chemical storage question

[Zahid Naqvi]

Like most of you I buy finishing chemicals in rectangular or round metal cans. These are very inconvenient to dispense small amounts from. On Dennis' recommendations I have started using liquid soap bottle, jars of jam etc. for storage. The problem is my limited knowledge of the chemical composition of these things. Such as last night I needed a little lacquer thinner to clean a brush, so I pour it in a plastic disposable cup and let the brush sit in it for a few minutes. Before you know it the thinner dissolves the bottom of the glass and falls right through it.
So here's the question. Which chemicals can be stored in plastic and which ones in glass/tin only. Chances are what ever is storable in plastic is safe for the other two materials as well. So far what I know.

Glass/Tin: Lacquer thinner, anything alcohol
Plastic: mineral spirits, polyurethane, shellac,


Help me out here guys.

[Cecil Arnold]

This is totally umscientific, but generally if it is a flammable (below 100*F flash point) you would want to store it in metal/glass, if it is a combustible (over 100*F flash point) then plastic is probly okay, but don't trust that completely.

[Joe Pelonio]

Without a chemistry background my rule of thumb is that if it's sold in metal I keep it in metal. I also have a flamables storage cabinet, where
I keep spray paint cans, denatured alcohol, thinner, laquer thinner and
acetone. They cost a lot new but I managed to get a used one from the Boeing surplus store.

[Scott Loven]

There are hundreds of kinds of plastics, so you cant lump them all together. People store gas in plastic, our acetone dispensers that we use are plastic. Most acid processing is done in plastic. Look at the bottom of the cup and see what kind of plastic it is, probably Polystyrene. Google the type of plastic and see if it is compatible with what you want to store in it.
Scott

[Todd Franks]

For this reason alone and the confusion I avoid plastic altogether. I use metal paint cans for storing and settling used solvents. For dispensing and mixing small amounts of finishes I use glass. I went to one of the retail megastores, and picked up a pack of wide mouth Mason jars with metal lids, the kind used for canning fruits and vegetables. The wide mouth allows easy access for dipping a wipe-on cloth. The screw on metal lids seal air tight. I also store all my chemicals in a homemade flammables cabinet. It is made from 1" baltic birch painted with intumescent paint. I got the plans from the AWW website.

-Todd

[Zahid Naqvi]

I went to one of the retail megastores, and picked up a pack of wide mouth Mason jars with metal lids, the kind used for canning fruits and vegetables.
It is made from 1" baltic birch painted with intumescent paint. I got the plans from the AWW website.

-Todd

Both good ideas Todd, I'll swing by WalMart today to see if I can find any glass jars. I have used pasta sauce bottels before but their lids are not air tight. The intumescent paint is also something I have been thinking about.

[Steve Schoene]

By the way, those metal containers are easier to pour from if you pour with the spout at the top, not the bottom. Much less gurgle that way.

[Roger Myers]

Please be careful!!!
I try not to get into preaching mode very often, but this is one area I urge extra caution!!!!
Anytime you store something in a jar that is potentially hazardous, please take extreme caution and affix very large, very visible, labels to the container. This is particularly true if you are using any type of food or beverage container to store chemicals. Even if you keep them locked up..even if you are the only one in the shop.... Children can see the containers, be curious and take a taste... A case recently went to trial here where an adult grabbed a container from his own residence, not realizing that the contents were not what they seemed and a child died....
I'm all for recycling containers, and I too store solvents in smaller containers...but only if I can mark them in such a way that any adult will know the meaning, and I store them where children can not access them....
Preaching mode over....

That said, I keep a healthy supply of mason jars around for mixing shellac and finishes, and several of the small mouth squeeze containers...

Roger

[Mike Cutler]

Zahid.
Every chemical produced and sold in the US must have an MSDS( Material Safety Data Sheet) available.
On the label of the product. It usually has the MSDS number or a patial MSDS sheet. The full MSDS is generally available online.
If you cannot find it online. Contact the Manufacture. They MUST provide you with an MSDS at your request. It is the law.
There is no such thing as an "expired" MSDS. It is a cradle to grave document and must be maintained.
Outside of that. I strongly agree with Roger .
If you really need to transfer the contents of one bottle to a smaller bottle. Companies like Nalgene amd Wheaton Scientific manufacture chemically inert HDPE( High Density Poly Ethylene) bottles. They are expensive though.
My recommendation is to go to a Walmart and buy a few cases of8 oz, or 16 oz canning jars. Glass is about as inert as you can expect. The jars are made to stack on top of each other also. and the lids are replaceable usually about $10-12 dollars a dozen with lids.

[Alan Turner]

Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing sells plastic squeeze bottles that he uses to store mixed shellac. 16 oz., with a small tip. I have a bunch and they are great. I mix it in mayo jars, but use it from the ones that can be squeezed as I rag a first coat usually. I think it is polyethelene, but am not sure. They seem to last forever.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Please be careful!!!
I try not to get into preaching mode very often, but this is one area I urge extra caution!!!!
Anytime you store something in a jar that is potentially hazardous, please take extreme caution and affix very large, very visible, labels to the container.

Roger

Roger you are absolutely correct. Anytime I use a container I remove all commercial labels of any sort, and write the contents with a sharpie. A jar dedicated to mineral spirits will not contain anything else in its life time. Your caution is well taken though.

[Zahid Naqvi]

Jeff Jewitt at Homestead Finishing sells plastic squeeze bottles that he uses to store mixed shellac. 16 oz., with a small tip. I have a bunch and they are great. I mix it in mayo jars, but use it from the ones that can be squeezed as I rag a first coat usually. I think it is polyethelene, but am not sure. They seem to last forever.

The squeeze bottles are what I was hoping to find. With wide mouthed jars you have to constantly keep them covered to minimize the vapors. Thanks I will look at Jeff's bottles.

[Peter M. Spirito]

There is plywood available that is treated to be fire proof/resistant much more so than the intumescent paint. It is used frequently on multi-unit housing and is readily available from a professional lumber yard

[Dennis Peacock]

Rule #1: Don't do as Dennis does. He could get you in trouble.
Rule #2: Mineral Spirits, BLO, and Tung Oil can safely be stored in an old Catchup bottle without a severe threat. This also includes DNA.
Rule #3: Never store Lacquer thinner or Naptha in any plastic container. You may wish you never did.
Rule #4: Always store or dispose of your oil finishing rags completely unfolded and either in a fireproof container or outside in the driveway away from combustibles. I've actually seen a Sam's Club burn because an employee cleaned up some oil finish with rags and piled them in the back of the store until the next days cleaning crew. No store to come back to. Fire is self cleaning ya know.
Rule #5 and my biggest rule: Always err of the side of extreme safety. When in doubt, call a buddy and ask them. If they don't know? Then find a container made of the same stuff that the product was shipped in and store the "whatever" in the same type container.

You can also put oiled rags in a metal can of water and cap the metal can. Just remember to change the water every so often.

I've been through many safety and fire trainings in my time and even the LOML gets frustrated with me at times because I'm always drilling them about leaving stuff plugged in, laying around on the floor, leaving matches anywhere close to the woodstove and such.

<I>Please accept my public apollogy for stearing you with "incomplete" information or for even setting a bad example for you to follow.</I>