Paint Shelf Life Query

[PatG]

I'm thinking of using acrylics for the first time and have some old 'Aero Master Warbird Colors' jars, all never opened, that will fit the bill but which were bought quite some time ago.

 

I've opened 3 of them and after a good stir they seem to be fine but are they still OK to use I wonder given their age?

 

I don't want to muck up my current project and end up having to strip everything off and start again so advice please before I commit to doing any spraying!

 

Many thanks

Pat.

Edited September 8 by PatG
typo

[flyboy2610]

I have a number of jars of Testors Model Master acrylics (now out of production thanks to RustOleum buying them out and then killing them off) that are a number of years old. They still work fine.

[Black Knight]

They should be fine to use. Water based acrylics tend to loose some water and thicken up over time

[Rob G]

Just a thought, but maybe you could test them first? Pick a couple of colours, blow them onto an old model or some plastic sheet or spoons. Then wait for a few days, see what happens.

 

The worst that can happen is that you'll spend some time waiting. 

[PatG]

I also have a small number of the 'Polly Scale' acrylic paints (from Testors) so will give them a go too.

 

I think from memory the Aero Master and Testor paints were highly regarded in their day for being very accurate and spraying/brushing really well so I'm now looking forward to using them.

 

Many thanks.

Pat.

[Rob de Bie]

In 2022, I got lucky at an IPMS-NL car boot sale: I was given a whole box of paint for free. Apparently the seller had inherited the box, and it had been eating up shelf space for too long. Half the paint turned out to be Aeromaster, I think the full RLM range. The other half was Polly S, that I passed on to a friend. I knew from the past that Aeromaster was excellent paint. And all bottles were still OK, despite the age, guessing they are some 20 years old. Since then I've used a few colours with good results.

 

Rob

 

[PatG]

I have 20 jars covering most of the RLM's between 02 and 83, plus another 11 covering some RAF and USAF colours (Dark Earth, Azure Blue, Olive Drab, Faded OD etc.) so really happy that I hung on to them as the colours look to be spot on.

 

Just wondering why/when AeroMaster paints stopped as they were always highly regarded?

 

Pat.