Mike’s Digital Laboratory

So if your a weekend warrior like me whenever you go to paint or stain something there is always some extra. So you cap the bottle can or whatever and if your lucky you’ll need it again before it goes bad. Except I’m rarely lucky, it just doesn’t keep. One trick I found that really works is a product called “Bloxygen“. When I’m all done and about to close that can and I’m pretty sure I’m not going to open it again until the next time Venus goes into retrograde, I squirt a little of this in the can and close the lid. The “heavier than air” gas (CO) sinks to the bottom and covers the surface of your paint or stain and blocks any oxygen from getting to work on your precious investment. (Oxidation is what makes it go bad). This stuff works, really. But to a degree, nothing keeps forever and even the bloxygen strategy fails after a point.

So now I just read an article in fine woodworking magazine on making your own varnish with a Varnish/Tung oil blend. I can see this as part of a strategy for longer lasting materials. Mix up just what I need. Possibly add a little japan drier, use it, it’ll be no good after a few days if I use drying agents like “Japan Drier” but maybe , just maybe the base stock of pure tung oil and whatever else I use as ingredients, with the Bloxygen, will keep a little loner as separate ingredients, than a can of of pre-mixed varnish that has driers in it (which is a ticking time bomb waiting to turn into a mass of gel.)

The next piece of the strategy I’m thinking about is this whole color business. Stains, Japan colors, artist paints, they all have a limited shelf life. It’s the binders in these that go bad, ( I think?) Ah but what about just the pigments. Honest to goodness pigments all by their lonesome. I’m talking about crushed up rocks and stuff. Course we want the good stuff, I’m not going into my backyard to grind my own. (Yes, I tried that once with walnut husks, which aren’t really rocks, and technically I ended up with a dye, not pigment, but hey you get the idea, cool experiment but what a mess)

So in my thinking it’s an easy stretch to take a simple recipe like Roland Johnson’s (Read his article)

• 5 parts Tung oil
• 5 part varnish (Perhaps the Pratt and Lambert 38 he recommends, you decide)
• 2 parts Japan Drier (really optional in my opinion)
• 2- 3 parts Turpentine (Smelly stuff! I’m going to try mineral spirits, if you don’t mind)

And if I need color, I’ll add crushed up rocks! Oh I mean pigment. The pigment stored in it’s pure form should keep longer. Just add what I need and no more to the homemade oil blend, which then becomes… stain, ta da. Of course now I have to go learn how to do this.. So after thinking about this I decided that this is all speculation on my part so I better do a little web surfing to learn more. I found a few interesting links and I think there is potential here.

• Making Your Own Oil Stain By Sal Marino
• Homemade and Alternative Stains and Colorant by Jim McNamara
• Make-your-own stains and glazes - Forum thread from woodweb
• Sinopia - Source for Pigments (San Francisco)
• Kama Pigments -Source for Pigments (Canada)