this post was submitted on 20 Jul 2025
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Woodworking

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A few years back I bought a big jug of Titebond2 glue, figuring it'd last me a decade fulfilling my occasional need to make some wood stick together better than nails or pocket holes. I store it on my back porch, which is indoors but only gets climate control from the blower return in the room, so the room hovers between about 50F (10C) and 90F (32C) depending on the season.

I keep it capped when not pouring it into a smaller bottle that's easier to manage.

I didn't use it last year.

This morning I had a need, so I opened the cabinet and the attached picture is what I see. The glue has gone from an off-white to this translucent reddish-brown, and it won't flow out of the bottle.

I was able to squish a decent amount onto a piece of scrap wood, and smear glue into the joints, then wipe off the excess - but it looks like I need to go buy more glue. I'm not happy about it, but I'll own that I messed up and should have bought a smaller bottle, it's on me.

Can anyone tell me what might have happened? I tried to be careful with it, but clearly something happened that I didn't plan for. What can I do to prevent this from happening in the future?

Thanks!

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[–] ianfraserkrillmaster@midwest.social 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

it was miraculously transformed into Irn Bru. call a monk they must accept it into a reliquary.

[–] BlackVenom@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

Irn Bru is the strangest soda I've had. If you're not familiar (idk availability)... Try Big Red.

[–] zogrewaste@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Here's what it looked like out of the bottle.

[–] snoons@lemmy.ca 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Experimental math rock album cover lol

[–] prettybunnys@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 months ago

It’s the liquid tension experiments upcoming album, duh

[–] poweruser@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 10 months ago

I recently used some glue that had that exact issue. I just needed it for a small repair and it actually worked great once I managed to get it out of the bottle (and off of my hands).

I used a large blob then clamped the wood and wiped off the excess that seeped out. If I was a real woodworker I would have sanded it afterward but it looked ok. That was about 6 months ago and the chair is still holding up

[–] algorithmae@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 10 months ago

I miss her.

[–] Grumpydaddy@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It just went bad. It's one of those products that will go bad exactly when you need it. Actually, it went bad well before you needed it, you just never thought to check. I usually buy a new small bottle for every job/project. That way I always have at least one bottle of good glue.

[–] Pika@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

+1 to that. Consumables are always either missing or gone bad by the time you need them, I am trying to not fall for the "well this larger quantity is only 1$ more" instances because I lose that savings because it goes bad before usage!

[–] BlackVenom@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

I had a bottle of Elmer's wood glue from when the local home Depot shut down... Used it on and off for 5-6yr... Stored in garage -10-100*F. Used the whole thing. Gallon of Titebond? Dead by next spring, kept inside for the winter.

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 0 points 10 months ago

I don't know exactly what happened to it beyond "it became unusable."

[–] faythofdragons@piefed.social 0 points 10 months ago

It looks like it's curing in the bottle. Having a poor seal, and hot temperature can make it cure faster, but it'll eventually happen to any bottle of unused glue as the solvents evaporate out. Part of it is that plastic bottles are pretty bad at containing solvents in the long run, so glues that come in a metal can or tube will have a longer shelf life, but it might just be easier to buy a smaller amount of glue when you need it.

[–] wildncrazyguy138@fedia.io 0 points 10 months ago

Did you let it freeze? Mine looked like that after a few hard freezes.