I was finishing up on a small job and needed to touch up 4 spots about
the size of a BB. Because the spots probably would not be noticeable I
almost used oil on them instead of my gel varnish. But NOOOOOoooooo I
pulled out the gel varnish, opened the can, stuck a q-tip in and applied the
varnish to the 4 tiny spots. I returned to the can, put the lid on, turned
it upside down to give it a solid slam onto the work bench to seal the lid
and force the varnish in side to go to the lid side in the upside down
position. I then proceeded to carry the can upside down over to the storage
cabinet above my drill press and mortiser and as I reached to put the can in
the cabinet I bumped the bottom of the gel varnish can against the cabinet
opening and every thing went into slow motion.

The lid popped off and the contents proceeded to empty out, half inside
the cabinet, the rest on to the top of my tall wooden tool chest, on top
of the mortiser, down the side of the stand that the mortiser and drill
press are mounted to and the rest make it to the floor. I had to pull the
mortiser fan guard off to get the globs of varnish out of the fan fins also.
About 1 hour later and 50 or so acetone soaked paper towels later I finished
cleaning up.

Gel varnishes pretty much stay put when they are spilled unlike liquid
varnishes. Can you imagine 1/2 quart of liquid varnish emptying out over
the same places? ;~)

"Leon" wrote in message
...
I was finishing up on a small job and needed to touch up 4 spots
about the size of a BB. Because the spots probably would not be
noticeable I almost used oil on them instead of my gel varnish. But
NOOOOOoooooo I pulled out the gel varnish, opened the can, stuck a q-tip
in and applied the varnish to the 4 tiny spots. I returned to the can,
put the lid on, turned it upside down to give it a solid slam onto the
work bench to seal the lid and force the varnish in side to go to the lid
side in the upside down position. I then proceeded to carry the can
upside down over to the storage cabinet above my drill press and mortiser
and as I reached to put the can in the cabinet I bumped the bottom of the
gel varnish can against the cabinet opening and every thing went into slow
motion.

The lid popped off and the contents proceeded to empty out, half
inside the cabinet, the rest on to the top of my tall wooden tool chest,
on top of the mortiser, down the side of the stand that the mortiser and
drill press are mounted to and the rest make it to the floor. I had to
pull the mortiser fan guard off to get the globs of varnish out of the fan
fins also. About 1 hour later and 50 or so acetone soaked paper towels
later I finished cleaning up.

Gel varnishes pretty much stay put when they are spilled unlike liquid
varnishes. Can you imagine 1/2 quart of liquid varnish emptying out over
the same places? ;~)

Quit yer bitching, bubba ... took me longer than that to clean up after
dropping and shattering a bottle of Texas Red on the floor ... a tragedy of
much greater magnitude in the overall scheme of things.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Feb 16, 10:30*pm, "Swingman" wrote:
"Leon" wrote in message

...



* * I was finishing up on a small job and needed to touch up *4 spots
about the size of a BB. *Because the spots probably would not be
noticeable I almost used oil on them instead of my gel varnish. * But
NOOOOOoooooo I pulled out the gel varnish, opened the can, stuck a q-tip
in and applied the varnish to the 4 tiny spots. *I returned to the can,
put the lid on, turned it upside down to give it a solid slam onto the
work bench to seal the lid and force the varnish in side to go to the lid
side in the upside down position. *I then proceeded to carry the can
upside down over to the storage cabinet above my drill press and mortiser
and as I reached to put the can in the cabinet I bumped the bottom of the
gel varnish can against the cabinet opening and every thing went into slow
motion.

* * The lid popped off and the contents proceeded to empty out, half
inside the cabinet, the rest *on to the top of my tall wooden tool chest,
on top of the mortiser, down the side of the stand that the mortiser and
drill press are mounted to and the rest make it to the floor. *I had to
pull the mortiser fan guard off to get the globs of varnish out of the fan
fins also. About 1 hour later and 50 or so acetone soaked paper towels
later I finished cleaning up.

* * Gel varnishes pretty much stay put when they are spilled unlike liquid
varnishes. *Can you imagine 1/2 quart of liquid varnish emptying out over
the same places? *;~)

Quit yer bitching, bubba ... took me longer than that to clean up after
dropping and shattering a bottle of Texas Red on the floor ... a tragedy of
much greater magnitude in the overall scheme of things.

--www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

That's alcohol abuse. We are here for you to help you through the
intervention.

"Swingman" wrote

Quit yer bitching, bubba ... took me longer than that to clean up after
dropping and shattering a bottle of Texas Red on the floor ... a tragedy
of much greater magnitude in the overall scheme of things.

Isn't that a misdemeanor in the great state of Texas?

Swingman wrote:

Quit yer bitching, bubba ... took me longer than that to clean up after
dropping and shattering a bottle of Texas Red on the floor ... a tragedy of
much greater magnitude in the overall scheme of things.

