with flat paper / fiber gaskets. I'll use KW coppercoat or brushable Permatex ( the purple stuff )

Permatex Permashield in an orange tube. Has been available on Amazon for at least a couple years that I know of.

Here ya go:

www.amazon.com/Permatex-85420-Perma...LBVA3aOuaLzIb7pIzUoVlT2CsQvu8fQct-MBURO-

www.amazon.com/Permatex-PermaShield...LBVA3aOuaLzIb7pIzUoVlT2CsQvu8fQct-MBURO-

Same stuff just different source and price.

Thanks.
Thats my mostly used sealant anymore.

no offense but they'd probably like to sell you a special sealant for everything 🙄🤣

So in my travels to the auto parts stores I noticed that some of the application specific stuff Permatex sells comes in smaller sized tubes. That means you get enough for the task at hand, and don't get stuck with a 3/4 full tube of leftovers after a repair project that just sits on the shelf and dries up. When looked at it that way it's less money wasted unless your replacing multiple water pumps every month as a tech. Then the bigger tubes are what you'd want to have around.

i have heard that storing tubes of sealant and glues in a refrigerator keeps them from going bad.
any truth to that ?
if so, i would be worried smells from them would permeate food items. would keeping that kind of stuff in a tupperware type container prevent that from happening ?

I always use a light coat of ultra grey silicone on them.

A lot of those sealants are more readily available because of the ISO (i.e., 9001 etc.,) and MIL specs standards. At work we had to use Loctite Gasket Eliminator and make sure we used the correct one for the correct application of either LGE 515, 518 or 5188 and several other types in case of an ISO audit. Just saying why there are so many variations now. They call it "International Grey" sealant for a reason.

I use that on thermostat housing with the stock composition gaskets, works good, last a long time

Haven't seen that stuff since I last built motors at my uncle's machine shop. I can smell it now. What I still use from those days is Permatex Aviation Form A Gasket on paper gaskets. I just remember that red stuff getting on everything after a while. The Aviation stuff brushes on, and it's impossible to use too much. I can't stand silicone, and I've seen many motors with chunks of that [censored] plugging passages. I remember pulling a crank out, and there was a chunk of that crap right in the main bearing oil hole.

The red Permatex stuff in both spray and brush is still on the shelves.
I really like that stuff for almost all apps.
Spray or brush it on, let it tack-up for a minute.
Excellent for machined surfaces, gas, oil or water.

Joe

Indian Head Shellac?

Cold will slow most chemical & biological reactions so it should help but exposure to air/moisture is the real kicker on these sealants.

I just keep the tubes capped and if the end hardens stick a screwdriver through the end to get the soft stuff. When that stops working I find a soft spot and poke though the side.

Pretty much what every body i know does..

I toss out less than an1/8th of a tube a year and I don't look back.

I would loose mine in the fridge.