Varnish anti-skimming product

[Andy Denmark]

Somewhere I recall mention of a product to put in a can of varnish that prevented it from skimming. With varnish prices approaching those of bottom paint I'd sure like to know what this stuff is. Tried "search" to no avail.

Even though I usually ladle out what I anticipate using into a separate container and discarding the remainder I still get skimming in the sealed can and a general thickening of the remaining varnish. A little Penetrol helps with the thickening but nothing seems to stop the skmming.

Any help will be much appreciated.
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[Joe Myerson]

Andy,

I don't use varnish much, except for my dinghy oars. This means that I buy one can and try to keep it for several seasons.

One trick, that I think I learned from this board, is to pour off the varnish I plan to use into a small can (luckily we have a cat, and I save catfood cans for this and for mixing small batches of resin).

Then I take a piece of plastic cling wrap, put it into the varnish can and press it down as close to the surface of the varnish as possible, squeezing out some of the air.

Sometimes this works. At other times the skim clings to the plastic wrap and is therefore easy to remove.

Hope this helps.

--Joe

[John Vigor]

I've always added a capful of mineral spirits or thinner to a can of varnish or paint before sealing the lid.

The thinner is volatile, and drives out the air and oxygen in the second or two before you get the lid on. I have never had any skinning with this method, and the varnish or paint usually benefits from a little thinning in any case.

Cheers,

John V.

[tartansailor]

Adding an "anti-skinning" compound means adding an anti oxidant.
That will only serve to slow down the drying.

We do the same portion wise as others have posted, but we store our varnish & solvent based paint cans upside down.
On opening, the "skin" is on the bottom, and fresh varnish is on top, ready to go.
Dick

[Markst95]

I read (I believe somewhere on this site) about using a little propane from a torch in the can. The propane is heavier and sinks in the can and drives the air out. I'm using it now on a can of Cetol and after a couple of months it seems to be working.

[Steve Laume]

I have done the propane treatment for years. It works pretty well for oil based finishes.

Anything you can do to keep the air away from the finish will work. Transferring to a smaller container, marbles in the bottom until it fills the can, whatever.

Cracking the lid and adding propane is pretty simple, just don't light the torch, Steve.

[Andy Denmark]

These are all helpful and I'll try the propane trick today. There's a lot of varnishing to do and I'd like not to have the varnish deteriorate before it's all gone.

Somewhere, though, I recollect seeing reference to a product that you simply put into the can before closing it that stopped the skimming. That seems like the simplest method if I can find it.

Thanks for the good tips !
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[Oswego John]

Hi Andy,

Here is something that I've been using successfully for years . Different companies make different variations of it and in all size cans.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/c ... ingpal.php

Scroll 3rd item down.


Good luck,
O J

[Jim Evans]

Andy,

I've been using Bloxygen to preserve my varnish, and it works very well. You can get it here: http://www.bloxygen.com/, or at Amazon.

When my quart cans of varnish get less than half full, I'll pour the varnish into pint cans - and when the pint cans get less than half full, I pour it into half-pint cans. In that way, there's a lot less air in the cans.

[Andy Denmark]

Thanks, I'll order some tonight

BTW, I couldn't get your link to work so I Googled it -- same URL as the one you posted but this one worked. Go figure?

Thanks, very much for all the input. Back to sanding .........
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