Speaking of spillage, it looks like somone over in Hong Kong is spilling
a lot of $ tonight...

http://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/

"Leon" wrote in message
...
I returned to the can, put the lid on, turned it upside down to give it a
solid slam onto the work bench to seal the lid and force the varnish in
side to go to the lid side in the upside down position. I then proceeded
to carry the can upside down over to the storage

Why?

"Swingman" wrote in message
Quit yer bitching, bubba ... took me longer than that to clean up after
dropping and shattering a bottle of Texas Red on the floor ... a tragedy
of
much greater magnitude in the overall scheme of things.

I can't match your tragedy of colour, but I can beat it with frustration
level.

About a year ago, I came home from food shopping and while I was putting my
jacket into the closet, I accidentally tore one of the shopping bags hanging
on the back of my wheelchair. A quart sized glass bottle of applesauce fell
out of one bag, shattered on the floor and proceeded to spread into a yard
wide circle. Naturally, I'm sitting in my wheelchair right in the middle of
this expanding mess. Problem with that is that I have to roll out of the
mess tracking it twenty feet into my apartment to get the paper towels to
clean it up. That meant climbing out of the wheelchair, cleaning the wheels,
climbing back in and then cleaning bit by bit all the way back to the pool
of applesauce.

Four hours of cursing and swearing later, it's all cleaned up. I used to
like applesauce.

"Swingman" wrote in message
...

Quit yer bitching, bubba ... took me longer than that to clean up after
dropping and shattering a bottle of Texas Red on the floor ... a tragedy
of much greater magnitude in the overall scheme of things.



I am not bitchen! Had you dropped a bottle of gel Texas Red the clean up
would have been faster. ;~)

"MikeWhy" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote in message
...
I returned to the can, put the lid on, turned it upside down to give it a
solid slam onto the work bench to seal the lid and force the varnish in
side to go to the lid side in the upside down position. I then proceeded
to carry the can upside down over to the storage

Why?


Why upside down? The product oxidizes/skims over on the air side. If the
can is stored upside down the contents will be fresh on the top when you
invert it. No skimming over. Paint companies have been doing this for
years.
The particular brand gel varnish that I use skims over faster than most
brands. In fact I ordered a case of it and all the cans were upside down
in the shipping box. This trick helps the contents stay fresh on the end
that opens, the skim is then on bottom when opened.

My personal best is a VERY large
jar of mayo that seems to stick
to everything like napalm.

Prego sauce also makes a very
large mess when dropped.

"Leon" wrote in message
that opens, the skim is then on bottom when opened.

Ok, but then there's a skim piece underneath that might break up and affect
the painted surface of whatever you're covering. I don't mind the skim on
the top. It's easier and less messry to remove and I know it's not going to
affect anything because I've removed it. Even upside down cans of paint can
separate some. Proper workmanship is to make sure everything is properly
mixed everytime you open the can. I consider it not too dissimilar to some
minor safety step you might make everytime you use a power tool.

"Upscale" wrote in message
...

"Leon" wrote in message
that opens, the skim is then on bottom when opened.

Ok, but then there's a skim piece underneath that might break up and
affect
the painted surface of whatever you're covering. I don't mind the skim on
the top. It's easier and less messry to remove and I know it's not going
to
affect anything because I've removed it. Even upside down cans of paint
can
separate some. Proper workmanship is to make sure everything is properly
mixed everytime you open the can. I consider it not too dissimilar to some
minor safety step you might make everytime you use a power tool.


I don't do this with paints only the varnishes and in particular the gel
varnishes. The bottom broken skim on a gel varnish is pretty much a non
issue, it stays on the bottom. You really don't have to ever mix gel
varnishes they don't really separate.

"Pat Barber" wrote in message
...
My personal best is a VERY large
jar of mayo that seems to stick
to everything like napalm.

Prego sauce also makes a very
large mess when dropped.

LOL You guys make messes sound like rocket science. Since early childhood,
I could... About all I can say is the radius of devastation has gotten a
little smaller with each passing decade.

"Pat Barber" wrote in message
...
My personal best is a VERY large
jar of mayo that seems to stick
to everything like napalm.

Prego sauce also makes a very
large mess when dropped.



Yeah the advantage to those two items is that you can lick your fingers when
they get messy, the varnish does not taste that good. ;~)

"Leon" wrote in message
...

"MikeWhy" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote in message
...
I returned to the can, put the lid on, turned it upside down to give it
a solid slam onto the work bench to seal the lid and force the varnish
in side to go to the lid side in the upside down position. I then
proceeded to carry the can upside down over to the storage

Why?


