Replies

1. 
   Gretchen | Jun 04, 2002 11:37pm | #1

   Since Danish oil is  a mix of varnish and oil you may have drying problems if you use some that is too old.  Do a test piece and see if it dries appropriately.  Really hard to tell shelf life of an opened can of finish. As someone on another board said finish is cheap.  Messing up a project isn't.

   Gretchen
1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 04, 2002 11:49pm | #2

   Well, I guess I'll know tonight.  I just finished 12 test pieces with different colors.  I learned the hard way (as many people do) not to finish The Piece until testing!  :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   DP | Jun 05, 2002 05:03pm | #3

   For whatever it's worth I just finished a piece with some Watco that had an 'opened' date on the can of 10/97.   No problems at all.  It was sort of embarrassing though to find the can hidden away and forgotten. 

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 05, 2002 05:26pm | #4

   Good to hear.  I think I have 6 or 7 of those! LOL.  Maybe not quite that far back though.  At some point, I bought one of nearly every color.  Must have been endulging in Retail Therapy of the finishing kind.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   RockyRothrock | Jun 05, 2002 11:22pm | #5

   I think if you get the "right" types of Watco together, they reproduce on their own! I put a can of cherry in with a natural and I swear, the next time I looked, there were two more cans of natural. This of course was after I had just bought another one!

   Have fun-Rocky

2. 
   alexlisa | Jun 07, 2002 10:19pm | #6

   I found that the shelf life is real short if you leave the top less than very tight. I forgot to wipe the gunk off once and cross-threaded the cap getting it back on. I went to use it a month later. Arrrrgghh! A semi-congealed useless mess! No finishing that day.

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 07, 2002 10:28pm | #7

   Hiya q-sawn, how's it going??  The caps on Watco drive me nuts!  Even when they are brand new, the child-proof arrangement doesn't work worth a bent nail -- can't get them open half the time.  I end up taking a pair of giant adjustable pliers and taking the plastic part off.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   cuttoff | Jun 08, 2002 07:14am | #8

   Jamie, .... Jeeze, just do like the rest of us... Can Opener, Tin Foil, Rubber Band.... Done deal...Expressions Fine Wood Working and Cabinetry..A division of Schefer Engineering Inc., Santa Rosa, Ca.

1. 
   forestgirl | Jun 08, 2002 09:25pm | #9

   That's what I do when I squish the top so bad it doesn't work anymore LOL!  I'm too good at tipping the darn things over to rely on that method all the time though.  :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   cuttoff | Jun 09, 2002 08:36am | #10

   Sounds like my can of Wipe On Poly... lost the little paper thingy that keeps the top from sticking to the can.... Bummer.... now I have to whip out the 18" pipe wrench just to open the can.. LOL...Expressions Fine Wood Working and Cabinetry..A division of Schefer Engineering Inc., Santa Rosa, Ca.

2. 
   forestgirl | Jun 09, 2002 07:01pm | #11

   I was looking at a bottle of PeptoBismol (don't ask) yesterday thinking that the design for those would be much better for Watco, et al.  Woodworking seems to be dominating my thought process these daze! (Ya think?)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

3. 
   jase | Jun 12, 2002 07:34am | #12

   When I built model cars as a kid I would pry the plastic safety part of the lids off, leaving only a regular metal cap. Worked great but then you have the air-seal problem. I haven't tried this in a while.

   Jase--Is there a better way?

4. 
   forestgirl | Jun 12, 2002 07:39am | #13

   Air seal problem?  Howzzat?  Near as I can tell with these caps, the plastic part just spins around the metal part unless it's held down tight to the top of the cap.  It doesn't appear that it has any function for sealing.  Might be different from the ones from your past.  I don't mind (actually welcome) child-proofing, if they just weren't so adult-proof!  :-)forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

5. 
   t13jh | Jun 13, 2002 08:36pm | #14

   Watco cans & others

   remove plastic cap w/ screwdriver or pliers. we're adults right and know how to store the stuff.

   when done put a double or so layer of plastic wrap over threads & screw metal cap back on.  this will prevent any gunk you missed on the threads from getting on the metal threads of the cap

   if you use the colored stuff you can see the can is open.

6. 
   jase | Jun 15, 2002 02:32am | #15

   How about leaving a can in the back of the car for three days in June?

7. 
   forestgirl | Jun 15, 2002 04:47am | #16

   Oh, yuck!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

8. 
   MPHarper | Jun 15, 2002 04:57am | #17

   The problem with child proof caps is that you have to get a child to open them.  Kids seem to figure out a way to do anything while adults like me get frustrated.

   Matt-

9. 
   forestgirl | Jun 15, 2002 05:08am | #18

   Yep, this be true.  And the older I get the harder they are to open.  I'll never forget one day back in my college daze, I had to pick up a prescription for Codein because my right hand was all ballooned up with an infection from a cat bite (neighbor's cat, not mine).  I'm just dyin' it hurts so bad, can't move my fingers at all, and I get the meds and the bottle has one of those darn tops on it!  How do you spell D-U-H!  forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

10. 
    sschefer | Jun 15, 2002 06:30am | #19

    LOL.. Pretty much DUH... Mitch is looking really hungry.. Do I dare go feed him...Steve - in Northern California

11. 
    forestgirl | Jun 15, 2002 08:07am | #20

    Just make sure his leg isn't stuck in a fence before you grab him!  LOL, that was my mistake -- I was trying to help "that darn cat" and even though I had a death grip on the scruff of his neck, he managed to squirm around and bite all the way to the bone in my wrist.  I'll never, ever forget what that felt like -- the common domestic house cat can develop an incredible amount of pressure with those carnivorous jaws of theirs!!

    My sweetness, Sophie, of course would never, ever consider jeopardizing "Mommie Time" by biting me.  I just have to guard my strawberry shortcake when she's around!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)