Proofide dried out

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brucelee
Posts: 290
Joined: 19 Feb 2009, 10:39am

Proofide dried out

Post by brucelee »

Hi, my tin of brooks proofide has dried out (despite being kept in a dark cool place in an air tight bag) - can anyone suggest a solvent to thin it out ?
Cheers,
Bruce.
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by pete75 »

Ingredients include cod liver oil and veg oil so maybe one or both would work.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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SimonCelsa
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Joined: 6 Apr 2011, 10:19pm

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by SimonCelsa »

I had a similar problem earlier this year with a tin purchased 5 years ago.

The consistency actually felt OK when applied to the saddle but when I came to buff it up it was as if someone had applied PVA glue over the entire surface. I had to resort to a nailbrush & washing up liquid to remove all traces of the gunky mess - strange. The tin had been stored inside an old biscuit tin & both lids were tight so I'm not sure what has happened to the stuff; I would imagine the thinning agent has evaporated which I assume must be something to do with the paraffin wax?

I was actually going to raise a similar thread to your own although never got round to it, there is something maybe similar linked to here, although as stated above my proofide did not appear to have dried out. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=83851.

Anyhow, I've a tin of the SPA stuff which seems OK, & black Kiwi plus some Graingers boot wax doesn't appear to cause any harm - yet,

all the best, Simon
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Mick F
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Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by Mick F »

My tin must be nearly ten years old. It's kept in my tool box just sculling in the bottom unloved, and unused for a year or more.
Just opened it and all seems fine.
Mick F. Cornwall
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by mercalia »

there is the original old stuff and the new stuff? which is yours? my 15+ year old stuff looks ok
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Mick F
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Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by Mick F »

Dunno.
Is there a lot number?

40g tin, so it's Post Decimal. 8)
No "use by" date on it.
Mick F. Cornwall
LollyKat
Posts: 3250
Joined: 28 May 2011, 11:25pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by LollyKat »

My 30-year-old tin is also fine. "They don't make things like that any more....." :lol:
mercalia
Posts: 14630
Joined: 22 Sep 2013, 10:03pm
Location: london South

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by mercalia »

LollyKat wrote:My 30-year-old tin is also fine. "They don't make things like that any more....." :lol:


no 'cause it stinks a lot? The EU has rules about that :wink:
LollyKat
Posts: 3250
Joined: 28 May 2011, 11:25pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by LollyKat »

Stink??? It has a distinctive delicate aroma but it certainly doesn't stink. How dare you, sir! :D
nez
Posts: 2080
Joined: 19 Jun 2008, 12:11am

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by nez »

This reply reminds me of a boy at my all male school who was convinced women couldn't f@rt. I wonder how the intervening 50 years has left him?
pete75
Posts: 16370
Joined: 24 Jul 2007, 2:37pm

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by pete75 »

nez dans le guidon wrote:This reply reminds me of a boy at my all male school who was convinced women couldn't f@rt. I wonder how the intervening 50 years has left him?


Women don't fart they break wind :)
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
greyingbeard
Posts: 851
Joined: 24 Mar 2015, 10:41pm

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by greyingbeard »

Ladies, however, are a cut above and do neither, certainly in male company
reohn2
Posts: 45158
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by reohn2 »

greyingbeard wrote:Ladies, however, are a cut above and do neither, certainly in male company

Another hopeless romantic :wink:

Back to the Proofhide,bin it and buy a tin of Nikwax,a lot cheaper for a lot more and can be used on leather boots too :)
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Brucey
Posts: 44513
Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Proofide dried out

Post by Brucey »

Proofide ingredients;

Tallow, Cod oil, Vegetable oil, Paraffin wax, Beeswax, Citronella oil

the problem may well be in the Veg oil component. This can dry out and/or polymerise/oxidise all by itself, (especially if exposed to air; NB cyclic temperatures will often cause air exchange in badly sealed containers, eventually giving the same effect as if you had left the lid off).

Once it has changed in this way, the product may no longer be any good for anything; if you add a volatile solvent of some kind this may let you apply the stuff but it may still dry to a sticky mess. If you dilute with more 'oil' of some kind it may reduce the problem but it will also dilute the other (presumably still effective) ingredients in the proofide.

If there is no 'use by' date on it, I'd suggest sending it back to Brooks and asking their opinion....?

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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