Devcon liquid steel 10110

[timeout]

I really like this product. That being said, in recent years I have encountered problems with the catalyst turning into a dry, gritty consistency. The catalyst included with the first Devcon I ever bought remained buttery smooth for like 18 months. The next time that I purchased some the catalyst texture went South within two months. I contacted Devcon and they advised me there was a problem and sent me a package of product free gratis. They also asked me to seal the canister containing catalyst with a thin, flexible plastic sheet. I took their advice and added the extra seal between the lid and container. That did not help. Once again I have half a container of unused product that is virtually unuseable. My question is two fold. 1. Is anyone else having this problem? 2. Is there a better product out there with regards to shelf life that has all of Devcon's great properties for a bedding material? Thanks!

 

[watercam]

I, too, noticed the same thing (and has been reported on this site in the past). Just for yuks I went ahead and mixed a batch with the affected catalyst (mixing with extra gusto) and lo and behold it set up very well. Certainly hard enough for bedding. One thing I noticed was a difference in prices from suppliers - Amazon sold some in the $35 range while others were charging $60 or so. The catalyst from Amazon dried out but the more expensive version did not (and is still good a year later). Not sure what to make of it but at least I have some that works.
I wonder if there is an ingredient that could be mixed in to re-hydrate dried catalyst...

 

[TheOtherZilla]

It does have an expiration date.. Might be past due on the date..