3M 5200 Fast Cure

[REO6205]

I bought a tube if this stuff and used it for a few odds and ends on the boat and around the house. It works great.

I used about 1/3 of the tube. On the directions it says to use the contents within 24 hours after puncturing the seal.
Has anyone used their leftover 5200 after the 24 hours has passed? If so, how long after? I don't think I'd trust it for underwater applications but I was wondering how it would stand up to normal adhesive use in an outdoor environment.

 

[Pilotnavigator]

It is still usable but I find it begins to cure from the top down, even with the cap on tight. Even after a month I get one more use out of the tube by cutting off the bottom and squeezing adhesive out. Then thats all and toss the tube away. Always disappointing to have to open a tube for a small job. If I need some for a small job I spend a few hours looking for other uses that may have been put off to do at the same time.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Wanderer is absolutely correct. With that said I like to be able to get as much usage from an opened tube of any adhesive or sealant. After I put the cap on I then put a couple of layers of tape over the cap and then place this inside of a zip locked bagged. I've found this method helps prolong the life of an opened tube a little longer. I'm happy to read Wanderer) that I'm not the only one who cuts open a tube of expensive sealant to get a little extra product out for projects.

Jim F

 

[SgtAlf]

I put saran wrap over the open end, then screw on the cap. Works pretty good.

 

[ALICE J]

I use a machine threaded bolt that's about the same size as the nipple, self threads into the plastic of the nipple, and the tube lasts about a month or two. I have also have used a drill to penetrate the hardened 5200. Or replace the plastic nipple with a new nipple. Exposure to air/humidity is the catalyst that cures the 5400. Notice that you have to break the seal at the base of the nipple, that keeps air from the gooo. 5200 does have a shelf life, so rotate you stock and/buy from a high turnover dealer. Wear gloves to ease cleanup. Walk away when finished, because if you don't you will touch the wet stuff and it will by Murphy's Law migrate to other parts of you job 😳

 

[REO6205]

Thanks for the advice and information. I appreciate both.

Just for grins I decided to experiment a little. I cut 2"x2" blocks out of every kind of material I could find in my shop. I cut the bottom out of the tube as suggested...the top wasn't coming off anyway...and started gluing things together.
Hey, what fun is being kinda retired if you can't go play in your shop a little?
I glued together wood both painted and raw, plywood, aluminum sheeting, aluminum pipe, various assorted plastics, fiberglass, steel, pot metal, fiberboard, and lead in every combination I could think up. I also wormed, parcelled and served the bitter end of some small heaving line and made a couple of monkey's fists and used an old paint brush to smear them with the 5200
The shop is small and easily cluttered so I made kind of a walking cane out of all the 2x2s. It's ugly. Colorful to be sure, but ugly.
I let everything dry overnight and set it out in the rain the next morning. That was the 20th of December.
I checked everything this morning and the only bond that didn't take was a piece of plastic that was glued to some plywood that had been treated with linseed oil. Everything else was tight and stable. I put the walking stick in an old watering trough. I'll give it a week or so and we'll see how it responds.