Does anyone have any tips on storing Plastruct Plastic Weld? I only get it out to use once every few weeks, sometimes months. I swear everytime it looks like the bottle is more empty than it was when I put it away. I know it can evaporate fast, and I screw the top on tight. Do you seal it in a plastic baggie? Or do I just maybe have a faulty lid?
I probably have over a dozen various brands of water-thin, solvent-type cements on hand. So far my Plastruct ones are holding up fine as is the Ambroid Pro-weld.
What I have had trouble in the past with was the Tenax 7-R. I had maybe three cases of six bottles each and after perhaps a year most of the bottles had evaporated at least 50% of their volume. Some more, some less, some not at all.
All I can offer would be to tightly wrap a good-quality electrical vinyl tape* around the lid-bottle joint and hope for the best. That way the tape can easily be removed when needed.
Trying to find a replacement lid that is "exactly" right for the Plastruct bottle and successfully reducing the evaporation would be a slim chance, IMHO.
[edit] I recently came across this stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/3M-03625-Wrap-Repair-Silicone/dp/B00G25GOCA
and wonder if that might be a better choice? I have some but haven't tried it.
Good Luck, Ed
I've used electrical tape before. Slightly stretch it for a good bond and make 2-3 wraps.
The Silicone stuff I linked to will fuse together so you would have to cut the stuff off then re-tape it with new.
You could probably get away with reusing the vinyl tape a few times. At least it is a little cheaper and most of us already have it on hand.
I gave up on evapouration of the contents of relatively expensive solvents. I bought a litre bottle of MEK on Amazon. I top up my little bottles with that then I don't care about evapouration at all. My bottle cost me £10 - $12.50! (with free delivery)
Long Haired DavidA.K.A. David Penningtonmain man on the Sunset and North Eastern R.R.http://www.gmrblog.co.ukfrom the UK
I use MEK as well, and I have a couple of the Plastruc bottles with the brush head, and I refill as needed from a 1 gallon can of MEK, I get at the hardware store.
I don't notice any loss or evaporation from the gallon can, as sits for months.
For paints, once I open a bottle, I use a small piece of plastic, cut from a baggie, wrapped around the bottle top, and then scew on the lid. Seems to work OK.
Mike.
My You Tube
The old trick with solvent based paints, which can also evaporate over time, was to store them upside down.
Dave Nelson