Do polishes have a shelf life?

[cptzippy]

The Polishes I have I`ve had for a quite a while. Do polishes have a shelf life? Does it matter if I`ve used/opened them?



Here`s what I have and about when I bought them:



End of 2007---

Prima Amigo (I`ve used)

Prima Swirl (I`ve used)

Prima Finish (used sparsely)

Prima Cut (unused)



End of 2010 (iirc, soon after released)

Optimum Hyperpolish Spray (used)



Haven`t used the Prima since probably 2008 and used the OPT last fall (not as worried about it).



So are all probably still good to use? Know I`m probably going to have to do a lot of shaking ;)

[BigAl3]

give them a good shake and if they are not seperated (storing them away from extreme hot/cold temps is ideal as well), you should be fine. i give my products a good shake about once a month...

[cptzippy]

Thanks, just wanted to be sure before I started up. Wouldn`t want to get all set up and find my polishes were rancid, not useable, or some such other. When I searched, many manufactures listed 3 years as they expiration date.

[Accumulator]

There`s a thread started by TOGWT on this subject that has the info (plus some comments by yours truly about what you might get away with if you`re lucky).



Short answer on polishes- I often use polishes that are 5-10-more years old with zero problems, and I don`t even bother shaking them up regularly.

[cptzippy]

Reading TOGWT`s info it seems that `semi-colapsed` is one of the signs. When I looked at the bottles today they were all `sucked in`. How good an indicator is that? I`d hate to use my limited energy shaking for twenty minutes to no avail it is pretty definitely past it.

[Chas]

I know I had posted a response on another forum to your post, but if I remember correctly I had some of my Prima polishes go very thin after an extended period of limited use and after talking to Nick from Prima he advised me that, IF I remember correctly, that a bacteria can actually get into the bottle and breakdown the abrasives inside the polish. Now I don`t know if that still holds true for all batches made, if it affects on Prima products, or what have you, but I remember e-mailing him about that in the past. I will say however, that I have had two unopened bottles of Prima Swirl and Finish sitting for about a year and a half now and they both appear to hold a very thick consistency when shaking them.



I would obviously hold more weight in TOGWT`s articles than my one experience.

[cptzippy]

Looks like I`m back to finding a new polish - any suggestions?

[Accumulator]

captzippy- I`ve never shaken a product for more than a few minutes, so I wouldn`t spend 20 min. on it ;)



What kind of polish are you after...a mildish medium/finishing polish?

[cptzippy]

It`s to correct the Jag paint.