Shelf life of stain

Matt Warfield

Member
Messages
167
Location
Cedar Rapids, IA
My wonderful mom had great intentions when she picked up a bunch of stain for me at an auction a few years ago. Okay, it was for her too as she only gave me a small portion of what she picked up. That small portion is about 50 cans of many different brands. The auction was from the closing of a hardware store and it looks like they were on the shelf there for quite some time. Looking at vintage of some of the labels, I wouldn't be surprised if some of it was 20 years old. It's all at least 5 years old. Given the price I paid, :rolleyes:, I'm leaning towards sending it to the recycling center rather than risk ruining a project. But, thought I'd ping everyone for their thoughts.

I'm definitely getting rid of the Polyshades though. I can get pictures if that's of any help.

Thanks in advance
 
The Polyshades can go IMO they where junk when they where new.
The rest should be ok. It's just pigment in oil and as long as you can mix it it should be fine.
 
Sounds like a good mix followed by straining before use is in order. Thanks guys.

I echo your sentiments on the Polyshades. I'm not even cruel to offer it as a giveaway item.
 
I got about 15 cans from a friend of mine roughly 5 years old. I would go through them now and find out what your working with no need to keep crap. I stired and strained than cleaned the can out and resealed. Most were still good.
 
That thought occurred to me. It also seemed that cracking open the can to inspect each one was the one sure way to change what I have...whether through evaporation/contamination/spillage. Perhaps that applies to finishes moreso due to driers and such?
 
The comments on oil based stains are valid. There's really not much that can go wrong with them, especially if the cans were'nt opened. I feel comfortable about that because I have a small amount of walnut oil based stain that's probably 20 years old that's been opened & shut many times. All I have to do is give it a good stirring & it still works fine. It's not even a name brand...just some house brand from a local store.
 
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