Flowable fails due to the tube drying up?

I uhh was siliconing a yoyo the other day and I found that the outermost amount near the cap had dried up. (I stored it with the funnel on it w/o emptying it) I ended up poking that dried part out and pouring, but it would clog every so often. I tried poking it out some more and ended up with a mess. Determined to get this yoyo siliconed, I dunked it in the pool on the table. It worked, but I ended up wasting a bunch. Does anyone else have similar storied with flowable?

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Yeah I actually broke the cap on my flowable silicone tube by putting it on too tight… after that it got funky. :frowning:

I was able to eke out two more throws with it by progressively scraping out the dried stuff each time, but not having an airtight seal on it eventually made the tube unusable.

TL;DR if you don’t clean up after applying flowable, close it up tight after each use and have a good seal on your tube of flowable you’re … gonna have a bad time.

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I’ve been looking around online and it seems people like using a nail or screw as a stopper on the nozzle. I’ve noticed that the tubes of caulk we have has the same thing. So I’ll try switching to that and see how it goes

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I do this with a great amount of success:

  • After using the silicone, unscrew the nozzle tip, and set it somewhere to dry. It will come out in one piece after it dries completely.
  • before screwing on the cap for storage, squeeze a little blob out of the tube, so that when you screw on the cap, the silicone will ooze out and form an airtight seal that won’t penetrate into the rest of the tube.

Leave the excess oozed around the base of the cap to dry. The silicone will not dry past the top of the threads on the inside of the cap, because the gap is so tiny. I have even had success with this with a cap that was split from over tightening. I just let the excess silicone ooze out of the crack, while gingerly tightening the cap. I am actually still using this tube. I’ve had it for 5 months, and have used it 4 or 5 times since the cap split- and it has not once dried into the tube.

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do you mean to squeeze a bit into the cap, then put it on?
wait nope I get it

also - in my experience, ‘opened’ silicone has a shelf life.

i had a tube that was sealed pretty good - but after 5 years or so, the silicone lost it’s adhesive property.

mgodzilla

sunny…

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I’d probably manage to use all of it before it “expired” :joy:

When I take the nozzle off, I stick a toothpick in it so when it dries, it’s easier to push out. So far I haven’t had an issue with the tube or cap

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