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In article , mike ring
writes
Lobster wrote in
:

The bag says store in a dry place, which I have, but no mention at
all of a shelf life or use by date.


What I meant was, it's well known and indisputable that plaster has a
short shelf life, cos old stuff goes off far too quickly when you try
to use it - I, for one, had never heard that cement has similar
properties so I just wondered if you were confusing the two.


No, it's the opposite. It refuses to set, it'e *still* not gone orf at all,
just dried to a stiff stodge!

Of course, I've never played with plaster, I can't even work cement.

It's a dry mix of sand and cement to some BS part xyz, which I take to mean
it should work.

It seems from googling to be assumed there is a shortish shelf life, but
no-one has mentioned what it is, or why it dies while looking in good nick.

I'll have to go and get some more, but I'd really like to know what's going
on

mike


Cement will absorb moisture from the air and will hydrate (set) in the
bag, often this will be seen as solid lumps but it can remain as a
powder but will be a lot less reactive than new cement which is why it
can take a long time to set and be fairly weak. I would get a new bag if
its at all critical and I would count not losing face in front of your
neighbour as being critical
--
David