Shelf life of WEST epoxy

[Poignard]

I have most of a 6kg container of WEST 205 resin and a proportionate amount of 206 hardener. I have a big epoxying job to do on my boat.

The 'use by' date on the containers is around the middle of 2005. I can't remember when I bought it.

It has been kept in a garage since purchase. As it would cost around £110 to replace it I am hoping it will still be perfectly ok to use.

Question: should I discard it or will it be as good as new?

 

[VicS]

I have just bought some and the use by dates on the tins are 10/2014 and 12/2014.

So a "guaranteed" shelf life of 18 moths or so but in practice likely to be much longer.

8 or 9 years is pushing your luck a bit I would think!

Why not mix a little and see what happens. If it appears to be Ok maybe use it for non critical jobs .

See http://www.wessex-resins.com/westsystem/storage-shelf-life.html ........ many years that says

 

[Avocet]

I think the resin (if stored in optimal conditions) is quite long-lived, but the "hardener" goes off. As Vic says, if its not a critical application, it might be ok. Could be worth phoning West. I got very helpful advice from SP when I was in a similar situation with some of their resin. (though it was only about 4 years old).

 

[savageseadog]

I've consistently found epoxy to be viable for many years after the sell-by date, storage temperature would be an issue but if the product is mobile it always seems to work.

 

[Graham_Wright]

If the resin has gone milky with crystals, warm it a little. It will go clear and the crystals dissolve.

 

[cliff]

I have just used some West System Epoxy from the same era. Placed both containers in hot water for ½ an hour to dissolve some crystals in both the resin and the hardener, allowed to cool to room temperature and mixed as usual. No problems - gel time and set time same as usual and it seemed to stick just as well as fresh resin. NOTE: do not mix hot - sets in frigg'n seconds and give off a lot of heat = allow to cool right down to RT before mixing.

 

[winsbury]

I tried some old stuff ( not as old as yours ) and it did not cure , it just stayed sticky mess that was a pig to clean up so my advice is definitely to mix up a test sample first before using.

 

[Steve_N]

I'm still using West 105/205 with an expiry date of 2007 and it is absolutely fine.
The resin did crystalise once (before I learned that it should be kept warm when stored) but as Graham says warming the resin turns it back to liquid.
I hope to get a good few years out of it yet.

 

[Poignard]

Concensus seems to be: it's probably OK to use it but best to make a test piece first, and also seek manufacturer's advice.

Very helpful replies - many thanks

 

[PlankWalker]

Last week I used some SP 120 that is 20 years old this Summer, I only have the slow hardener left which has gone a bit darker brown in colour, but its gone off as hard as it ever did.

Plank