Why upside down? The product oxidizes/skims over on the air side. If the
can is stored upside down the contents will be fresh on the top when you
invert it. No skimming over. Paint companies have been doing this for
years.
The particular brand gel varnish that I use skims over faster than most
brands. In fact I ordered a case of it and all the cans were upside down
in the shipping box. This trick helps the contents stay fresh on the
end that opens, the skim is then on bottom when opened.

But... but... I can think of a couple of reasons why not. Thanks. I'll
think about it.

"MikeWhy" wrote in message
...
"Leon" wrote in message
...


But... but... I can think of a couple of reasons why not. Thanks. I'll
think about it.


It will be a safe bet that I will be much more careful with putting the lid
back on. I had loaned this can out to a neighbor and the seal was gunked
up. I am not sure how that happened with a gel varnish. I guess he used a
brush to apply it and did the scraping on the side of the can opening thing.

"Leon" wrote in message
I don't do this with paints only the varnishes and in particular the gel
varnishes. The bottom broken skim on a gel varnish is pretty much a non
issue, it stays on the bottom. You really don't have to ever mix gel
varnishes they don't really separate.

Ok, you're right about that. I wasn't thinking "gel" when I replied. In all
honesty, I've never seen (or noticed) a skim coat on anything that had gel
properties.

"Upscale" wrote in message
...

"Leon" wrote in message
I don't do this with paints only the varnishes and in particular the gel
varnishes. The bottom broken skim on a gel varnish is pretty much a non
issue, it stays on the bottom. You really don't have to ever mix gel
varnishes they don't really separate.

Ok, you're right about that. I wasn't thinking "gel" when I replied. In
all
honesty, I've never seen (or noticed) a skim coat on anything that had gel
properties.



Gels get a really thick skim on top, easily 1/16" thick in the thin spots.
Additionally the more small jobs I do and the more often I have to open that
can the more likely and sooner the gel starts to happen. Once it starts it
can form in as little as 2 weeks.

"Leon" wrote in message
Gels get a really thick skim on top, easily 1/16" thick in the thin spots.
Additionally the more small jobs I do and the more often I have to open
that
can the more likely and sooner the gel starts to happen. Once it starts
it
can form in as little as 2 weeks.

Well, now that you mention it, on a recent gel stain I used, I *did* notice
some splotchy colour differences on the surface of the stain two days after
I reopened the can. The project was something simple using unsanded oak and
didn't need special care, so I ignored the stain differences. I'll make it a
point to examine it a little closer next time.

Leon wrote:
Why upside down? The product oxidizes/skims over on the air side. If the
can is stored upside down the contents will be fresh on the top when you
invert it. No skimming over. Paint companies have been doing this for
years.
The particular brand gel varnish that I use skims over faster than most
brands. In fact I ordered a case of it and all the cans were upside down
in the shipping box. This trick helps the contents stay fresh on the end
that opens, the skim is then on bottom when opened.


Which leads to the obvious question... what about stirring?


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

"Upscale" wrote in message
...

"Leon" wrote in message
Gels get a really thick skim on top, easily 1/16" thick in the thin
spots.
Additionally the more small jobs I do and the more often I have to open
that
can the more likely and sooner the gel starts to happen. Once it starts
it
can form in as little as 2 weeks.

Well, now that you mention it, on a recent gel stain I used, I *did*
notice
some splotchy colour differences on the surface of the stain two days
after
I reopened the can. The project was something simple using unsanded oak
and
didn't need special care, so I ignored the stain differences. I'll make it
a
point to examine it a little closer next time.



Gel STAINS are a little different, you will see some liquid form on the top
and it is best to stir them up a little. If you don't you can get what you
witnessed as some of can go on thinner. Most all gel stains also have a
"little", varnish in them also over longer periods of time they can skim
over also but typically not anything near as quickly as gel varnishes.

And since you mentioned unsanded oak, gels do much better on sanded
surfaces, because they go on thick they can really vary in shade. It is
hard to wipe out the more coarse areas on the wood. I learned this 20 or
so years ago by trying to take a short cut.

"-MIKE-" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:
Why upside down? The product oxidizes/skims over on the air side. If
the can is stored upside down the contents will be fresh on the top when
you invert it. No skimming over. Paint companies have been doing this
for years.
The particular brand gel varnish that I use skims over faster than most
brands. In fact I ordered a case of it and all the cans were upside
down in the shipping box. This trick helps the contents stay fresh on
the end that opens, the skim is then on bottom when opened.

Which leads to the obvious question... what about stirring?

This skim that I am talking about on gel varnishes does not dissolve it
remains a solid and you really don't want that mixed up in the gel. I have
broken a hole through it with a screw driver and pulled chunks of it out
with a pair of pliers. the newly exposed gel varnish is good to go provided
there are no chunks from the shim mixed in with it. In a liquid varnish it
may settle to the bottom but in a gel it would remain suspended. It's best
to avoid disturbing it. If it forms on the bottom all the better.