How do you keep sealant cartridges from hardening?

I use this stuff, you can get it from a UK dealer online. It's just a good polysulphide rubber which I'm sold can be cheaper to buy from a builders merchant if you know what to ask for. Doesn't go off in the tube for ages... got one small tube currently on year 3 aboard for those small jobs....
I really can't see how sikaflex has cornered the yachty market - unless you want an adhesive sealant that is.

http://www.boatlife.com/liquid-life-calk-sealant-tube-2-8-fl-oz/
 
Tranona said:
Puttibg it in the freezer with cling film over the spout will help.

It is moisture curing so inevitably you will get a cured lump at the end where it has been exposed to the moisture in the atmosphere.
Click to expand...

+1 I have both Sikaflex and bathroom sealant in the freezer which is still usable 2 years later.
 
prv

Pete said "No need to clear out the nozzle, just screw on a new one. They cost pennies when bought as a pack of 50".

Good point! In Australia they just have a bucket of nozzles so you grab one when you buy the sealant. I was going to say I don't think the Check-out Chick wouldn't care if I took them as a five finger discount but then the penny dropped! Why don't I use the self checkout terminals? (no one would know)
 
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And continuing the Australian theme,

We have a manufacturer here, Fix-Tech, who markets their sealants with a standard nozzle that has a screw on cap (you can screw over a film of cling film. Difficult to believe Fix tech are unique.

J
 
J Neeves

I wonder how much they lost in sales............!

I used to use a large self tapping screw but that was only partially successful
 
J Neeves said:
We have a manufacturer here, Fix-Tech, who markets their sealants with a standard nozzle that has a screw on cap (you can screw over a film of cling film. Difficult to believe Fix tech are unique.
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And indeed they're not, I have a few miscellaneous tubes on my shelf with screw-on caps on the end of the nozzle.

The tubes are probably set hard regardless, though :)

Pete
 
I've been using CT1 for a couple of years and seems to last a long time in the cartridge. I recently used some that had been on the boat for more than a year and it was fine.
 
Hi, worked as a Carpenter for many years, we use a 4 inch nail, just push it down the nozzle into the tube, you can buy new nozzles very cheap, keep all your Mastic at room temperature , You can just push it through the nozzle remove the nozzle and push a shorter nail depending what is left in the tube, into it.The nail can be grabbed with a claw hammer and pulled out, then undo the nozzle and pull out the harden mastic.You really need to change the nozzle most times.we always carried spares.
 
Finally cracked it. A six inch nail pushed well into the nozzle, in fact as far as it can go. Even if the end part hardens, by pulling out the nail you will create a pipe for the soft stuff to come through. It helps to twist the nail head with pliers to break the seal then it pulls out.
 
I've tried using a nail or screw in the end to seal the nozzle.

It works but with e.g. white grab adhesive it badly discolours the stuff in the nozzle as the nail or screw corrodes. With water based stuff anyway.

For those that advocate using the freezer or fridge, I don't see that as a practical proposition.
Our freezer and fridge at home are both full of food, so no room.
And in any case, the freezer and fridge are at home, the boat is many miles away.
The fridge on the boat is switched off and left empty with the door open to prevent odours when we leave.
 
Trundlebug said:
I've tried using a nail or screw in the end to seal the nozzle.

It works but with e.g. white grab adhesive it badly discolours the stuff in the nozzle as the nail or screw corrodes. With water based stuff anyway.

For those that advocate using the freezer or fridge, I don't see that as a practical proposition.
Our freezer and fridge at home are both full of food, so no room.
And in any case, the freezer and fridge are at home, the boat is many miles away.
The fridge on the boat is switched off and left empty with the door open to prevent odours when we leave.
Click to expand...

A tube of Sikaflex is hardly very big - you must have a very tightly packed deep freeze! Or have plenty of excess dosh to allow it to harden in the tube! All that is required is take the tube with you when you go to the boat and bring it back subsequently and stick it back in the freezer. It seems to last very well in the freezer, many, many months, and its a better solution than leaving it to go hard. Just tell your wife you are saving money - she'll find space :)

Jonathan
 
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