Shelf Life of Nitrocellulose Lacquer

[Ed A Hall]

Some Nitrocellulose lacquer I am interested in has a shelf life of 12 months? What degrades when Nitro is stored for long periods of time in a sealed container? The reason I'm asking is because it's getting harder and harder to find this stuff and I'm thinking about buying a 55 gallon drum that should last me 10 years or longer. But if the stuff degrades, I guess this won't be possible.

[Harvey Pascoe]

I've got an opened gallon that is about two years old, no problem. Not really sure but I think that as long as you can ensure a 100% seal it will last indefinitely. With a quantity that size I'd think you'd just need to keep adding solvent to it, but I'd ask the mfgr first before buying.