Mason - Mix'n Line

Rennie Heuer

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Constantine, MI
Reading through the thread on shellac mixing I came across a post by Edward Alexander mentioning his use of Mason jars. (Here) I use these jars (mine are the newer form with the metal caps) for everything including shellac, brush cleaning, etc.

Recently I purchased a Food Saver for my wife and I got her the attachments for vacuuming out and sealing Mason jars. While reading Alexander's post it occurred to me that I could be using the Food Saver to prolong the life of my finishes and it would cost a lot less than Bloxegen! :doh:

It seems to me that transferring varnishes, shellacs, etc. from partially full cans to Mason jars, then removing the air, makes a lot of sense. The parts of the Food Saver that vacuum out the air never touch food, so that should not be an issue. And I have no problem with buying a new Mason jar attachment for using only on my stuff.

Am I missing something? Is this a good idea or what? :dunno::huh:
 
I've tried the food saver attachment both with the food saver and my vacuum pump which pulls 20+ inches. Neither did much as far as extending the life of finishes, replacing the air with a gas is a lot more effective IMO. Lots of folks use Bloxygen, but like Jeff, I use propane, a heck of a lot cheaper and it works just as well.

Mike
 
Rennie,
Ron, gave me a hint . You could always fill up to the brim with marbles it takes the place of the finish you used so less air in the container.
 
How about one of these...

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96414

a device to pump air from jars for less than $6....
96414.gif
 
I swear ... i saw this thread come up all 6 times in new posts today and I am ashamed to admit it .. but i just NOW caught on to the title. :doh: :eek:

I'm a little chicken of the glass in the shop idea, too - even though I still store spade bits in a Ragu jar (point down, no less! thing just won't break!).

I haven't had a finish go bad really, so far. I have a bunch of little baby food jars that I collected from friends with infants as well as some peanut and spaghetti sauce jars that I transfer to fore a given project. I usually open the big container only two or three times or so before it's empty so it doesn't get much exposure and I go through it quick, i guess.
 
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