Permatex thread sealer too thick

[JerryCPP(WA)]

I've used Permatex thread sealer for many years, but now what is on my shelf has thickened to the point I can't get it out with the brush, and it's hard to use with a screwdriver. Has anyone found a way to thin this stuff back to what it was when new?

 

[jeffcat]

I am going to stick my big toe in here. The two most common Solvents that I know of are MEK and the other is alcohol. Open a can or bottle of contact cement. Most of that stuff uses MEK. Some uses acetone. If you open a bottle of old indian chief laqure or shelach head gasket cement that would be ethinol alcohol. A few drops of E85 should do the trick. You need to give a sniff and identify the correct solvent. Best thing is to take a small gob of what you want to dissolve and put it on the bench top. Put a couple of drops of solvent, smear it around, and see how it works. Sometimes if you read the lable it will tell you the solvent. Let us see what everyone else suggests.

 

[Steve@Advance]

Is this the No2 aviation sealer? The brown stuff?

Looking at the MSDS, ethanol appears to be the primary solvent.
No2 Sealer

 

[Adirondack case guy]

Good greef!! go buy a new smaller can and toss that one.
Loren

 

[Angle Iron]

(quoted from post at 15:17:27 10/11/18) Good greef!! go buy a new smaller can and toss that one.
Loren

nd it tool me a long time to figure that out myself. Not on permatex but on PVC glue and the cleaner primer that goes with it. Tire plug and patch glue is another one. Every time I needed it it was dried up or evaporated. I buy the smallest cans I can get. If I have a good bit to do I buy several small cans as they seem to last if they have never been opened. I would hate to know how many half to two thirds of a cans of various glues and sealers I have thrown away, then gone to the store to replace them. I still have to go to the store to get the stuff just don't have to throw a can away and cuss myself before the trip.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Gas is about the only thing I have found to get it off your hands.

 

[504]

Store everything opened, upside down. It really seems to cure a lot of problems for me.

 

[Steve@Advance]

I've been using the PVC solvent/primer, the dark blue stuff that doesn't need primer. It seems to last a lot longer than the old 2 part kind.

I put it in a sandwich bag and stash it in the back of the refrigerator. It lasts a long time, if I can remember to put it in the truck before I go to the job site!

 

[NCWayne]

I had a container of the Permatex gasket sealer that did the same. I think it was on the bottle, but it said to use denatured alcohol to thin it. I put a little bit of it in the container, stirred up, and it was as good as new.

 

[rlp in Co.]

I always store tire patch cement and other stuff that evaporates in a jar and put it in upside down. Not perfect but lasts much longer.

 

[Texasmark1]

Probably been sitting on the shelf for awhile as Permatex was from our generation. I'm surprised to see it still available. I used a lot of #2 over the years and prefer it to silicon in certain fuel/oil related applications.

Back when I was in industry, chemicals had a date code and Quality Control would check assembly lines for compliance....usually a couple of months from date of mfgr. on adhesives. I used to help myself to some of the castaways before they hit the trash can and used them for years after that.....still have some Locktite thread sealer that's ever bit 15 years old....thick, but still works.

 

[barwinn]

I know it can be thinned with acetone or lacquer thinner.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

You get the MSDS for the stuff you have, find out what the base solvent is, go get some if you don't have any on hand, and add it.

A gallon of MEK is $15.
A gallon of acetone is $25.

How much is a fresh can of sealant? I can't find a brush can of just "Permatex thread sealant" anywhere. It's all pipe dope.

There's no guarantee that any amount of base solvent is going to reverse the curing process that is going on in the sealant. Usually the curing process is an irreversible chemical reaction.