Paint & body guys I have a Clear coat ?

[casadejohnson]

I painted my 74 over 2 years ago and I'm going to be painting my bumper and fender flare tomorrow. The bumper was bought after the paint job was done so it needs to be painted to match and the flares are getting painted because 2 are new and one was repaired. Anyway, I bought paint a few days ago and i have clear from another project that I'm using. The question is about the hardener. How long does it last once opened. I have hardener but it was opened and says that it should be used within 14 days of opening. Mine was opened quite a while ago. Should I buy new hardener? I read that its bad when it forms crystals in it. Mine has no crystals, does that mean its OK? I'm thinking I'll buy new rather than risk using the old. Is that the smart thing to do or should I use what I have?

 

[needabronco]

I think you'll be ok. If there's no crystals in it and you can get the lid open, you should be ok? The good news if it's bad is your painting flares so if the hardner doesn't quite work your not stripping the whole rig. I think the worst that will really happen is it will just take longer for the paint to dry, but I'm not an expert either...

 

[allenfahey]

When hardner goes bad it gets milky and then turns clumpy like sour milk. Then it starts to get a crust on the top layer and eventually hard all the way thru. As long as it is still clear I would use it.

 

[casadejohnson]

I just got back from the local PPG store and they said it would be fine. He told me they can not guarantee it it but he would not hesitate to use it. So I'm headed to the garage to start layin it down. Its been a while since I've had the paint gun out so I hope its like riding a bike.