How to extend the life span of Titebond glue

How to store your wood glue and prolong its service life?

When it comes to extending the life of Titebond, the rules applied are like those for your groceries. Store your wood glue in a fridge to extend its life, like you do with your groceries.

Most adhesives manufacturers stamp an official shelf life on their products to limit liability in case poor storage conditions cause product failure. The stated shelf life of wood glue is typically one to two years. However, the expected shelf life of many glues typically stretches well past those few years when the right conditions are created. For example, store the Titebond Original, Titebond II or Titebond II in optimum conditions and it will last 10 years or longer.

Bob Behnke, senior technical specialist at Titebond-manufacturer, says that a dry, cool basement is an ideal place to keep wood glues. He adds that you might be able to extend the life of your glue even longer if you have room for it in your refrigerator.

The worst storage conditions are freezing, then thawing and heat. Bob Behnke explains: "Most wood glues are designed to withstand a minimum of five freeze/thaw cycles." With each cycle, the glue forms gels. Mixing easily breaks up these gels, but each subsequent freeze/thaw incident will make the gels more difficult to disperse.

Eventually, you won’t be able to break up the gels at all, and the glue will remain solid. Heat can also cause the polymer to clump and form a gel-like substance.

How will you know if your glue has gone bad? “If it pours, it’s probably good,” says Behnke. If the glue has thickened, shake it vigorously by firmly tapping the bottle on a hard surface until the product is restored to its original form. You also can add up to five percent water to water-based glues (such as PVA glues) to thin the product. If the glue comes out stringy or pasty or wants to stick to itself rather than to the wood, it’s probably past its prime and it's time to get a new bottle.

We want your Titebond glues to stay fresh longer. You will be able to work with them for years...