Varnish Gunky like old milk, help!

J

Jamesuk

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Hi,

I am in the middle of a project I found some varnish but it is gunky I stirred it up for 10 minutes but still gunk remains. Any ideas. Buy a new one? The Varnish is about 2 years old I believe and the previous mate on board actually mixed it with Thinner (60/40) on the tin.

Any suggestions what would be best to do.

Buy new or filter the mix with a coffee filter?

Cheers James
 
Jamesuk said:
Hi,

I am in the middle of a project I found some varnish but it is gunky I stirred it up for 10 minutes but still gunk remains. Any ideas. Buy a new one? The Varnish is about 2 years old I believe and the previous mate on board actually mixed it with Thinner (60/40) on the tin.

Any suggestions what would be best to do.

Buy new or filter the mix with a coffee filter?

Cheers James
Click to expand...

Not enough info for to comment . To do that somebody would need to know what type of varnish, old Style, modern type, Some modern types are milky turn colour when drying (usually water based). What were thinners used.
 
333 thinner international

Epifane high gloss. Large tin.

I lost the plot in the need to get the job done so have since bought new varnish but would be good to know it future.

Cheers
J

Edited : On arrive I at the chandler all they had was the Large 1 litre so I said that I tried to use a coffee filter without success they then pointed me to a purpose made for varnish filter having bought that it SOLVED the issue.

Cheers anyway!
 
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I've never managed to store Epifaines from one season to the next sucessfully. I now only buy what I need in the short term. Even if that turns out more expensive for the smaller cans. It is better than throwing away half a big can.
 
I had that happen to a half-can of epifanes that had been left for a while (not as much as 2 years). I tried using it avoiding the lumps, but the results weren't very good. I bought a new can.

I assume it's the plant oils (tung etc) undergoing their "drying" reaction, and hence irreversible. Filtering would be tricky with such a thick liquid, and of course the composition would be different since the stuff that formed the lumps is now missing. Would be interested to hear if there is some treatment possible.

Pete
 
prv said:
I had that happen to a half-can of epifanes that had been left for a while (not as much as 2 years). I tried using it avoiding the lumps, but the results weren't very good. I bought a new can.

I assume it's the plant oils (tung etc) undergoing their "drying" reaction, and hence irreversible. Filtering would be tricky with such a thick liquid, and of course the composition would be different since the stuff that formed the lumps is now missing. Would be interested to hear if there is some treatment possible.

Pete
Click to expand...

Purpose made filters did the trick! It was like watching fresh honey trip off of a spoon without any bubbles it was a magical experience that saved 220 Kuna (Dib dobs) on buying a new tin!

The varnish went on the flag staff like magic - I had a few attempts over the past week (coats) and it was upsetting to see the hard fragments appear with the dust on close inspection. Today was my final straw to buying new but the filters worked a treat
 
prv said:
I had that happen to a half-can of epifanes that had been left for a while (not as much as 2 years). I tried using it avoiding the lumps, but the results weren't very good. I bought a new can.
Click to expand...

Same here, once you have used about 1/3 to 1/2 of a tin of Epifanes it will start to go off in the tin after a few weeks. Decanting into a smaller container can help but basically buying a new tin every few months is my routine. It's cheaper than smoking.
 
Have used Muslin cloth as a filter before which worked well for undercoats but would always use fresh varnish for final coats.

What filter was this you purchased can you give some details please.
 
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