I love Gorilla Glue®, but shortly after I open the bottle it hardens like rock and the unused portion of the jar is wasted, except maybe for a small unhardened part at the bottom. The glue costs a lot as it is, and this makes it really expensive. I contacted the company and all they told me was to squeeze out the air after each usage, but that simply doesn’t work unless you use the rest quickly. I also tried filling small plastic containers (e.g., the small shampoo bottles from hotels) but they hardened just as quickly. Do you have any suggestions? – Alexander Bove
Rob Johnstone: My suggestion is to buy the smallest bottles of Gorilla Glue (or any brand of urethane glue) that you can and use them as quickly as you can once they are open. Turning them upside down to store them after they have been opened can be helpful to extending the storage life — but the bottom line is that once you open a bottle of urethane glue, the clock is ticking and the glue will start to get hard. It is the nature of the material. One further suggestion might be, only use urethane glue where it is clearly the best product for the job. For example, in regular day-to-day woodworking, there are other products with longer shelf life that will do the job.
Chris Marshall: I’m a fan of ordinary PVA (“yellow” — polyvinyl acetate) woodworking glue. There are formulations for indoor use, moisture-resistant and waterproof applications, so that pretty much covers that gamut of what I need. It has a very long shelf life. It’s easy to clean up with soap and water when uncured, and it doesn’t turn to a solid in the bottle like polyurethane glue does. Alexander, have you tried Gorilla Glue’s Wood Glue? It’s their version of a PVA. You’re a fan of their products, so see if Wood Glue can meet your needs instead. Or, if poly is the best solution for you, Gorilla now offers a “Single Use” squeeze tube in addition to their 2-, 4-, 8-, 18- and 36-ounce bottle sizes.
