The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Does paint go bad?

I have a two-part acrylic urethane I purchased approximately 10 years ago to paint the frame. It has been stored in the garage unopened. I have the paint, the activator and the reducer as well as the mix ratio. They specify a 18 - 2.0 spray tip. I only have a 1.3.

Should I try it or would I create a mess for myself?

The paint I have (bought in 2019) which is an acrylic enamel specifies a 1 year shelf life on the Data Sheet. I just painted my engine with it without problem. It's unactivated and no reducer needed.

My opinion (which may or may not be worth 2 cents) is that you'll probably be OK if the storage conditions aren't too hot. I think cold is a better storage condition.

Since you're painting the frame, which won't be seen easily, you'll likely be OK. You may have to reduce it a little more than the spec says to use the 1.3 tip. You'll get a finer spray with it, of course.

If it were me, I'd do a test panel and see how it works before committing to your actual project.

Stir it really good and flip a coin .good idea to test first .I had old paint before that just would not dry but it looked good nice and shinny like wet paint oh it was wet .

I had some PPG Deltron left from 1989 that was still usable last summer. The hardener had gone bad, but I discovered I could use common hardener made for urethane paint today just as well. Try it first, but you may be surprised to find it is okay. This Deltron had been stored in the garage since 1989...hot, cold, whatever. I had black, white, clear left from a 1957 Bel-Air I painted. 1.3 tip is pretty small, however. As Kevin said, you'll probably need to cut it a bit more than normal.