Homemade wipeon went to gel?

[Wade Lippman]

I made up some wipeon varnish a couple months ago. I went to use it, and has all turned to gel.
I have used minwax wipeon for years and never had this happen.
Is there something special about ready made that makes it last longer?

[Jamie Buxton]

Perhaps the ready-made has a can with better seals, which keep the solvent from escaping.

[Wade Lippman]

Perhaps the ready-made has a can with better seals, which keep the solvent from escaping.

It was a canning jar screwed tight.

[John K Jordan]

It was a canning jar screwed tight.

I think it may be the oxygen in the container. I haven't had any type of finish go bad since I started displacing the air with nitrogen from a tank I keep in the shop. But there are other ways to keep the air away.

I read somewhere that some finishes contain an additive to extend their life in the can. I don't remember the details.

JKJ

[John TenEyck]

What John said. After I started using Bloxygen I've never had a partially used can of varnish gel. Another way to prevent this from happening is to store the varnish in squeezable storage bags, like those sold by Lee Valley.

John

http://www.leevalley.com/us/Wood/page.aspx?p=72867&cat=1,190,44133&ap=1

[Jim Becker]

I'll also agree about the oxygen. Once you crack open an oil based varnish of almost any type and room air gets in, you start the clock running on a very, very slow "cure" in the container. A commercial product like bloxygen that replaces that room air with inert gas, helps tame the cycle and keeps things fluid for a lot longer. Some finishes "go bad" faster than others, but in general, it's the nature of the product.

[glenn bradley]

I have shop made wipe on that has lasted without curing. Certainly the elements used for the blend are important but, presenting the conditions that trigger the curing process is most likely. I use things like BLO, mineral spirits and an oil-base varnish. I will add a bit of Japan Drier during some seasons to speed the cure. I decant the leftovers into Mason or Ball jars that will leave as little air as possible. This means I sometimes use three small jars or a combination of sizes. They are inexpensive compared to the cost of finish and clean up well so I get a lot of mileage out of them.