shelf life?

Bill D

Bill D

Hooked For Life
Hi everyone,



I've been wondering about the shelf lives of the various products we use: compounds, polishes, glazes. sealants, waxes, car wash, wheel cleaner,etc.



Very few products I've come across discuss the shelf life. Certainly traveling with products in the trunk in the summer will diminish it as will keeping them in the cold in the winter. But aside from these two extremes, is there a general rule of thumb for shelf life in each of these product categories? I think some things can last for years while with others I have no idea.

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This question comes up from time to time, and I'm sure folks will chime in here with info about various products. Meanwhile -- or to get additional info -- go to the search page and use "shelf + life" as the keywords. I was amazed at how much good info turned up when I just now ran that search. Check it out. :up
 
I just started labelling all my polishes, cleaners , protectants and sealants with the month and year I purchased them to help me keep track of how long I've had them. On some labels I was able to use a Sharpie pen to write the date but on others I had to paint it on with Wite-Out. I need to get that new Sharpie pen on TV now that you can write with on dark surfaces
 
I've heard that waxes have about 2-3 years of shelf life and that one should avoid having them getting frozen in the winter. I think I read that in the meguiar's website.



Personally I have a bottle of "spoiled" Meguiar's carnauba wax thats been around for a while. In my case, the wax basically becomes water when it touches the metal of my car, and I would suppose that the wax has lost some or all of its ability to protect & shine etc.
 
In *MY* experience (yep, that's a disclaimer :D ), if the product hasn't separated to the point that it won't remix, or dried out to the point that it's obvious, or otherwise obviously "changed", it's OK to use. I have some VERY old products that I still use from time to time (at my own risk).



You DO have to notice the "change", of course- abrasive polishes can turn MUCH more aggressive (which I've used to my advantage).



Phatphob's post rang a bell with me as I just used some 5 year old (at least) Meg's #16, worked great, still just like new. And for me, that's NOT a very old product by any means. I have some Malm's stuff from the '80's that works as well as it ever did, and some Pinnacle and Like Nu stuff that's nearly that old, no problems with any of it either. Again, that's JUST MY EXPERIENCE.



I take manufacturer's "shelf life" recommendations with a BIG grain of salt. *IMO*, it's just common sense that they're gonna tell you that their products last a few years (otherwise no one would buy them) but that they DO go bad (both to cover themselves in case they do and to plant the thought that "maybe I oughta buy some new stuff").



But yeah, protect your stuff from freezing and other temperature extremes. With liquids, shake them up from time to time (and give some thought to the amount of air space in the container). Make sure all your containers are sealed up tight and in good condition.
 
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