Shelf life of paint: Polyscale, Scalecoat, Floquill, etc.

If these are still sealed, these bottles should still be good to use- opening them, and exposure to air, is what causes their "shelf life" to begin.  And that time can vary greatly.  I'm looking for several Floquil colors if you've got some to sell, regardless of age.  If it's still liquid, it's still good. 

I'm a scalecoat guy and, like Jeff says, if it's not opened it should be good.

I've had a some bottles that are about 20 years old that I just started to use, again: a few went bad but one other that I opened was good.

I use a popsicle stick to stir the pigment at the bottom: on the bad bottle, the pigment was a fairly hard mass, never dissolved and got thrown out.  If one can stir up the pigment until it completely dissolves, then it should be good.  

Never hurts to test on a 'throw away' surface before applying to a project.

Floquill, I have found can get bad depending on the temp. and age. I bought a bunch of it from Chan's (now closed) trains in San Francisco once. Many of the bottles were dried up. Don't know if someone had opened them or not. I myself have lost some bottles because I didn't wipe the opening very well after I used it and found it impossible to reopen them without braking the bottle. Wish they still made it. Don

Something happened to paint about a quarter century ago.  Scalecoat and Floquil used to last forever, then the formulas changed and they were good for between six months and a year after opening.

This is not unique to model paint - in the 1970s I painted some airplane parts with WWII surplus AN Yellow.  Gorgeous.  I had a can of Piper Cub Yellow I bought in 1969, and sprayed the last of it five years ago - perfect match to 1990 colors.  I cannot buy or even mix matching paint today.

Even if I could, normal paints go bad in a year.  Krylon and Rustoleum rattle cans are only good for a couple of uses; then you throw the half-filled useless cans in the recycling bin.  I have spray cans from 1990 that still work, and modern cans that are useless after two months.

Grumble.

Just started using some new and partial bottles of Floguil from 2004.  Had to stir the pigment off the bottom but it laid down quite nicely. 

I recently discovered Tru-Color Paint..... I just used their paints on a custom fantasy repaint on my Atlas O C-630's in Spokane Portland & Seattle for myself and they look amazing!

Bruk posted:

I recently discovered Tru-Color Paint..... I just used their paints on a custom fantasy repaint on my Atlas O C-630's in Spokane Portland & Seattle for myself and they look amazing!

I endorse Bruk’s comment. I got to the point where all of the stock  of bottled Polyscale, Floquil and Scalecoat I could find was old and once opened it was likely to go bad within a few months to a year, no matter how carefully I sealed it up. While none of it had gone bad just sitting unopened on the shelf you could only expect to get a few uses out of each bottle. 

Here's what I've learned over the years.

The paint formulation changes started decades ago due to Federal regulations removing Volatile Organic Content (VOC's):

This pretty much did in oil-based paints. Manufacturers started making water/alcohol based paints and changing their formulas to stay in line with regulations until VOC's were completely phased out.  Frequent painters weren't happy as their original formula supplies disappeared from the stores and they had to relearn how to spray.

As an example of a VOC, original Floquil needed to be thinned with Dio-sol.  If you've ever used it, you know what I mean how brutal it was once you started spraying.

The container does matter:

Glass with metal lids tend to have the longest shelf-life.  This is because they are not air permeable. 

Polymer  (plastic) bottles or plastic lids ARE air permeable over the long haul.  I've got factory sealed bottles where the alcohol/water carrier has completely evaporated.  Some of them, the pigment actually balled up and I can see the ball bouncing around in the container.

And, yes, once you open a container these days, it is done for within a year.  Air is our paint's worst enemy.

Just my personal experience.

Fred

Bruk posted:

I recently discovered Tru-Color Paint..... I just used their paints on a custom fantasy repaint on my Atlas O C-630's in Spokane Portland & Seattle for myself and they look amazing!

Thanks for the endorsement!  I've wondered if their paint was OK.  The trouble is finding it.  I recently visited Caboose (not Caboose Hobbies ... they're gone) in Denver and they had a giant display of Tru-Color.  The trouble is, I live in the Detroit area.

I agree with what Jeff said. If never opened they should last a long time. I just used some original Floquil (Dio Sol Thinner) in a square bottle that had been opened a while ago and it was still good. 

Poly Scale on the other hand is only good for a few years once opened. A lot has to do with how much air is left. 3/4 paint will last much longer than 1/4 filled. I have wondered if filling the bottle with nitrogen with lengthen shelf life?? Will likely never try that though.

Re: Tru Color. There is a learning curve. Practice some with thinning ratios and airbrush tip sizes as well as thinner types. Don't use acetone as a thinner even though it says you can clean with it. It dries way to fast. I am using hardware store lacquer thinner with it now for slower drying times.

Pete

I store bottle and can paint up side down in a cool place not subject to freezing. 

I have a few unopened jars of model airplane dope (lacquer to you politically correct youngsters! ) that are over fifty years old and still flow in the jar.  I have opened cans of oil based enamel, used on my 40 year old layout, that most are still usable if thinned.  I put saran wrap or polyethylene sheets in the under the lids and stored up side down.

Charlie

poniaj posted:

Thanks for the endorsement!  I've wondered if their paint was OK.  The trouble is finding it.  I recently visited Caboose (not Caboose Hobbies ... they're gone) in Denver and they had a giant display of Tru-Color.  The trouble is, I live in the Detroit area.

 

1. I’ve just been in search of some Tru Color auto paints and discovered a good internet source, Arizona Hobbies in Tucson, who ship USPS so the shipping charges are not disproportionate. Trying to find the full range of these paints locally proved impossible for me and the usual auction sites have limited choice.

2. I thought Caboose is the successor to Caboose Hobbies; according to its website it is.

poniaj posted:

Bruk posted:

I recently discovered Tru-Color Paint..... I just used their paints on a custom fantasy repaint on my Atlas O C-630's in Spokane Portland & Seattle for myself and they look amazing!

Thanks for the endorsement!  I've wondered if their paint was OK.  The trouble is finding it.  I recently visited Caboose (not Caboose Hobbies ... they're gone) in Denver and they had a giant display of Tru-Color.  The trouble is, I live in the Detroit area.

 

You can order from them directly. I had to for the colors I needed in 2oz bottles. Send them an email with the colors/numbers you want with your phone number, mailing address and they will contact you for payment method that day or the next.  

Hancock52 posted:

poniaj posted:

Thanks for the endorsement!  I've wondered if their paint was OK.  The trouble is finding it.  I recently visited Caboose (not Caboose Hobbies ... they're gone) in Denver and they had a giant display of Tru-Color.  The trouble is, I live in the Detroit area.

 

1. I’ve just been in search of some Tru Color auto paints and discovered a good internet source, Arizona Hobbies in Tucson, who ship USPS so the shipping charges are not disproportionate. Trying to find the full range of these paints locally proved impossible for me and the usual auction sites have limited choice.

2. I thought Caboose is the successor to Caboose Hobbies; according to its website it is.

You can order from them directly. I had to for the colors I needed in 2oz bottles. Send them an email with the colors/numbers you want with your phone number, mailing address and they will contact you for payment method that day or the next.