Beware Danish Oil in Plastic Jugs!

[Roger Chandler]

I purchased a gallon of Danish Oil [General Finishes] from a fellow woodturner back in March, and he buys in bulk sizes.[5 gallon] He sold me the gallon and he had put it into a plastic orange juice jug he had on hand. Well, I had it sitting on my large 18" Jet bandsaw at the edge of the table, and my 16 gallon industrial shop vac was sitting on the floor beside my bandsaw.

Overnight, the jug developed a crack near the bottom, and the oil leaked out all over my saw, my shopvac, and ruined a Bionic faceshield. At least the shopvac still runs, and I used some mineral spirits to clean off the motor and switches, and blew them out well with compressed air. I still am going to have to clean the bottom door and frame of the saw, and get a new Bionic shield.....bummer!

I guess there must be a reason why the companies put Danish oil into metal cans when they are going to be on the shelves in stores for some months, huh? That stuff is about $50 per gallon, and I saved only less than a pint! :( Not to mention all the mess on my wooden shop floor, which is now nice and slick! :(

Just trying to be helpful to others who may have some in plastic containers.........must be a bit corrosive to plastic, I think. :confused: Not the way to start one's morning, for sure, but glad I found it before it had totally ran out, and hardened all over the shop vac!

[Prashun Patel]

I wonder if the jug had a crack in it to begin with... Beverage containers are usually made from a chemical resistant plastic. The times I have had solvent compromise plastic, it usually results in bubbling or swelling or softening of the plastic as the solvent solubilizes into the plastic. If it swells enough, it will of course crack, but I am curious if your OJ jug was otherwise in tact besides the crack.

[Roger Chandler]

I wonder if the jug had a crack in it to begin with... Beverage containers are usually made from a chemical resistant plastic. The times I have had solvent compromise plastic, it usually results in bubbling or swelling or softening of the plastic as the solvent solubilizes into the plastic. If it swells enough, it will of course crack, but I am curious if your OJ jug was otherwise in tact besides the crack.It was intact, indeed, Prashun. The temps here overnight got down to 46 degrees, and I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but it just developed a thin place about an inch round, and cracked in the middle of that......I have moved that jug around numerous times, and never noticed anything amiss about it.

[Al Wasser]

There is something about those milk, water, tea, OJ jugs. They work for what they are intended but not for another purpose. I have had 2 jugs of anchor seal beak and leak the contents. The first I didn't think much about, probably bad jug. But a tear or two later the second jug did the dame thing. Now I put the anchor seal I a heavier container.

[John K Jordan]

Over the years I have had several instances of otherwise healthy plastic containers develop holes without provocation.

- Just yesterday I found a jug of distilled water had been slowly soaking into the concrete floor. The hole was so small I couldn't find it and the leak was so slow it mostly soaked into the concrete rather than making a puddle. A waste of good distilled water but not a big expense.

- I had a gallon of 1% iodine solution (Betaiyne) develop a slow leak and make a mess. I put the jug in a bucket and eventually the rest drained out. This was in the original jug from the manufacturer. I bought a replacement gallon this week - $33. Ouch.

- A plastic jug of hydraulic fluid added a rich, dark color to a section of the wooden floor of one of my sheds.

- A 2.5 gallon container of sugar syrup for feeding the bees developed a pinhole in the bottom while sitting on concrete. A sticky mess.

- The worst one was a hole that magically appeared in an 8 oz bottle of CA glue in my garage fridge. A solidified mess.

On the other hand I've decantered Watco Oil into the same plastic squeeze bottle for over 10 years now, for use at the lathe. No problem yet, but the plastic on this is probably thicker than your juice jug. I do have a gallon of nitric acid in a plastic jug that I would hate to have leak inside any building. I keep it outside on a gravel bed protected from UV and accidental damage by a sturdy bucket.

