Army Painter quickshade - does it expire? What's the effect?

[Whitwort Stormbringer]

Hi all, hoping you fine fellows can help me out, here.

I have a can of Army Painter quickshade that I got ~5 years ago, and am a bit reluctant to crack it open and use it as I seem to recall hearing somewhere that the stuff can expire.  I looked at the can and couldn't find any information to that effect, though, nor did I see a printed expiration date or anything like that.

Does it ever go bad, and if so, what would be the potential negative effect of using expired quickshade on models?

Thanks!

[Quendil]

Once opened it does go off, the ones had seem to go darker and also the finish they gave was slightly off

[baldlea]

That's interesting. I'm in a similar position. Before I throw the rest away, is there anything else it can be used for? Large terrain etc?

[Quendil]

That's interesting. I'm in a similar position. Before I throw the rest away, is there anything else it can be used for? Large terrain etc?

I just threw mine away as I also found as it gets older it reacts with Matt varnish

[MM]

I read somewhere that you can add terpentine (turpentine?) if the quickshade is older and thicker. Maybe that will prevent any problems with older stuff?

Another tip: storing the can upside down after opening prevents drying out of the stuff. Be sure the lid is well closed!
I bought a can only a few months ago but haven't used it yet, so I dont know if these tips work.

[Digitarii]

I have a can of quickshade about the same age and I used it a few months ago without a problem. Didn't much like the effect, but it worked.

[Fitz]

These are HaT 20mm plastic Zulu War British, block painted and then brushed with Quickshade Dark Tone. I've left them in Quickshade's gloss finish.



These are a couple of Reaper zombies, also block-painted and varnish-shaded, but also sprayed with acrylic matte varnish. The one on the left is done with Cabots varnish stain (Indian Teak) which is basically exactly the same stuff as Quickshade, but less than half the price. I'd get a half-tint done next time though, as the result is much darker.

[Whitwort Stormbringer]

Thanks for the replies!

I have used this particular can before, back when I bought it, so I know what to expect from Quickshade normally.  Just don't want to ruin this set of minis, which I'm really just trying to get table-ready, not worried about top-notch painting or anything.

I'll try a test mini that I'm not particularly attached to first, and decide whether to use it on the rest or toss it and buy a new can based on those results.

Cheers!

[syrinx0]

My old can dried up forming a thick cap which one removed left a almost jelly like remainder. I mixed that with turpentine and painted it on a few zombies. It dried really flat, very quickly but I left it for 48 hours anyway.  No bad interaction with the matte spray I used.  I would experiment on a test figure before you used it on your unit though.

[Whitwort Stormbringer]

Thanks syrinx0 (and MM!) for the note on turpentine - if it looks too thick I will try that before chucking and replacing this can.  I should get to it in the next couple of days, and would be happy to post some photos of my results if folks are interested, given how little info there seems to be on this particular conundrum.

[rumacara]

I´m interested to know the result.
I have a closed can bought 1 year ago waiting for better days.