Can I salvage my Waterlox?

[Michael Weber]

I have a partially dried can of Waterlox that is several years old. It's not totally dried but has 'clumps' in it and it seems pretty thick. Can I filter out the clumps and then thin what remains? I'd buy a new can but it's not available locally and I need it now. If it's okay to do that then should I use mineral spirits to thin with?
Mike

[Eric Gustafson]

I know nothing about this material. It does sound like it might not be usable. One suggestion I can make, however, is to test it before using it on something noncritical. Try thinning per the label, screen out the lumps, and test what you have on a simular material like your project.

[Christof Grohs]

There is a number on the side of the can regarding proper storage, call it and ask them. It's actually a pretty small operation and they are very friendly and ready to help. I have had Waterlox gel on top after opening. I punch a hole in the bottom of the can and fill a smaller container with the good finish leaving the gel gunk in the original can. Filter it through a medium mesh screen. It is very important with Waterlox to not let air get to it so just keep moving it to a smaller container.

[Richard Daly]

Mike...I use Waterlox all the time...I have tried this on a jar of iffy Waterlox (to be known as W) ..I put a fair amount of Mineral Spirits Into the jar and shook the daylights out of it...It look pretty good so i strained it and went to work ..it was just fine...The extra MS probably evaporated.. the worst thing to happen is that you don't like it and you spent a little time. Mike if you get another can or Gal of W it jels very fast.I take the new Gal. and Put it into Qt or Pt Mason jars. You MUST fill the jars right up to the brim..If you use some I use gravel from my drive to displace the air by raising the liquid to the top. I found a Qt . 2 years Old on the shelf..NO SKIN.. it works.
Please keep you fingers our of joiners...Stubby

[Michael Weber]

Thanks for all the replies. I am straining it now. Hope my wife doesn't get too upset about my using the kitchen strainer.

[Peter Quinn]

Please throw it out. Put it in an aluminum disposable pan in a thin layer, let it cure, and throw it out. Your project deserves better than the reclaimed remnants of a lost can of waterlox. Chill out, get some fresh finish, and wait till you do. You spent all that time making something wonderful, do you want to compromise it in the final stages?

[Jim O'Dell]

I agree, buy some new, and get a can of Bloxigen while you're at it (made by the same people). It's an inert gas that is heavier than air. Keeps the product from skimming over if you don't use all of it. I got a can from Woodcraft at the 10% plus 5% off sale recently. I also used it on a gallon of paint that I only used 60% of. Jim.

[Howard Acheson]

Waterlox uses some special driers. It has a much shorter shelf life after opening than other oil based products.

What you describe is exactly what happens when the finish is well past its prime. It has begun to cure and nothing you add to it will change it back.

Oil based finishes dry/cure in two steps. First the thinners evaporate and the finish becomes tack free. Then the major process begins. Oxygen reacts with the varnish to fully harden and cause full adhesion. Your finish will probably never cure correctly or completely.

Throw it out. Finish is one of the least cost components of the overall process. It's false economy to not use fresh materials. After all, it's the finish that gets the "oohs and aahs", not the joinery.

[Wilbur Pan]

What I did over the past year was to stock pile the empty baby food jars that were left over from my youngest boy's meals. I filled them up with Waterlox, so that when I'm using it, I'm only exposing 4 ounces of finish at a time to the air.

The downside of this plan is that once I finish using my current supply of Waterlox, we'll have to have another kid.

[Jim Becker]

Throw it out. It's just not worth the risk of a finishing nightmare to use old or compromised finish.

[Michael Weber]

Tis in the trash. It was going to go on a childs "Teddy Bear" rocking chair for the first grandson made from cherry. Thanks for advising the correct thing to do. I've put too much work into the chair to risk spoiling it. I am using the Waterlox to pop the grain a bit and then will spray with some amber shellac to darken it a bit

[Jim Becker]

Waterlox is varnish, Michael, not oil, although it's formula includes tung oil before they cook it into varnish. Put on an application of BLO first to pop the grain and add a little darkening. Then the de-waxed shellac and final finish with your Waterlox.

[Michael Weber]

Waterlox is varnish, Michael, not oil, although it's formula includes tung oil before they cook it into varnish. Put on an application of BLO first to pop the grain and add a little darkening. Then the de-waxed shellac and final finish with your Waterlox.

Jim, why the Waterlox on top of the shellac? More durable than shellac? I had planned on the shellac being the final finish, but I'm open to improvement. I find finishing the most confusing part of woodworking. I guess becauses there is an almost infinite number of finishing products and their combinations. And, some people swear by one method/combination while other people swear at it and recommend other options.

[Howard Acheson]

Jim will probably jump in here too but, let me re-state the Waterlox is just a brand name of an oil based varnish. It's not "tung oil" or anything like it. It just varnish made using tung oil instead of linseed oil.

Shellac is a another type of finish. Years ago, it was used as a final coat on furniture. You see it on antiques over 100 years old. Today, while some restorers and makers of period furniture still use it, mostly its used in conjunction with other finishes. It's sometimes used to separate different types of finishes that do not react nicely applied direction to each other. It's used for coloring and to seal in stains and dyes if a non-compatable clear finish is going to be used.

The point is that shellac will provide nothing for your party. Nor will boiled linseed oil. Varnish is a much more durable finish than shellac and the Waterlox will "pop" the grain to the same extent as the BLO. If you like the way your Waterlox varnish looks, then just use that. No need for anything else.

As always, test your finishing plans on sizable scrap wood from your project. Go through the whole finishing process--sanding, staining, and clear coats. That's the only way to learn finishing and to see how it will come out. NEVER let your project be you test case or learning experience.

As a final point, if you want to learn more about finishing, purchase Flexner's Understand Wood Finishing or Jewitt's Taunton Complete Illustrated Guide to Finishing. Both are excellent and I would get both. They are only minimally redundant and you will learn from both.