JKJ

[Leo Van Der Loo]

The use of glass or steel is the answer for storing these products, a glass gallon apple juice or other is good for larger quantities, and re-closable bottle for smaller or unstable or polymerizing products is another one.

The reason I part my Polymerizing Tung Oil into a couple of Grolsch re-closable beer bottles, have for years already and have never had a problems with that.

367448

[Mike Goetzke]

The use of glass or steel is the answer for storing these products, a glass gallon apple juice or other is good for larger quantities, and re-closable bottle for smaller or unstable or polymerizing products is another one.

The reason I part my Polymerizing Tung Oil into a couple of Grolsch re-closable beer bottles, have for years already and have never had a problems with that.

367448


Leo - yet another way to combine my favorite hobbies (woodworking and brewing).

[John K Jordan]

Leo - yet another way to combine my favorite hobbies (woodworking and brewing).

Use caution and protect glass containers containing hazardous liquids. Someone knocked over a pint of unprotected formaldehyde on the floor behind my shop door and broke the glass bottle. It took me two days to clean up, neutralize the chemical, and ventilate the shop before I could work in it again. I'm glad I keep protective clothing and full-face respirators with organic filter cartridges on hand.

On the other hand, breaking the bottle of one of my vanilla extract batches (pure ethyl alcohol, water, and vanilla beans) in the shop would probably be more pleasant.

JKJ

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Use caution and protect glass containers containing hazardous liquids. Someone knocked over a pint of unprotected formaldehyde on the floor behind my shop door and broke the glass bottle. It took me two days to clean up, neutralize the chemical, and ventilate the shop before I could work in it again. I'm glad I keep protective clothing and full-face respirators with organic filter cartridges on hand.

On the other hand, breaking the bottle of one of my vanilla extract batches (pure ethyl alcohol, water, and vanilla beans) in the shop would probably be more pleasant.

JKJ

The Battery acid we would get came in glass demijohns, and yes you would take care that these did not get damaged and were kept in a safe place.

There are things that can be hazardous if not handled properly, just part of it,

my Tung oil is not set on the edge of the bench or power tool tops, where it can easily knocked onto the floor, it is stored in a metal cabinet, taken out to dispence some oil and then placed back.

[robert baccus]

There are many kinds and qualities of metal, wood and plastic in this complicated world. I have kept Lacquer and thinnner in heavy plastic Arizona tea jugs for years--after testing! It eats some plastics alive! Any reactive finish like oils may not be cool in clear glass??

[Richard Casey]

Roger, lots of liquids affect plastics, we all have had similar experiences. Also don't forget that cotton rags used with Danish Oil can spontaneously combust. Throw them in water or hang on a line away from your shop to dry.
Rgds,
Richard.

[John Keeton]

In the last couple of years, I have had two cans of Zinssers shellac leak in the bottom rim seal. One of those was in my paint/finish cabinet. I noticed it when I saw the still liquid shellac on the floor. It had emptied, making a mess in the cabinet and on about 10 sq feet on the concrete floor. Thankfully, there was no real "cleanup" involved as I just opened the cabinet, moved anything sitting in the shellac and let it all dry. I used a rag and spread the shellac on the floor - makes a pretty good concrete finish!

The second one was recently and I noticed it started leaking apparently from the outset while I was using it. I contacted Rustoleum, the parent company, and they said the lot number indicated it was over three years old and that was the shelf life. It was a "new" can to me. Nonetheless, they handled it appropriately and sent me a check for replacement.

The takeaway is that any container is subject to fail and one should never store or place them where collateral damage could occur.

[Larry Frank]

I have had a shellac can leak. It was caused by a mfg defect in making the can where they damaged the coating on the inside bottom. Any deep scratch on the coating can start corrosion. The can was replaced and they provided alcohol to help clean up the mess.

[robert baccus]

I had a gallon of good lac. get turned over??? while on vacation. Made an ugly rough finish unlike John's, on my wood floor. Never sweep the shavings in that corner somehow?

