Can Hoppes 9 go bad?

[Matt Wallis]

I finally cleaned that rifle that was given to me and I used some Hoppes 9 that came with it for lube. Boy did that stuff stink! Smelled like the juice from feta cheese. It also was rather seperated, even after I shook it up. As I was complaining about it my wife said, "Maybe it went bad." So I figgured I'd ask. Can it go bad? Does it sound like mine did?

Regards,
Matt

[Mike Irwin]

Sounds to me like you're describing either bacterial or fungus contamination. Some of these critters actually can live in kerosene (which is the primary component of Hoppes). I've encountered that before with old kerosene left from previous heating seasons, and it STINKS.

[Ranger Grant]

I've never had Hoppe's #9 around long enough to go bad:D

[clown714]

never seen any go bad
seen some really contaminated,though

[RON in PA]

Are we talking about Hoppe's # 9 for smokeless guns or #9 plus for blackpowdwer guns. The latter seems to age over time and become thicker as you use up the squeeze container. It needs to be well shaken.