As delivered aviation lubricants are the result of extensive research, careful manufacture and stringent quality assurance checks applied both to the products and the containers. Each package irrespective of the size as a rule carries the requisite markings of the product nomenclature, brand name, governing specification, batch number, date of manufacture, date of reinspect, quantity of the contents and other contractual information. The manufacturing units pay special attention to the entire process of blending and filling with quality control tests at every stage to ensure that the products at the time of despatch conform fully to the governing specifications. These procedures are standardised and approved and often supervised by the Inspecting authorities before releasing the product for use.

It is therefore equally important that the users of aviation lubricants take utmost care to store and handle them in a manner so that they reach the specified point of application in a sound condition.

During product storage, several factors can be responsible for impairing the quality. These may range from physical contamination or chemical degradation to even simple obliteration of the container markings. The main physical contaminants are water, dirt and rust.