Preserving Waterlox

[Ned Gatewood]

Waterlox finish is certainly a good product. But after a year or so of the container being opened from time to time, it becomes gelatinous due to exposure to air. Has anyone out there discovered a way to avoid this? i know there are products you can spray into the can to replace the air, but I'm too cheap and like to do things myself. Thanks. Ned

[Prashun Patel]

Decant your quart into smaller 4oz bottles, or use an oxygen replacement gas like Bloxygen.

[Jay Aubuchon]

This question is extensively discussed here.

[Robert Willing]

I put it in smaller bottles and put wax paper as a seal, than reseal every time with wax paper every time you open the jar. Works for me.

[Jim Tobias]

Ned,
I started using these(link below). I bought them specifically for Waterlox. So far(about 4 months) the finish is just like it was when I opened the can the first time.

Jim

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/pag...at=1,190,44133

[Adam Herman]

i wonder if the camping water bottle ones would work as well?

either way, these are pretty inexpensive when you consider loosing a bunch of finish product. I will be ordering some right away.

[Brice Rogers]

I like the suggestion to use propane as it is heavier than air (as is CO2 and Argon). I'm going to try that.

[John K Jordan]

I use a spare Nitrogen tank to displace air. Since it's not as heavy as Argon, I just use more to displace as much oxygen as possible and put the lid on quickly. Seems to work well.

BTW, the old MSDS for Bloxygen indicates a mix of nitrogen, argon, and CO2. I just noticed a newer MSDS (and the advertising blurb) indicates they use pure argon.

I've heard of propane recommended before but I personally don't like the idea of using a combustible gas.

JKJ

[Robert Willing]

Those are slick. Think I will do the same.

[Dane Riley]

You can buy 2 oz. bottles straight from Waterlox. And the shipping is cheaper than quartz. As the nearest place to buy it (I'm in Forestville, near Santa Rosa, CA) is over an hour away, this is what I do.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I never use Waterlox, but Polymerized Tung oil, as it polymerizes quite quickly you want to keep the air away from it.

I buy the Tung oil from Lee Valley and it comes in the metal cans with screw cap and safety cap over that (PITA) I normally use some of the oil first and just squeeze the can so all the air is out and screw the cap back on.

Next I get my glass bottle with the quick closure and pour all my Tung oil in it, if not totally full I’ll add some water so it is totally full, and every time I use some of the oil, the bottle gets filled up with water.

As we all know, Oil floats on water so that works just fine, I have used this for quite a few years already, and it works just fine without any trouble, just don’t drop the bottle on a concrete or other hard floor.

I wrote this reply some years ago, so I don’t have to type this all over again, as this is still all the same.

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The hardening oils like Tung oil or BLO and Walnut oil react with oxygen in the air.

Tung oil and the other oils, cure by Polimerization (molecules combining to form long chains) and oxidation (combining with oxygen from the air)

So you have to keep the container closed and full so that there's no air to react with the oil, when you let it get hard, it's no good anymore, You can not undo the polymerization that has occurred.

The problem with the cans where the oil comes in, is first they are a PITA to open and second, soon there is a large amount and area of air in that can to react with the oil.

I looked for an easy to open container that also was impervious to air (so plastic was out) my choice was glass with a flip closure.

I have used a glass Maple sirup bottle for quite a while, pour out some oil and fill right up with clean water.(OIL FLOATS ON WATER)

The bottle had a good closure to keep the oil in and air out, I also could easily see how much oil there still was in it, the only problem with that bottle was right at the end when almost all the oil had been used it would have water come with the oil because of the shape of that bottle.

Looked for a better shape and found a better one, the Grolsch beer bottle from the beer store, you should drink the beer first, it is good Dutch beer , the bottle has a longer neck than the Sirup bottle so I can get pretty well all the oil out right till the last drop , it has the quick closure and it is also very close in size to the ½ liter metal can that I usually get, so as soon as I have used a bit from the metal can I can decant all the rest into the bottle, and keep it filled up by adding water. and like I said before, oil floats on water

First one is my old bottle that I used, and the new one is the beer bottle

syrup bottle.jpg Beer bottle.jpg Grolsch.jpg

[Cliff Hill]

I have been using "Stop Loss Bags" to store varnish, penetrol and salad bowl finish for over a year with 100% successful results. The bags can be cleaned and re-used. Good product!
http://www.stoplossbags.com/about.html
Cliff

[Ned Gatewood]

Thank you to those responding to my inquiry about storing finishing products that oxidize in their container, such as Waterlox. StopLoss bags are a really good solution; one I'm going to try. Ned