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Guitar Polish- Expiration Dates?
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 1:54 pm
by jamie
I've got a few old bottles of guitar polish that have to be pretty darn old (10 years+) and the liquid does separate into visible layers but shaking it up fixes that.
Just curious if the chemicals in guitar polish ever go bad and may have actually have a harmful effect on a finish?
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:02 pm
by jingle_jangle
The chemicals in some are light-sensitive and will oxidize over time.
The separating into layers is due to different specific gravities. Sometimes a chemical emulsifier is added to allow the different liquids to appear to blend.
Nothing happens that could harm a guitar, but the effectiveness of the polish is compromised.
Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 3:19 pm
by jamie
That makes sense. The bottle was a clear plastic bottle (Gibson bottle from the 80s?) that sunlight easily penetrated.
I did use the polish after shaking it but the polish didn't really do much and I threw it out and bought a new bottle. It's reassuring to know that no harm would have occured to the finish though.