Yep, it has a shelf life. According to the 3M operator it is one year out of date and most likely will remain as a runny liquid. It was sprayed in the rocker panels of my 34 using the long straw with the spray applicator. 3M should put the expiration date on the front of the can. Be warned some on-line retailers are selling out of date products. Everyone needs to learn how to read their date codes printed ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CAN!!!! How inconvenient.
Got a bulk buy in the early 80s. Still using it. Got a bit thick so I dilute it with a drop of kerosene.
Pretty much everything has a shelf life and pretty much no one puts it on their products other that through a batch code. Companies are not going through the expense of continually reprinting new labels every time they make a batch of product to change the expiration date. It would massively increase the cost of packaging. These types of products are not manufactured for the retail environment they are manufactured for professional end users who know these things. Whoever you bought it from is to blame for selling out dated product. Things like this are one of the pitfalls of buying online to save money. I say it continually on here READ the technical data sheets on the products you are using BEFORE you use them. It says right on the 3M data sheet that the product has a 24 month shelf life. It also expressly says not for retail sales and this is one of the reasons why.
It's not really harsh or sad. If an end user buys a product that is not designed for retail sales it is on them to educate themselves about the product and buy from a reputable dealer who has a stake in the product being sold. There is a reason a lot of stuff online is cheaper and it because they don't have the expense of providing good customer service. If you want cheap you get cheap. People seem to think the old adage of do you want it cheap, fast or good pick 2 doesn't also apply to online sales.
Ive seen this plenty at work w out dated adhesives as well as improperly stored (below freezing temp). They'll sell it & not say a word. To make it worse there is no expiration date on the products. So the impetus is on me to call the rep & hope they are honest or even know what they're talking about. Sorry about your situation. Thanks for making us aware so we can avoid the same mistake. At least we learned something from this, So all is not a waste.
There is a date code on the bottom of the can. It is written in the Julian Calendar (Yes, there is such a calendar). So, I have learned something new today, how to read a Julian Calendar. As for those who are saying "For Professional Use Only", I believe the vast majority of us on here build our own cars and use 3M or other manufactures products as we build. Some may read the Technical Data Sheets, and some may not. I always read them just to see what is in them. I have learned a lot from them and encourage others to read them. Only after calling 3M, I learned of the Julian Calendar was on the bottom and found out my can was out of date. The good news is that after sitting outside today the Cavity Wax did firm up. It's not thin and runny anymore. Hopefully it will perform as it's designed to do.
FWIW The Julian calendar is a solar calendar of 365 days in every year with an additional leap day every fourth year (without exception). The Julian calendar is still used as a religious calendar in parts of the Eastern Orthodox Church and in parts of Oriental Orthodoxy as well as by the Amazigh people (also known as the Berbers). For a quick calculation, between 1901 and 2099 the much more common Gregorian date equals the Julian date plus 13 days I hope it works out and I still think the criticism was harsh rather than helpful or sympathetic. The way of the world these days, I'm afraid. FWIW
https://perfumeson.com/what-is-julian-date-usda-understanding-the-julian-date-system The Julian Date in USDA is a system used to determine the manufacturing date of a product. Instead of using a typical calendar date format, the USDA uses a three digit code known as the Julian date. These represent the consecutive days of the year with January 1 represented as 001 and December 31 as 365. This method provides a clear and precise measurement of when food products were made, helping to keep track of freshness and ensure quality. This dating system was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BCE, and has been used by astronomers and scientists ever since. The Julian date is based on the number of days elapsed since January 1st, 4713 BCE. Despite it’s name, the Julian date has nothing to do with the Julian calendar that was used by the Romans. One of the advantages of using the Julian date format is that it provides a unique numerical value for each day, allowing for easy sorting and comparison of dates. Another advantage is that it simplifies calculations involving time intervals, as it’s easy to compute the difference between two Julian dates in days. The Julian date is often used in scientific and technical fields, such as astronomy, navigation, and engineering. For example, astronomical observations are often recorded in Julian dates so that they can be easily correlated and analyzed. This format is particularly useful in scientific and technical fields where precise time measurement is required, and allows for easy comparison and calculation of dates.
Hey, I didn't understand why it was used so I went and looked. I kind of get it in the short term food space. Feb 13 to May 27 is just digits. I'd guess it's also a bit of 'inside' communication not to have normal date on it. I think it's shorter digit mentioned in the article is moot now with dot printing, but is a holdover like std measure rather than metric.
The part that bothers me is it enables a short or stale dated product to be sold without any adjustments in pricing, a lot of things get dated that don’t really need to be, if a product is truly perishable then it should be dated and readily comprehensible to the consumer even if that’s not the general public.
Any Past Due Date is going to be very safe, especially in processed food and medicine. There is a lawyer ready to go if they aren't. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7040264/ I agree that they should be readily comprehended by the average purchaser. I also know that there is a large percentage of illiteracy and a growing populace that have turned away from lessons learned in the past century. https://www.thinkimpact.com/literacy-statistics/ https://www.socratic-method.com/quote-meanings-french/voltaire-common-sense-is-not-so-common
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