5200 drying time ?

[bgreene]

Anyone ever use 5200 that seems to take too long to dry ?

I have, and the piece I used it on is indoors, so cold is not the issue.

[phatdaddy]

if u mist it with water, it will kick quicker

[smokeonthewater]

depending on temp it can take a week

[THEFERMANATOR]

The red 5200 fast cure is pretty well cured overnight. The regular stuff takes a good week to fully cure.

[bgreene]

Checking the tubes at West Marine store, I found some had date codes and some just batch codes. The dates on the tubes were from 2012 !

That's some old 5200. Seeing as West Marine sells 52 frequently, I strongly doubt it's been sitting that long, so maybe 3M just makes too much and winds up warehoused for years.

I don't know, but I do know the stuff does seem to age in the sealed tube. First the viscosity drops, then it becomes more like rubber in a tube, then finally rubbery and crumbly. Rare to find a tube like this, but certainly not as fresh as when tube loaded at the factory.