Propane substitute for bloxygen

[Jeff Jackson]

Has anybody had any experience using canned air (used for computers and electronics) as a Bloxygen substitute? I have heard about this and been wanting to try this. It would be a heck of a lot cheaper.

[Steve Demuth]

For me, using an inert gas sounds like spending $100 to save $10.

Doesn't have to cost much if you want to try in order to convince yourself. A can of wine preserver (Generally a mix of Ar, N2 and CO2) is about $10, and is ready to use - no regulator necessary.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Terry: The oil floats on the water. They don't mix, unless you shake it. I can decant some of the oil into a yogurt container for application, return what I don't use to the oil/water container and all is well. I have not tried this for oil-based stains, for example. I use it for tung oil and walnut oil and it works very well.

[Steve Demuth]

I use nitrogen since I happen to have a spare tank full of it. If I ever empty this tank (I use it for other things besides finishes) I might get it filled with argon. Nitrogen is not an inert gas but it's not a relatively active element and will not react with many elements at room temperature.

As an element, Nitrogen is highly reactive. It's the N in TNT and the reason it and most other explosives explode. It's just that the elemental N in N2 gas is very tightly bound and requires a lot of energy to release.

[Dave Bunge]

I think propane should work as a substitute for Bloxygen. It's denser than air so should be good at displacing the air in the finish container. And it shouldn't react with the finish. But I don't want to deal with the fire risk, storing and using propane in my basement shop.

Others have mentioned using Stoploss bags. I'm a big fan too. They cost about $12/4 pack at Woodcraft. The finish lasts much longer compared to not using inert gas. I also like that it's easier to pour the finish out of the Stoploss bags compared to the steel cans that Minwax Antique Oil and wipe on poly come in.

I have several finishes in Stoploss bags. I put them all in a 5 gallon bucket with lid. That blocks the sunlight/UV (the bags are clear). It also provides "secondary containment" in case one of the bags leaks. (I haven't had any leakers in 3+ years of use).

I used Bloxygen for a while, but had a hard time knowing how much to add, and a hard time adding as much as I thought I should since it was so expensive.

Dave

[Leo Van Der Loo]

I have shown what I do to keep my PTO (polymerized Tung Oil) from becoming unusable, a few times on the forums, and this works for any Oil finish.

I use a reclosable bottle, like the one shown in the picture, I add water to keep the bottle full, I have been using this for better than 20 years already.

The water and oil do not mix, even if I would shake the bottle, the water and oil separate in less than 2 second again.

Doing this I can use my Polymerized Tung Oil right till the last drop, though I use a small piece of cloth to soak the last bit up, the oily cloth will not accept any water.

The oil will stay good for better than a year or two, (I have always used it up by then) even when filling 2 bottles as I often do because I buy a larger can of the oil.
reclosable bottle.jpg re-closable bottle.jpg

[Hayes Rutherford]

I like that Leo. Going to get some Grolsh next time in town and start to empty them.