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Well?

Can it?

MB

I don't use greenstuff much and the bit I had ( I since threw it away) was A LOT harder to work with than I remember. Literally and figuratively.

If it matters it was the "tape" version of greenstuff, yellow and blue in two flat strands side by side.

Here's the info I can offer:

I've had the same tubes of kneadadite (sp. aka greenstuff), kept separate, for over a year now. It still works but it does feel stiffer. That may be because it's cold out right now.

The same length of time I've had milliput fine (the yellow/grey stuff). The grey part has a gross brown oxidation around it but the interior is fine and I mix the oxidized part in with no problem. I keep it in the original plastic baggy it came in wrapped tightly but it still gets air somehow. It is not more or less stiff than before.

I just got some magic sculpt because of the amazing cost and it's been holding fine one month in.

I did just use up some old sculpy clay that my dad gave me from when he did model trains 20 years or so ago. It was hard but with pressure it gave and worked well.

Tydil wrote:
Here's the info I can offer:

I've had the same tubes of kneadadite (sp. aka greenstuff), kept separate, for over a year now. It still works but it does feel stiffer. That may be because it's cold out right now.

The same length of time I've had milliput fine (the yellow/grey stuff). The grey part has a gross brown oxidation around it but the interior is fine and I mix the oxidized part in with no problem. I keep it in the original plastic baggy it came in wrapped tightly but it still gets air somehow. It is not more or less stiff than before.

I just got some magic sculpt because of the amazing cost and it's been holding fine one month in.

I did just use up some old sculpy clay that my dad gave me from when he did model trains 20 years or so ago. It was hard but with pressure it gave and worked well.

this!

On my milliput I close the bags with a clip thingy that you might use to keep breakfast cereal fresh longer. And still it will take on that browny oxidised colour after a while. Seems to be the nature of the beast if you dont use it up before that time.
That said it doesnt seem to make much difference to me, It still cures hard in the same ball park of time. I dunno about ability to hold sculpted detail that may change with this oxidisation? as its mostly a filler for me I cant rate it too well there.

I do find a 50-50 mix of gs and milliput to be better than either on its own in most situations ~ milliput is brittle but gs doesnt sand aswell. The mix gives me the best of both tbh.

I believe it lasts indefinitely so long as it's kept fairly air-tight. But once it starts drying out, as described above, I'd be dubious about using it without first shaving off the dried out layer.

I know about the oxidation layer on the yellow part of the Milliput resin.

My issue wasn't with it being too hard.

It was with the material never setting.

I let it set for eight hours, and it was still almost as pliant as it was when I started (resulting in having to wreck part of a conversion to get it all off so I can start again with a new box of Milliput).

Grrrrrr.

MB

I keep mine in the freezer inside a zip-lock bag - a really long spiral of the kneadatite "tape". I've probably had it for 10 years and it's still perfect whenever I use it - which admittedly is not often.

I've had an unused GS for 4 years, just used some yesterday, worked fine.

From my experience, green stuff can go stale. Absolutely. My first batch, years ago, went funny like that. Very stiff to mix and knead, gritty, and wouldn't cure properly.

The rind on milliput never really bothered me, but there is an effect. When I finished off one packet like that and switched to a new, fresh, unoxidised pack, the difference was noticeable. Much softer and more pliable. Even a bit less messy, IIRC.
First I've heard that old milliput wouldn't cure. Something to watch out for.

Magic sculp and similar products can have this problem where one part (can't remember if resin or hardener) crystalizes and hardens. Gentle heat (e.g. oven on the lowest setting) usually softens it again, though. I have a 4lb pack of apoxie sculp, years old, and the rind on it is almost the colour of treacle in a few spots. Pretty much the same as my milliput experience, though: just makes it a bit stiffer.

I haven't really experienced or heard of any problems or aging of procreate. Wouldn't be surprised if the old pack I have is a bit stiffer. I have a real old strip of brown stuff that's pretty hard and difficult to mix, but since you're not likely to find that in the wild anymore, moot point.

I second the mixing of green stuff with milliput. In fact, it mixes very well with any kind of clay-like putty: all the varieties of milliput, magic sculp, apoxie sculpt and other Aves putties, cold clay, aSculpt, etc. etc.

I also second the storage of putty in the freezer. I have a wee fishing box with some in-use putties sitting on my table, and a big baggy of replacement stock nestling up beside the king prawns and sprouts.

Did not know about the freezer thing.

Since I will likely not be working with resin-putties again for sculpting whole pieces (working digitally is just so much faster and cleaner), having some way to lengthen the life of the putties I currently have (for doing conversion work) is going to be a must.

It might help if I could get back to working like I used to do, then I would be fast enough to use the stuff up.

MB

I keep my GS in the freezer too. Absolutely no issues with it's freshness.
I haven't tried putting milliput in the freezer but mine always goes off.
I did have some procreate but don't know where it is so don't know about that but probably similar to the GS.

I’ve been using the same strip of greenstuff for 15+ years. It’s stiffer then it used to be, but still works. I am, however, a very casual user. Just filling holes/gaps these days, nothing fancy.

I have had both milliput and Grey Stuff harden to the point of being unuseable over time. Around 1 to 2 years after opening.

Didn't know about heating or freezing as others have posted above, so can't comment on whether that could save it or not.

Haven't had any problem with the strip Green Stuff yet though.

*deleted - wrong thread*

BeAfraid wrote:
...My issue wasn't with it being too hard. It was with the material never setting...

Ah. No, I've never encountered that (except once when I foolishly used uneven amounts of blue and yellow). Suppose it's possible though, if the hardener part (not sure which colour that is) has evaporated more than the other part - although I'd assumed both would use the same solvent to keep them soft, so that should be unlikely.

Definitely worth a quick try with a bit more from the same pack - if that also won't set, then toss the whole pack out

I went back to check the original stuff I used that seemed to not be setting.

Turns out that it was setting, just VERY, very slowly.

When I checked it this morning, the original lump of Milliput I had tried (the old stuff) had begun to harden, finally (It was still soft last night).

But now, when I poke it, it returns to its shape, without a mark in it, and I can shave bits of it off, and it retains the edge/surface where I cut.

I suspect that it will fully harden by tomorrow.

But the newer stuff I used to replace the non/slow-hardening Milliput has already set hard as rock,and I have finished filing, priming, and painting it already.

In looking at the package I have it in (Each is wrapped up in the original bag that they came in - resin and hardener - each sealed with a twist-tie, and then both in a zip-lock bag, inside an empty Procreate container) I have noticed something else that might have something to do with whatever is happening.

I noticed that the resin is from the yellow-grey Milliput, but the hardener is from the silver-white Milliput.

Maybe the difference in mediums has caused the reaction to slow?

MB

That may well explain your original problem - the various colours of these various two-part combination epoxy putties aren't necessarily interchangeable, and are only designed to work in correct combination.

But you've also probably discovered the best solution in most cases - wait longer and hope