What a mess!

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monophoto

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Joined
Mar 13, 2010
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2,542
Location
Saratoga Springs, NY
OK, so I like to make my own finishing varnish - a blend of a good grade of tung-oil based alkyd varnish, pure tung oil and turpentine. The last can of varnish went bad before I could use it all, so I bought some of those Stop-Loss bags (similar to urine collection bags used in hospitals) and that are advertised as a means of extending the shelf-life of finishes. I opened an new can of varnish, and was slowly pouring it through a funnel into the Stop-Loss bag. Fortunately, I had taken the precaution of standing over the trash can I keep in the shop so that the drips would fall to the floor, and was wearing rubber gloves - - -

when the can of varnish slipped out of my hand and fell into the trash can.

I ended up losing about half of the varnish - which is about the same amount I lost when it spoiled in the can. So at this point, I've lost about as much varnish using the Stop-Loss bag as I lost just by leaving it in the can.

I was wearing a ratty old flannel shirt that my wife originally bought at a second-hand clothing store thinking she could recycle the flannel as a craft project, but that I ended up wearing around the house for added warmth in the winter months. Some of the varnish splashed onto the shirt. I will just let it cure in place to leave a stiff spot - I never wear that shirt in public so I don't care what it looks like.

Some days it's best to just sleep in!
 
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lyonsacc

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Joined
Aug 31, 2012
Messages
1,615
Location
Cincinnati, OH
Couple years ago I was cleaning out my parent's house. Was in my Dad's workshop. Picked up the floor mat in front of his table saw. Yep, I remember spilling that stain about 35 years ago . . . Still there. And I still use the stereo cabinet that we were making.
 

egnald

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Joined
Jun 9, 2017
Messages
3,061
Location
Columbus, Nebraska, USA
I just made the jump to those Stop-Loss bags a week or so ago when I found my can of shellac and wipe-on poly had gone bad. I made a little wooden clip that I clamped on my workbench to hold the bags when I was filling them, For the new can of shellac I didn't trust dumping the can so I used a 2-oz plastic condiment cup as a dipper until about 2/3 of it was in the bag. I found them to be a little too floppy and hard to manage squeezing out the air - I sure hope they are worth it.

Dave
 

jrista

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Joined
Aug 12, 2021
Messages
2,222
Location
Colorado
A while back, I picked up some Mylands cellulose sanding sealer. I'd only used shellac based sealers up to that point, and was really interested to see how a cellulose based sealer would work. Had trouble opening the can, so I put it over the trash can, and tried harder to open it. Still wouldn't open, no matter how hard I tried. I finally decided to get a pair of pliers...still wouldn't, until I actually "wrenched" it pretty good. Of course, the cap SNAPPED (must have been stuck shut due to dry sealer I guess) open, cap came entirely off the can, while the can went flying. Somehow, it ended up upside down pretty much the moment it left the cap, still in the wrench, still in my hand, and about 2/3rds of the can spilled out on my nearly brand new anti-fatigue mat, my garage floor, my shop vac, and set of floor standing shelves that had all the rest of my finishes on it....

I don't know if it was because of what happened, and how long the can ended up being open to the air (a while, I guess, as I ended up trying to clean the entire mess up first before I remembered to try and put the cap on), or if it is just how cellulose sanding sealer is... In the end, I couldn't get it to apply...nicely, to the wood I was working with at the time. It seemed to be rather sticky stuff, and it just wouldn't go on evenly. Well, not onto the wood, at least...heh, I have a pretty even, thin coat of it, STILL to this day (nearly two years on now) on my anti-fatigue mat and garage floor. ;) I figure I still have about that last third of the can left... What a waste. :\

Sometimes...
 
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