We may receive a commission when you use our affiliate links. However, this does not impact our recommendations. A few months ago, I praised the new silicone glue bottles we introduced to our student workshop. They were comfortable, easy to squeeze, and the fact that dried glue doesn’t stick to silicone seemed like a dream for maintenance. But last week, I reached for a bottle of Titebond Quick & Thick only to find a total failure: the entire contents had solidified into a semi-transparent block of plastic, hard as a rock. I had to break the mass into pieces just to get it out of the bottle. While the silicone’s non-stick properties made the cleanup possible, it shouldn’t have been necessary. This sent me back to the “lab” for some research into why this happened. The Permeability Trap It turns out that while silicone is great for cake pans and spatulas, it is a poor long-term container for water-based glues. Silicone is vapor-permeable.…