Gel finish problem

[Sam Force]

I have a can of Old Masters gel polyurethane finish. In the can it gets rubbery and starts curing, put it in a air tight metal bowl and have the same results. At over $40 a quart I'm throwing money away like old rags. Any suggestions?

[John TenEyck]

Try shooting the dead air space with Bloxygen as you close the cover. That should take care of the problem.

John

[Jim Becker]

This is a common issue with oil based products...the first time the container is opened, they start to cure. Some get yucky pretty quickly and some stretch it out, but they pretty much all will do that. What John mentions is important...replacing the regular air with oxygen with an inert gas (Bloxygen) can help with this. Another method is to decant the finish into the made for purpose bags that allow you to press out all the air before closing them.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Never tried with gel, but regular W'lox, etc I transferred into Mason jar [s], and filled with marbles to the very near top; float a tiny bit of thinner on top and cap. Thinner meniscus runs down the side of the jar, but who cares.

[Sam Force]

Thanks for the suggestions, will try the bloxygen I believe

[mark mcfarlane]

... Another method is to decant the finish into the made for purpose bags that allow you to press out all the air before closing them.

I put my last gallon of ARM-R_SEAL in 4 StopLoss bags and they are working well, other than the challenge of pouring a gallon container through a funnel into a bag. The funnel is tedious to fully clean after the varnish has dried.

I transfer a small amount of varnish into a quart can for whatever project I am working on and if there is any left in the can I use a 2 second spray of Bloxygen before sealing it.

[John TenEyck]

Sure, ARS pours nicely into a StopLoss bag. I don't think that would go so well with gel stain, however.

But as far as StopLoss bags go, they are great for keeping varnishes from gelling before use. I'm not sure how one would remix the flatters in a full bag of satin ARS, though, a problem I will have to solve the next time I want to use it.

John

[mark mcfarlane]

... I'm not sure how one would remix the flatters in a full bag of satin ARS, though, a problem I will have to solve the next time I want to use it.

John

Mixing the flattening agent in a FULL StopLoss bag is problematic, you kind of need to shake the bag. As the bag gets less full you can knead the contents.

I did have some sheen problems with the full bag (first coat) so thanks for reminding me John.