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Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 7:36 pm
by saltponder
I am just about done fairing my Panga 20 and plan on coating 2/3rd's-3/4ths of the bottom with epoxy resin/graphite. The front of the bottom below the splash rails will be painted in Sterling. I will not paint sides until the boat is finished.
My question, is should I buy for the entire job, or buy a small quantity to do what needs to be done on the bottom first, then buy the rest when it is time to do the sides and transom? Based on past history, this has not been a sprint for me and I may not get around to painting the rest of the boat until months later. I was concerned of what can happen to the paint once the can is opened and not fully used for a considerable time later.
Gil

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:47 pm
by Fonda@kauai
According to what Joel told me, the paint doesn't really go bad but the brushing catalyst has a short shelf life once opened. Get enough paint for the whole job, then buy however much catalyst and thinner you need to do whatever job you wanna do now. Good luck :D

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:01 am
by tech_support
correct. Paint lasts a long time (several years at least even after open), but the catalyst may only give you 90 days after its opened. So its fine to get all the paint at once to save on the quantity price of gallons vs. quarts, but only get enough catalyst to use now.

Reducer lasts indefinitely also

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:08 am
by Cracker Larry
I'm glad Gil asked this question :D I'm soon going to use some that almost a year old, I guess I better get some more catalyst.

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 10:32 am
by tech_support
Larry, it (catalyst) may still be OK - just try it out on a small amount. It has a lto to do with the temp its stored and how much air get to it.

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 11:11 am
by Cracker Larry
Thanks Joel, I'll give it a try. I stored it carefully and kept in inside all winter so it wouldn't freeze. Maybe it will be OK.

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 7:29 pm
by saltponder
Folks, thanks for the responses. Fonda, it's time to paint and build my cradle.
Gil

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 1:39 pm
by Fonda@kauai
Au'ryte :D What color did you go with? Post some pics when she's painted :D

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 10:35 am
by hooter
shine wrote:correct. Paint lasts a long time (several years at least even after open), but the catalyst may only give you 90 days after its opened. So its fine to get all the paint at once to save on the quantity price of gallons vs. quarts, but only get enough catalyst to use now.

Reducer lasts indefinitely also
how does one know if catalyst bas gone bad?

do I have to ruin base and reducer to find out or is there a poor mans test?

Thanks,

hOOter

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2011 12:40 pm
by tech_support
thats right, catalyst has a shelf life, normally its 90 days after being opened, but it depends on the temps - last longer when its kept cool.

I have used sterling paint that was more than a year old with no problem I just found the rest of the gallon I used on the fs17 and the optimist, I may use it for the outside of the seacraft - that would be about three years old.

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 8:44 am
by ericsil
Since it is going to be tough to get new product, you may, like me be stuck matching some finish with some old paint and catalyst. I have three cans of 2964 catalyst. One was unopened as of a couple days ago, one was left over from last year, and the other was left over from two years ago. All three were tightly capped.

I ran a test of the newly opened catalyst against the two year old. As near as I can tell there is no difference in the curing time or the results after. The 90 day life seems to be very conservative. I am probably helped by the fact that my workshop never goes above 75F in the summer and stays below 40F for much of the rest of the year. In any case, don't give up on that old product until you run a test.

Re: Life of Sterling after opening can

Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2015 9:29 am
by jacquesmm
Glad to hear that.
It may be the temperature. In our warehouse, it easily goes up to 100F and shelf life is less than 6 months.