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Does Paint have a shelf-life?

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  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: -
Posted by luke on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 7:55 PM
thanks lads - you learn something new everyday!

QUOTE: Originally posted by pantsless

If you don't believe me, keep a bunch of tamiya acrylic paint bottles inside an airtight container and then open it a few hours later. You'll smell the paint when you open the container.


I did notice that the lids to these bottles are never sealled properly (or the way I would like it). And I did notice a paint smell everytime I opened my small paint box (aka a fishing tackle container). It's always a disheartening feeling when you find one paint jar is of a good batch and another is of a poor quiality!
  • Member since
    December 2002
Posted by Archer1 on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 11:50 AM
luke -

I have to agree with the other guys.
I have Tamiya and Testors acrylic that are also on the order of 15 years old, no problems for brush detail painting, however, if I'm air brushing, I'll generally go for the new stuff. (Less chance of little thingies floating around and causing trouble.)

Archer out.
  • Member since
    January 2003
Posted by shermanfreak on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 7:45 AM
Tamiya acrylics may have a shelf life ..... but I haven't found it yet. As long as the bottles are well sealed, no problems yet.
And I have some paints that are older than some of the modellers here.
Happy Modelling and God Bless Robert
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 4:49 AM
Yes they do have a shelf life but that life can be a very long time. I have some Tamiya acrylics over 15 years old and they still look the same as brand new paint from the hobby shop. Sprays just as good too. I got pactra paints that are getting near 25 years old and they are still good!!! The seal is very important. Some people store their paint upside down to keep the binder and solvent from evaporating. I tried this but it made the caps messy so I stopped doing this. Maybe that's the reason my pactras have kept for so long.

As long as the paint isn't getting dry don't add any thinner to it. The thinner will upset the chemical properties of the paint and shorten the shelf life.
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 2:54 AM
My opinion is yes because the tamiya acrylic bottles are not sealed well. The bottle caps don't have rubber gaskets so the paint medium inside tamiya acrylics slowly evaporate and escape the bottles. This pretty much applies to all paints because the bottles they give you never have rubber gaskets and the medium that keeps the paint non-viscous usually escapes the bottles after several years. If you don't believe me, keep a bunch of tamiya acrylic paint bottles inside an airtight container and then open it a few hours later. You'll smell the paint when you open the container. You can probably extend a shelf life for a long time if you add some thinner into the paint.
  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: -
Does Paint have a shelf-life?
Posted by luke on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 1:45 AM
During my regular monthly visit to my local toy shop (called Toyworld - if only the world was full of toys!), they have just got a new batch of Tamiya paints. So what did they do with the old ones I hear you ask - they marked them down to $2 (that's Aussie bucks)! Normally Tamiya Acrylics are anywhere from $4 to $5.50 (depending on which shop). I bought two dozen different types - but I thought . . . some of these paints were probably here since I first started modelling, which is well over 12 years ago.

So my question is this - Do Tamiya Acrylics, or Acrylics in general, have a shelf-life? Should they be used within "x" years of production for best results?

ps - if the answer is No, I'm going back to buy another couple of dozen!
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