How to soften Greenstuff?

[Comsquare]

Hei,

I have quite some older Greenstuff which is not getting that soft any more when mixing it together.
So my question is, is it somehow possible to soften old, unblended Greenstuff?
Maybe by using hot water or putting it into the microwave?

Any ideas?

Thanks

[nic-e]

It's gonna sound odd ...But chew it.

Greenstuff is fairly non toxic and i always knead mine by cheing it with my front teeth. It makes it soft and evenly mixed.

If you don't fancy chewing yours , try kneading it for a bit longer or putting the unmixed GS in the freezer to slow further reaction/hardening.
(chances are if it's a very old lump of greenstuff then it'd hardened where the two halves touch and that has slowly spread through the rest. )

[Comsquare]

It's gonna sound odd ...But chew it.

Greenstuff is fairly non toxic and i always knead mine by cheing it with my front teeth. It makes it soft and evenly mixed.

If you don't fancy chewing yours , try kneading it for a bit longer or putting the unmixed GS in the freezer to slow further reaction/hardening.
(chances are if it's a very old lump of greenstuff then it'd hardened where the two halves touch and that has slowly spread through the rest. )

It's nearly 5 years old, so quite aged I guess 
It hardens, like you said, at the touching point, so I allways cut that part out.

But for sure I will try chewing it, hopefully it helps a bit.

[has.been]

CHEWING !!!!!!
I personally find that very hard to swallow !

[Duke Donald]

I would definitely advise against chewing greenstuff. It is a fairly safe product but it contains epoxies which are skin/eye irritants and known allergy sensitisers.

From personal experience, old greenstuff can't be restored to its former properties. You can knead it under warm water and add some Fimo to the mix to make it usable, but it won't feel exactly like fresh greenstuff.

I store mine in the freezer, where it stays fresh essentially for ever.

[nic-e]

I would definitely advise against chewing greenstuff.

So you're saying i shouldn't eat another greenstuff sandwich?
Obviously chew at your own discretion. If you know you have sensitive skin/innards or have strong allergies to things like latex or certain chemicals then I'd advise not chewing any foreign object, But for the purposes of softening a little blob of greenstuff , a few seconds between your front teeth aren't gonna kill you.

[Connectamabob]

No, actually the good Duke is 100% correct here. The key phrase is " allergy sensitizer". That means that repeat exposure can create an epoxy allergy. This risk is present with ordinary skin contact, and contact with mucous membrane skin, like the inside of the mouth, greatly increases the risk. Even if you think you're not touching your gums or inner lip with it, you're definately depositing a film on your teeth, which is then carried to said tissues by your saliva.

Don't stick it in your mouth. Technically it's also a bad idea to wet your tools with your tongue for the same reason. "Non toxic" doesn't actually mean "safe", it just means you can cross out only one of several forms of unsafe.

[Billchuck]

Another way to look at it is, cured green stuff is non-toxic. Uncured green stuff is not non-toxic.

http://www.polymericsystems.com/technical-data/pdf/KneadatiteBlueYellow.pdf

As with any chemical, know what you're handling before you put it in your mouth.

[Lovejoy]

I have quite some older Greenstuff which is not getting that soft any more when mixing it together.

Buy a new pack. Seriously, it's only about £7 for 36 inches of the stuff; a new, fresh pack is a lot less hassle than working with an old one.
And if you're not planning to use it often, bag it up, and freeze it.

Ebay link

[The Voivod]

Yes, hot water.

I put it in hot water before using it in insta-mould.

It works a charm and you can chew on some gum instead.

Granted I mostly use this on unmixed, but I don't see why it wouldn't work on unmixed.

Maybe, just give it a try?

[Rob_bresnen]

Throw it away and buy some more. It's not that expensive.

[Comsquare]

Ok, so I will rethink the chewing part a bit 

Yes, hot water.

I put it in hot water before using it in insta-mould.

It works a charm and you can chew on some gum instead.

Granted I mostly use this on unmixed, but I don't see why it wouldn't work on unmixed.

Maybe, just give it a try?

Will try the hot water solution and see if that helps, otherwise I simply buy a new one and put most part into the freezer, like Lovejoy and Rob_bresnen suggested.

Thanks so far, guy

[dampfpanzerwagon]

I think the way forward is to buy some fresh stock.

I have found that it does go off over time and FRESH Green Stuff is always better to work with. In the past I used to buy large amounts of GS, but now I buy 12 inch lengths on a regular basis, from a well known supplier and have fresh stuff when I need it.

Tony

[Connectamabob]

As others have said, best is to buy some new stuff.

Use the opportunity to prepare and prevent. Get the kind that's in separate sticks instead of combined ribbon, cut off little nubs of A and B corresponding to how much you think you'll use in a given month or whatever, and freeze the rest. When the nubs run out, thaw the rest, cut new nubs, and refreeze. That way you can keep that fresh batch fresh 'till it's all used up, no matter how long that takes.

[Dolmot]

I wouldn't use old GS for anything important. At the very least it has become more difficult to work with, and possibly the quality of the final mix has degraded too. Saving a fraction of a penny while risking your favourite conversion to flake off just isn't worth it. It's not quite as bad as using Blu Tack and superglue as a substitute (seen that several times after buying second-hand minis), but a bit stupid anyway.

Use the old stuff to make sandbag walls or something similar, where maximum strength or detail is not needed. Feel free to experiment with the mentioned hacks there. I'd advise against chewing, though.