How long will products last?

M

Mike777G

New member
What is the general life span of various detailing supplies.

Cleaners, Dressings, Compounds, Waxes.

It looks like I will have supplies around for a long time. How long untell they are no good and whats the best way to preserve products.

Thanks all
 
99% of the time the answer is "indefinitely" if you keep them from freezing or extreme heat.



As long as a product that has separated will reconstitute with a bit of shaking or stirring, it's still good.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
99% of the time the answer is "indefinitely" if you keep them from freezing or extreme heat.
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Agreed, most products hate temperature fluctuations. Shaking bottles every few months isn't a bad idea either. It keeps everything from separating. The most volatile are LSP's followed by polishes, everything else seems to last forever.
 
I have paste waxes that are approaching 10 years old that look and function normally. Store at room temperature, shake a couple times a year and they should last several years at least.
 
Great to hear guys. I was getting a bit worried because I buy my products in larger sizes and they could very well last a few years. I see some people store their waxes in a small fridge. Is that necessary, and what about clay bars, how long should they last.
 
If you can't keep the products at a steady temp, a fridge is good, but only necessary for a non temp controlled environment like a garage. Then you have to weigh your options, do you want to pay $30/year in electricity to keep $100 worth of product for a few years longer?



As far as clay, I have clay bars over 5 years old that are still fine, just keep them double sealed as they can dry out.
 
yakky said:
As far as clay, I have clay bars over 5 years old that are still fine, just keep them double sealed as they can dry out.
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I've never even had clay dry out! Sure smart to do it like Yakky suggested though.



Heh heh...people are talking about 5 or 10 year old products as if that's a long shelf life :grinno: I have much older stuff than that that's still OK, even though my previous shop got *HOT* in the summer and I just kept my products on the shelf; only thing that went bad was a bottle of M34.
 
yakky said:
If you can't keep the products at a steady temp, a fridge is good, but only necessary for a non temp controlled environment like a garage.
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Here's my mini fridge in the garage I use to store small quantities of product in the summer. The full size bottles stay in the house. My electric bill is practically unaffected by using this mini fridge.



DSC02315.jpg
 
Accumulator said:
Bill D- Hmmm...my builder put a minifridge in the garage's office, but I've never used it for anything.
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I can report the QD,polishes, sealants, and waxes all perform well stored this way. Up north you'd probably have to use the mini fridge less often during than year than me.
 
Yeah...the shop part of the garage stays OK, but my storage rooms are off of the loft-office on the 2nd floor and things can get pretty warm up there as I don't run the A/C all the time. Nothing's gone bad yet, but still...



I do keep my cases of #16 and 476S in the basement of the house, same area where I keep the wine (not that it's a true "wine cellar" or anything).
 
My garage holds a pretty constant 15 degrees Celsius which is good (sorry I'm Canadian not sure what that is in Fahrenheit) but it is really dry up here on the prairies does that affect anything. Also I run a mobile unit does a hot car do damage to products?
 
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