Paint shelf life

[giraffe76]

Hi all,

 

I just wanted to ask what the average shelf life is of opened and unopened paint is?

 

I have several unopened tins that ive had for just under 3 years and wanted to know whether they would be ok to use or better to get fresh?

 

Ive also got an opened tin of undercoat that ive had for several years but only opened for a few months but it doesnt seem the correct consistancy when i tried using it last week.

 

Any help or advice would be appreciated

 

Kind regards Mark

[JohnKay]

Hi, 

Unopened oil based should be perfectly OK for a good few years. Any old stuff that's been opened, and part used should be treated with suspicion, if it doesn't seem right, it's best got rid of.

With water based paint such as emulsion, the storage is important. If it's been in a shed or garage, and exposed to frost, it will be damaged, and should not be used.

Another point with water based that's been stored is if in a metal tin, it's possible to get a pin hole rusted through from the inside - Not pleasant, they only seem to leak when picked up ! 

[giraffe76]

The paint has been stored in a dark cupboard.

 

When i tried stiring the gloss undercoat thats been open for only a few months the clear top layer that normally dissapears when given a stir didnt dissapear and it seemed a very very runny consistancy. I did use some of it to go over some work that had been done and its dried very shiny.

 

Can i use the rest of it or is it best to just throw it away?

[JohnKay]

Sorry I didn't get back to you last week.

As I've said, if it's suspect, get rid of it. You take the risk of doing loads of hard work on a decorating project, only to have it ruined by dodgy materials.

It's the same as bad, or non existent preparation. I've known of cases where the paintwork has been so bad that the only way has been replacement of the doors and architraves, due it not being practical to strip the defective paint.