adhesive shelf life ?

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diyjunky

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I have noticed that all tube-contained adhesives such as No Nails etc all have a shelf life of only 12 months, regardless of the technology of the product ie hybrid polymer, solvent or water based.
Yesterday, I bought a tube of a similar product from a big DIY chain and I was shocked to see that the use by date was Nov 2024 ie 6 months time.

Does any one know why these adhesives have such a short shelf life ?
 
I just wondered what happens to the adhesive after 1 year ? If the container is air tight, then I would have thought the adhesive would last several years at the very least. Afterall, when I use actually apply the adhesive I expect it to last for decades not just 1 year !
 
i have some everbuild D4 adhesive , thier website says 6mths shelf life , and i purchased around 2018 , and still using - and seems to glue very well , stuck some mouldings onto a load of doors - 2 strips each on 10 doors and not had any problems, just used the glue - but i guess who knows, if it will still work ok , and if the any safety issues with what you are sticking
just a DIYer
oh, and it lives on a shelf in a detached garage
 
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I expect it's a manufacturers cover-all date, they may have only tested it after 12 months so cannot claim longer in their blurb, rather than reflecting it's true shelf life. I've still only used about 5% of a tub of copper grease I must have bought in about 1990, still seems fine now.
 
I had a tub of 'UniBond' PVA - it remained usable for 8 years finally being consigned to the scrap (poured into sand) after about 10 years. Most PVA adhesives seem to last about 12 months without going thick and unusable, but they start to go such goes off very quickly.
Any adhesive is best kept at a constant cool temperature.
 
A builder left a large container of PVA (with about 90% remaining) at our house after he'd finished a job back in 2004. I am still using the PVA in 2024. It works fine for sealing and concrete jobs.

With respect to my original post, my theory is that the piston at the bottom of the tube is not 100% air tight and this is what limits the "life" of the adhesive. Just a theory.
 
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