New one to me

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Kittyhawk

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This may be well known but it's a new one to me.
In my aircraftery I finish the aeroplane models in Britax Teak Oil which I buy in 500ml tins. Usually they get 5 - 6 coats depending on timber density and each coat uses about 10ml. So theoretically I should open and close the tin 50 times. In reality by the time the tin is half full the remaining teak oil has gone thick and gluggy and unusable. Since the tin is only open for the couple of seconds it takes to scoop out a spoonful of oil I assume the problem is caused by the air volume increasing in the tin and not solvent evaporation.
A chap I know is a supplier of various clear finishes to cabinet makers and they take the product in 20 litre drums so I asked him how do they stop the oil or varnish from going off in the drum? 'They put rocks in it,' he said. I dutifully laughed at his little joke and asked again, but how to they do it, really? 'I told yer,' he said. 'They put rocks in it.'
So the penny dropped. Put some sort of ballast in the tin to raise the oil level which in turn displaces the air. I tried it on my just emptied latest tin of Teak oil and got to use almost the entire contents without problems. Obviously an amount if teak oil was trapped among the pebbles but the loss was far less than having half a tin becoming unusable. The instructions on the tin of teak oil is to give it a good shake before use and I saw that the pebbles were causing a big of damage to the tin - the pebbles being a bit pointy in places. So the current plan for the next tin is to pinch some of my grandson's marbles and try them out.
 
Just been looking but couldn’t find it, crows/rooks putting stones in a jar to raise the level of the water so they could get the worms on the top – I thought everybody knew this one,
The other way is to keep it in the sort of bags used for beer boxes and squeeze the air out before sealing it
 
I was always taught to flip the paint can over a couple of times each time you put the lid back on. Does this do the same thing 🤔
 
Hi rob...I am of the same opinion...put lid on turn can and then swirl it round....seems to do the trick....by the way that workmate is great !

Steve
 
I recently saw somthing on the internet where an American chap had an aerosol of somthing like nitrogen which he gave a sqirt into the can before fitting the lid, this gas being heavy dispersed the air in the tin and stopped the contents skinning over,,I thought it was a very clever idea and meant to see if it was a available over here.
Steve
 
I recently saw somthing on the internet where an American chap had an aerosol of somthing like nitrogen which he gave a sqirt into the can before fitting the lid ...
It's called Bloxygen. UK prices seem to be about twelve or thirteen times higher than it costs in the USA. I'd take a lot of convincing to think UK prices make the stuff worthwhile buying. Slainte.
 
Many thanks for the info chaps, the amazone advt says its Argon gas, would it be possible for anyone with argon, or argon mixes to just squirt some into the open can where it would sit whilst you popped the lid on,,it clearly requires a heavier than air gas,,,in fact could you use a squirt of calor gas,,,or am I my way to making a bomb!
 
Kilner jars are good - I've a bit of oil in one. The tops are easy to prise off even if stuck.
 
My father used to use the marble trick for his dark room chemicals(that sounds more sinister than it was).
I had a bit of a dispute a few years back about the merits or otherwise of squeezing and capping plastic tonic water bottles to stop the contents going flat.
My! What an interesting life I live!
 

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