Old paint

[mckenney56]

I have 2 gallons of this.

It has never been opened, but has been sitting on a shelf in the basement since 2006.
It is a light gray color.

Is there any chance it is still good?

What's your opinion on using it to paint my camper?

I also have these two that also have never been opened.

It was extra trim paint for my old house that was never opened. It's a medium gray.
It's from around 2003 or 2004.
I've got to start dating this stuff when I buy it.

This is brown. I have no idea how old it is. maybe 2000

[Gage]

Have you ever thought about doing a test piece? That should tell you if it is still good or not. Be sure to stir or shake well before doing so. Never being opened, some paints will stay good and some will not.

[sagebrush]

If it hasn't dried the paint should be good still. Mix it up well and do a test piece.

[kirkman]

Yep mix it and you will be good to go.

[sid]

Hey Greg,

I think the consensus is the paint is still good..... I would answer the second part of the questions with "Yes, it should work fine on your teardrop". We painted ours with Home Depots Behr exterior latex house paint in 2008 and so far no issues. A couple of coats of good primer, and a couple of coats of either of those paints should do the trick. Ours does stay garaged when not in use, so the paint on yours may be an issue if left in the elements over the years.

Hope this helps,
Mark

[dmckruit]

The paints should still be good. However, there are a few ways to tell if an enamel based paint has gone to seed. First open the can and see if has skinned over. If it has never been opened it shouldn't be skinned over. If it has skinned over it can still be used, however carefully remove all the skin before mixing otherwise lumps of skin will contaminate your finish with "seeds". Skinning over is caused by the oxidation of the paint with exposed air that was left in the can when it was closed. The other way to tell if the paint is bad is to mix it. It should be fairly easy to mix up the sediment from the bottom of the can. If the sediment is very hard and pretty much unmissable then it is no good. Enamel and oil based paints should be disposed of properly by dropping them off at a community household hazardous waste event.

I would check the Thompsons Water Seal to see if it is alkyd based before using. Normally, the "water sealing" agent used by Thompsons is nothing but parrafin wax. If you go to paint or varnish over this later, you may have adhesion problems. Alkyd based water sealers are better to use.

Also, just an FYI on latex paints. If they smell bad or are moldy don't use them. These are definately no good to use.

[mckenney56]

Hey Greg,

I think the consensus is the paint is still good..... I would answer the second part of the questions with "Yes, it should work fine on your teardrop". We painted ours with Home Depots Behr exterior latex house paint in 2008 and so far no issues. A couple of coats of good primer, and a couple of coats of either of those paints should do the trick. Ours does stay garaged when not in use, so the paint on yours may be an issue if left in the elements over the years.

Hope this helps,
Mark

I think that is part of the equation. Having a place to store it inside. I have a fairly large barn where it can live out of the rain and sun. So that should help it last longer. I'll probably only use it 6 or 7 times a year on long weekend trips.

[Lesbest]

Getting rid of old paint is NEVER an issue. Do like our good old uncle sam does it and throw it in the dumpster!!
But first open the can paint cardboard with multiple coats. As it dries add another coat, when the can is empty--in the dumpster, when the painted cardboard is dry--in the dumpster. Everyone makes too big of a deal out of old paint.

Huck Finn got someone else to do it, use it as a training day for the kids, with all the proper techniques etc. They screw up, who cares--no yelling needed. Give them praise for a job well done, and as with any painting the more you do the better you get. Soon they ARE a valuable asset with a brush.

Les

[M B Hamilton]

Ice dams caused water intrusion late in the winter last year (March 2010). Since then we've been restoring/renovating house inside and out, starting with a new roof. Late last summer I finally got around to repainting baseboards on the second floor. I still had a mostly full gallon of the Old Village oil based paint we originally used so there were no issues with having to color match new paint. A couple of minutes shaking the can and than a few more minutes with a paint stick had the paint ready to go just as in the past when we've needed to repaint trim. That can of paint was purchased back in 1979. At the end of this painting session I transferred the remaining paint to an new empty quart can I purchased for that purpose.

Me? I wouldn't even refer to your paint as "old." Just do a good job mixing it. Even if you take it to a paint store to have it shaken spend some time mixing it with a paint stick before you paint that test patch. Hint: once you've opened a can of paint store it in a cool area lid side down to limit/eliminate having the paint skin-over.