Storage for finishes

[Art Moore]

90% of my work now is on small items, so I'm wondering if my most-used finishes and treatments can be stored in small 2 to 4 ounce LDPE bottles next to the lathe. The ones I use the most, besides Wood Turners Finish (which comes in plastic bottles) are:

BLO
MinWax oil-based Poly
Mylands Melamine Lacquer
Danish Oil
Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer
Acetone
Lacquer Thinner
Denatured Alcohol

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Thomas Canfield]

I have stored most of your list except Lacquer Thinner and Acetone in plastic bottles with Yorker spouts for Darma Trading Co. https://www.dharmatrading.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?query=PLASTIC+BOTTLES

Handy to squeeze out a little or fill a small bowl when larger quantity is needed. Can also squeeze out excess air. Small stick on caps seems to be tight seal but easy to remove. I mix up home brew in larger bottles and transfer to 4 and 8 oz bottles for use also.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Don't know what type of plastic those shampoo/conditioner/soap "travel" bottles at your local -mart store is made of, but I use them for storing finishes. Even if if doesn't work and your finish goes bad, you're not out a lot of money. Including the 2 oz of finish. I personally would not store lacquer thinner or acetone in that. And near the lathe. Too flammable.

[John K Jordan]

Art, I do exactly that, to keep them handy, to keep from having to open the larger containers to dispense use amounts, and to help prevent loss from finishes going bad.

I use squeeze bottles to keep small quantity of friction polish, danish oil, sanding sealer, etc. at hand on a small shelf above the lathe, only enough that I'll use up before long. Besides finishes, I have other bottles, some a little larger, with denatured alcohol, naptha, mineral spirits, and water. I also have atomizing spray bottles for water and alcohol. I tried keeping acetone in a small plastic bottle but it evaporated too quickly so it stays in the metal can.

Just before I close up the larger containers of finishes which can go even go bad due to the oxygen in the can, I always displace the air inside with nitrogen from a tank I keep in the shop. Finishes seem to last "forever" this way.

I keep bottles in a variety of sizes. The problem I had at first was finding good quality small plastic squeeze bottles since some I ordered through Amazon were horrible - thin plastic, leaky lids, poor caps.

JKJ


90% of my work now is on small items, so I'm wondering if my most-used finishes and treatments can be stored in small 2 to 4 ounce LDPE bottles next to the lathe. The ones I use the most, besides Wood Turners Finish (which comes in plastic bottles) are:

BLO
MinWax oil-based Poly
Mylands Melamine Lacquer
Danish Oil
Mylands Cellulose Sanding Sealer
Acetone
Lacquer Thinner
Denatured Alcohol

Thanks for any help you can give.