A couple of years ago I read about or saw a youtube video about this stuff called bloxygen. It is supposed to be an aerosol gas that is heavier than air/oxygen and you spray some into a can of finish before sealing it up to protect the unused finish from going bad. The heavy gas is supposed to create a layer and the oxygen can not touch the liquid. ( that is my layman's explanation)
Well you don't have to be doing wood working for very long before you realize that the can of finish you used on the last job is worthless on the next job because air got to it and ruined it. Some folks have used marble to raise the level of fluid to the top of the can to minimize the air in the can, that can get messy. This stuff sounded too good to be true. So here are my real world results. Your mileage may vary (YMMV)
I had built an oak cabinet for my router table and decided to use Waterlox to finish it. I have had great results with Waterlox but experience told me it catalyzes fast when exposed to air. I had the Bloxygen on hand about half of a one gallon can of finish left. Now Waterlox is great stuff but expensive so I gave the Bloxygen a squirt and quickly put the lid on the can. I wondered what would happen. I left the Waterlox in the original can, I did not move it to a smaller can but that might help even more. I marked the can with a sharpie and included the note about the Bloxygen and the date.
2 years, yes 2 years later I was making a walnut piece and saw the Waterlox in the cabinet where I had left it. I figured I would open it and pour it into a container just to see how bad it was. I was shocked that it was in perfect condition. It was as though I had just opened the can. No sediment, no hardened pieces of finish just pure liquid. I applied the finish in the normal manner and it worked just as expected.
I know there is a lot of advertising hype out there but I am just a hobby guy and not ties to the company and this is what worked for me. If you haven't used it give it a shot. I was very impressed.
Well you don't have to be doing wood working for very long before you realize that the can of finish you used on the last job is worthless on the next job because air got to it and ruined it. Some folks have used marble to raise the level of fluid to the top of the can to minimize the air in the can, that can get messy. This stuff sounded too good to be true. So here are my real world results. Your mileage may vary (YMMV)
I had built an oak cabinet for my router table and decided to use Waterlox to finish it. I have had great results with Waterlox but experience told me it catalyzes fast when exposed to air. I had the Bloxygen on hand about half of a one gallon can of finish left. Now Waterlox is great stuff but expensive so I gave the Bloxygen a squirt and quickly put the lid on the can. I wondered what would happen. I left the Waterlox in the original can, I did not move it to a smaller can but that might help even more. I marked the can with a sharpie and included the note about the Bloxygen and the date.
2 years, yes 2 years later I was making a walnut piece and saw the Waterlox in the cabinet where I had left it. I figured I would open it and pour it into a container just to see how bad it was. I was shocked that it was in perfect condition. It was as though I had just opened the can. No sediment, no hardened pieces of finish just pure liquid. I applied the finish in the normal manner and it worked just as expected.
I know there is a lot of advertising hype out there but I am just a hobby guy and not ties to the company and this is what worked for me. If you haven't used it give it a shot. I was very impressed.