[robert baccus]

Beware of oil finishes and lathe curls also--most of us have plenty of those. My best friend found a roaring fire in his shop under his new 24" one way lathe. When chastised he replied--you told me about rags and oil but never mentioned sawdust--go figure. Born north of I-10 I think.

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I’m glad I have never had metal cans leak, but then again with the Tung Oil coming in a metal can, it does get transferred into the Glas bottles as soon as I get it home, never knew there was a shelf life on metal cans, or was it the content John?

Robert with the price of the oil I’m not slopping the oil all over and onto the floor and shavings, not cool, but yes some are careless and messy and then things can/will happen.

Of course not using all kinds of different finishes makes for less possible problems.

[Thomas Wilson80]

On the other hand I've decantered Watco Oil into the same plastic squeeze bottle for over 10 years now, for use at the lathe. No problem yet, but the plastic on this is probably thicker than your juice jug. I do have a gallon of nitric acid in a plastic jug that I would hate to have leak inside any building. I keep it outside on a gravel bed protected from UV and accidental damage by a sturdy bucket.

JKJ

Quick question on an almost-related note - I had a can of Watco DO that was 1/3 full that was pretty messy so I put it in a HF squeeze bottle - while it didn't leak, I think part of it evaporated because now when I use it it doesn't seem to make the grain pop like it usually does. Maybe it's not penetrating??? Can I add back some mineral spirits or DNA to fix this or is it time to toss and replace?

Thanks in advance.
Tom

[John K Jordan]

I had a can of Watco DO that was 1/3 full that was pretty messy so I put it in a HF squeeze bottle - while it didn't leak, I think part of it evaporated because now when I use it it doesn't seem to make the grain pop like it usually does. Maybe it's not penetrating??? Can I add back some mineral spirits or DNA to fix this or is it time to toss and replace?


From the MSDS sheets I could find mineral spirits make up a good percentage of Watco Danish Oil so I would try that first. However, I'd probably get a new can anyway.

One test for quality loss in a finish that is supposed to dry/cure hard is to put a few drops on a piece of glass and wait. You can tell from this if it dries correctly or if it stays gummy. You can also see if it's discolored.

I should clarify that while I've kept Watco Oil in the same plastic squeeze bottle for a long time I do change it out fairly often, throwing away the old. I usually only fill the bottle 1/4 or less with new finish. Something in the liquid (probably the mineral spirits) evaporates and escapes through the plastic. I can tell because the bottle is tightly capped and after sitting a while the flexible sides of the bottle bend inwards from internal pressure loss from evaporation. It also appears to turn darker with age.

Since you have some of the old Watco oil you have the perfect opportunity to test how much it does or does not "pop" the grain! Buy a new can (you know you want to anyway!) Turn a blank with some figure part way, say flatten or turn a slightly curved surface, apply some of the old and some of the new on similar grain or figure. Compare after it dries. I'd love to hear or see the results of this test! It would be interesting to compare the two with the glass test method too. I think I'll try this myself when it's time to replace my current bottle, or maybe I'll just put any old in a different plastic bottle and wait a few more months, then try the tests.

BTW, I found out from the Mercury Adhesives (CA glue) people that there are different grades of the HDPE plastic used for glue. They told me some types pass far more air and water molecules which can cause the glue to degrade - they searched for the best type for their glues. I think their CA glues are great and their bottles are excellent - the cap has a stainless steel pin that clears glue from the tip. (Mercury Adhesives are also guaranteed from setting up in the bottle. Their guy told me that any bottle that setup up will be replaced for free, no questions asked, no time limit - a lifetime warranty!)

JKJ

[Thomas Wilson80]

Thanks for the info John. Will definitely have to do a trial and compare new vs old with pics.
Tom

[Thomas Wilson80]

I got impatient and because I didn't have any MS available, I tried adding DNA to my bottle and it seems to have worked. It must help the oil penetrate and work its magic!