The Home Machinist!

I have a couple different flavors, but are old. Is there a shelf-life of this stuff? It has to be 10+ years old... I know, google tells me it's 1 year.

My main reason for posting is, MSC sent me a short sale flyer and I noticed the 50ml bottle of Loctite 242 on sale!. $40 regular $60.

For less than two ounces?

Pardon me, but that is ludicrous. Even the sale price is obscene. I don't even like the price on Amazon. Isn't this stuff basically super gloo?

It is NOT cyanoacrylate super glue. It's anaerobic - cures in the absence of oxygen, but because it is catalyzed in the presence of metal, it doesn't set up in the bottle. Don't know how long the shelf life, but it's impressive - never had it go bad, even years after opening.

Unfortunately, the price is impressive, too. . .

If you think that's steep you should look at the prices for some of their fancy products such as some of the bearing retaining compounds. They're worth it, though. Loctite products do everyting they say they do.

That goes for anything sold by Henkel, in my experience.

Nope....not that I can tell....the stuff lasts forever.
I found a couple of bottles in my spring cleaning last year, that have to be 20 years old. 242 & 262.
I have used the 242....and it worked fine. I know, cause I had to take the parts I used it on back apart a few months later.

Bill

Yes, Loctite does have a shelf life. BUT, it stays very usable for many years past the shelf life date. 10yrs, I don't know about. I would spring for a new bottle if the application is important. If it's just an everyday thing, I wouldn't worry about it, go ahead and use what you have.

I know that big industry, using loctite seriously, keeps shelf life dates on record and discards the past due bottles. Nice thing about that practice, someone can get all the loctite they need for nothing. If you can find a business that is discarding out of date bottles, see if a couple dozen doughnuts might get you a bottle or two.

Good Luck,
Terry

Per Loctite: http://loctite.co.th/tht/content_data/L ... f_Life.pdf

Reality...as Terry said....is different.