Arm-R-Seal all seized up

[Jason Morgan]

Just went down to wipe on the first coat of Arm-R-Seal on the ladder and rail of my daughters' bunk beds and found the last 1/4 of my gallon bottle is all gelled up. It was sitting in the basement for a few months. Must have had too much head space and reacted up? Anyone ever have this happen to them? Is it able to be saved with mineral spirits or something? I dont want to ruin my project with bad finish, but then again, I dont want to throw away the that much finish if I dont have to.

(the stuff looks like cold gravy)

[Jason Morgan]

I guess this should have gone in the finishing forum huh? Any way to move it there?

[Lee DeRaud]

Anyone ever have this happen to them?Yup, luckily not on that large a quantity. Ever since, every time I buy a pint can of the stuff at Rockler, the guy points out that the larger cans are more economical. As you just found out, actually they're not.

Buy what you need as you need it. It might be possible to reconstitute the stuff, but do you want to risk buggering up a project to find out?

[Jim Becker]

Yup, luckily not on that large a quantity. Ever since, every time I buy a pint can of the stuff at Rockler, the guy points out that the larger cans are more economical. As you just found out, actually they're not.

Exactamundo. Finish that cannot be used is much more expensive in the long run. And once you open the can...the clock is ticking, even if you try all kinds of fancy ways to "get the air out".

[Jason Morgan]

Thanks for the advice. I thought I was out of luck. Lesson learned :)

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

One thing you can do that helps is to store it like gorilla glue..............upside down. That way it cures from the bottom up. You get to use a little more that way.

Bruce

[Rob Blaustein]

So what is a typical shelf life for a finish like that? I have some and was going to test it on some boards and compare it to some other stains. Would a pint sized amount still likely be good in 2-4 weeks?

[Lee DeRaud]

So what is a typical shelf life for a finish like that? I have some and was going to test it on some boards and compare it to some other stains. Would a pint sized amount still likely be good in 2-4 weeks?I go through about a can a month, so I guess the answer is "yes". The quart can that went south on me was about two months old, but I have no idea what effect different temperatures have or if it's just a question of almost-full vs almost-empty.

[John Miliunas]

Jason, Arm-R-Seal is notorious for doing exactly what you describe. Actually, when I mix up some of my own "witch's brew", the results for the unused portion are similar. :o The A-R-S is way to expensive to just keep pitching after using half of it! Here's what I've started doing: I only buy quart size to begin with but, if you're buying by the gallon, I'd probably divide it up into quart sizes anyway! Regardless, go to Target or whatever mass merchandiser you have in your area and pick up a large bag or two of glass marbles. As you empty out the container, refill the space with the marbles. This works so much better than that expensive stuff you buy that's suppose to evacuate the oxygen or similar and much cheaper! :D Once you've got the container pretty full with marbles, pour out whatever liquid is left and use it up. Then pour all the marbles out on to a sheet of wax paper, let them dry and they're ready for the next batch of finish. Works great and saves LOTS of $$$ in the long run and it's really not that much of a hassle. :) :cool:

[Ken Salisbury]

I guess this should have gone in the finishing forum huh? Any way to move it there?


Yes - I moved it.

http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/misc/moderator.gif

[Chris Livingston]

Great post John. I love my A-R-S but hate how it goes bad and glass marbles are a great idea.

[Jason Morgan]

excellent idea John. Ill do that.

And I think I will buy smaller quantities. I really like A-R-S, but dont want to throw half of each container away.

Great idea.