Anybody know if they go bad when they get older? Like serious lack of sticking power? Refuse to set up?
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Yup!
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Well, that would explain it. Many thanks! 
There’s no way to say how long, but some brands can go “off” a month after opening, some 6-12mos, etc.
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I sure did not know that. (This stuff is definitely over a year old…no wonder it’s just not holding.)
Unopened it can last a while, but I’ve even had unopened bottles solidify.
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Kind of annoying since I’ve got 3 two ounce bottles here, opened about the same time, and none of them were working. Oh well! Live and learn.
(And buy smaller bottles.)
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I’ve never had one that stayed liquid. They’ve always hardened in the bottle.
Maybe try kicking it with activator?
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I’ve got some from April that is still going strong… I wonder what the normal shelf life is?
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We use CA to fume for fingerprints… And we buy it in quarts, they always go bad before we use them all, but its still cheaper than small consumer grade bottles. They fail also…
Depending on many factors, you could have it last a year or two after opening. It’s just not guaranteed.
Humidity seems to be the culprit, hard to get around in the tropics…
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Yeah, mine is not setting up, even when you hit it with activator. (Hairspray works though. Side effect of 3D printing.)
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It’s worse if they’re stored in warm places, like garages. Cool and dark helps shelf life a bit, some of my fancier glues I keep in the fridge.
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They dont have a long shelf life. I buy alot of industrial grade loctite and such at my day job and most last 6 to 12 months in an industrial setting. They are expensive so I have to set it up to ensure we try and turn those 4 to 6 months to avoid expiry. Sometimes, our production drops out and we end up with excess anyway. Those would still be okay for hobby use for another 6 months because they let me keep a bottle. After that…they become less effective.
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Sorry yours turned.
CA is strange. I had one that just bulged open and split open the bottle - I still don’t know what happened. Bob Smith 103, less than a year old, and I noticed it was getting weird and bulgy, so put it in a little plastic tub. The next time I checked it the bottle was split open and the tub was full of CA. It would have been quite a disaster had I not noticed. Still not sure why it did this. I do keep solvents around but none of them were in that cabinet so it’s a mystery.
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Yes. I need to buy some more Loctite gel. It still functions, but not as well.
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Something along these lines happened with my 3D printing.
I had let it idle for a bit and finally got back to it to make a fast project. Simple thing but the machine was just hosing it.
Frustration went out the window and I just gave up and bought a new machine. Loaded it with some plastic I had, and it would not work well either.
Slapped my head, and loaded it with the new roll that came with the printer and it made the part easy peasy.
So I then had two 3D printers, because the filament rolls I had on hand were too old.
Thanks for the heads up on the glues. I have had some of my glues for a long long time and easier to replace than do lengthy testing.
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Definitely keep your filament in airtight (or at least air restricted) containers. I’ve had more humidity caused filament problems than you can imagine. When I started someone told me the same thing but I was “it’s plastic, how’s that going to soak up any humidity” and promptly ignored them 
I learned my lesson.
To be fair it was way back in the initial MakerBot days so not as much real knowledge about that stuff then. 
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I learned this lesson, too. I bought a big bottle thinking I was saving money. Used it once, then the rest of it solidified in less than a month. 
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