there for over a year and its still fine.

I typically buy the small tubes in bulk at Lowes. Then I only use what I need instead of having an open container around for a long time.

I have found that superglue loses its effectiveness over time, but it take a couple of months.

I gave up using super glue years ago. This (becoming "unsticky") was one of many reasons.

Oh yes it does but if you have glue that is going bad you can buy more super glue and mix about 1/2 to 1/2 and shake and it will become fluid again (you can do this when the glue begains to thicken).

I buy the instant glue at Walmart (6 tubes for 1 dollar) and open and refill my old ones all the time and mix when necessary and it works great for me – I have not had a problem since.

Hope that helps.

Cyanoacrylate adhesive polymerizes from ambient moisture in the atmosphere.

Which is a long way of saying with Big Words that "over time superglue will go bad, if opened". Unavoidable.

I should add that there are as many formulations of "superglue" as there are brand names and tube sizes. The cyanoacrylate portion of the formula depends on whether it is methyl (best for metal) or ethyl, whether it has fillers and extenders, how much rubber is in it to make it flexible, how much gel gunk it has in it, etc.
The best answer is "it depends".

As Fat wally said – Keep it in the fridge!
I use to have the same problem with super glue "going bad".
But then I stated keeping it in the fridge and since then the stuff is working fine

regards
Thomas