bertram31.com

I just thought the rest of the members here might like to know of a product I have recently started to use, and am very pleased with the results.

For the past year or so I have been working on "Phoenix" building cabinet faces, a new sliding cabin door, mouldings and trim, and veneering where the original formica was, all out of teak. I have been buying interior varnish in gallon cans, which are about twice the cost of a single quart.. but I have always been plagued with having the last third or so of the remaining varnish becoming skinned over in the sealed can, ruining it for future work.

A couple of months ago I read about a product you spray into the partially empty paint or varnish can just before you seal it, which displaces the air in it with a heavier than air oxygen free gas. With no oxygen remaining in the can before you close and seal it the paint or varnish remains liquid, with no skin forming.

The product is called BLOXYGEN, and is actually argon, a non-flammable, inert, heavier than air gas. You can read about it and order it on the manufacturer's web site...  www.bloxygen.com. Cost is about $12.00 per can, plus freight. The cost can be recovered fairly quickly when you consider the cost of paint and varnish. Each can is supposed to provide for about 75 uses, depending on how much liquid is in the can, the can size, etc.

I have heard that some people have been using the gas from a propane torch to do the same thing. I am sure their insurance companies would love to hear this! The thought of having a half dozen near gallon sized bombs in my workshop does not appeal to me.

Just wanted the faithful to hear of my experiences with this product.

I use the Argon/CO2 mix from my Mig welder.

I've always just cleaned out the lip joint of the cover with a screwdriver and a rag, seal it with tape and turn the can over when stored. No air no skin.

Had cans that were a couple years old I went back and used for touch-ups.


Ray

Been using this stuff for several years. Saved me a lot of varnish that would otherwise have turned into a hockey puck in the can between uses. I've used it for leftover bottom paint, household enamels and even used it for latex paints.
The wierd thing is that when you are used to feeling something slosh around in a spray can, Bloxygen is just a gas and the can always seems to be empty!

Rawleigh... I thought someone would be doing that, but I don't have any welding equipment. I am a wood hacker only.

Tunawish... I have tried that, with poor results.. probably because I usually put a bunch of holes in the groove the can top seals into, so the paint in it drips back into the can.

JGomber... At first I thought the two cans I bought were empty.. then I noticed the note on the can saying although it feels empty it is actually full.

I read an article about this stuff before I bought some.. the writer said he actually used it to keep a container of guacamole (sp?) his wife had prepared from getting brown in their refrigerator!