I bought some Eastwood Chasis Black and Rust Encapsulator in quart cans and was wondering what was the rule of thumb for how long you can keep the paint before it goes bad? The cans have not been opened. As usual the project is taking longer than expected and the cans are going to be a year old in January 09.

How can I tell if they the paint is bad??

Thanks,

Bart

Open the can and reduce a little bit and spray it out and see if it is good. Can't hurt, you already bought the paint. On the other hand, we have had chassis black sitting and haven't had any problems with it. It may want to settle on you but just shake or stir really good first.

I bought some Eastwood Chasis Black and Rust Encapsulator in quart cans and was wondering what was the rule of thumb for how long you can keep the paint before it goes bad? The cans have not been opened. As usual the project is taking longer than expected and the cans are going to be a year old in January 09.

How can I tell if they the paint is bad??

Thanks,

Bart

In my experience, as long as you mix it up really well, and the paint isn't subjected to below freezing temps for a prolonged period of time, it should be fine. Air, light, and sub-zero temps is what kills paint products. A sealed container should be good to go. I've used paint that was older than 5 years without issue, but it was stored properly.

Paint is bad when it doesn't mix right- clumps up, gets overly thick when the hardeners/etc. are mixed in...or it takes a long time to set up after it's sprayed...or sprays funny out of the gun.

As said, USUALLY as long as it hasn"t frozen it should still be good. Keep all paints and fillers in the basement, unless he geerage is heated.

I have a lot of paint on hand that is really old. I store the paint cans upside down and this seems to help prolong the life.
Some that i have used was separated into a goo annd a thin liquid. For a non critical applications, I have experimented and used paints after remixing them thoroughly.
I have a tumbler that will roll a rattle can or two one-quart cans. One the quart cans I will add a few clean nuts and bolts and let them spin for a couple of hours. Once the paint is all mixed together and strained, it works as well as the fresh. Certainly you would not use this on a classic, but most other applications are ok.
. The nice thing about the little tumble is the motor size is only about 1/25 horsepower so it uses little energy. I also use it to tumble jars of nuts, bolts or nails that have been exposed to the elements and gotten rusty. With the fasteners I will mix in a handful of different small carpet tacks and small wood screws in an automatic transmission fluid solution and let her turn. A lot of the hardware cleans up like new.
Squido

Single component paints pretty much have an unlimited shelf life, it's catalysts or hardeners than go bad. I have lacquers and enamels that are 40 years old and work just fine. It just takes a bit of effort to get them mixed up again after settling all that time.

If you have hardeners that have started to thicken or change color, it's time to toss them. Their life can actually be extended by storing them in a cold place, but they normally won't last longer than a year or two at room temperature, much less at elevated temps.

Tom