Official Luthiers Forum!

I recently ordered some Tru-Oil from a vendor here in Western Australia called Arms and Cartridge Supplies http://www.armscar.com.au/index. Whilst talking to the owner, Chris, I enquired about the shelf life of Tru-Oil. Chris said it was fine, just as long as you limit it's exposure to air and he went on to make the following suggestion.

Tru-Oil is a very fast drying oil finish and will skin over quite quickly. To avoid this you need to ensure that little air remains in the bottle to react with the finish during storage. To address this, keep a few marbles at hand. As you use a little of the oil, simply replace it's volume by dropping a marble into the bottle. This will expel the air and keep the liquid Tru-Oil brimming at the neck of the bottle.

Cheers

Kim

Kim,

Another option is to use some of that inert gas product for finishes. I use the stuff from Lee Valley. I had bought one of those little bottles of TO from LMI some time ago, and opened it right away to see what it's like. I used some of it for a test, then shot in some of the oxygen displacer. Jump ahead about a year and a half . I pulled out the bottle that had sat on a shelf all that time, expecting the stuff inside to be goo. It was still like new! I tested some, and it dried fast and completely.

Your way is cheaper, though, so thanks for the tip!

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Carlton Macksam
Muskegon, Michigan

Todd--

Good tip on the wine stores. I went to Woodcraft to get a couple bottles of Bloxygen and its their estimation that the company that makes it is undergoing difficulties and is no longer supplying product. They tipped me to the wine shops. About a buck a can more, but the stuff saves a ton of money in the long run. I do about a one second burst in a Tru-Oil bottle and about a three second burst in a quart varnish can.

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Jim Howell
Charlotte, NC

You guys will probably think this is nuts, but it really seems to work when you don't have any other options available: Hold the cap near the neck of the bottle, take a deep breath, and gently blow your exhaled breath into the neck of the bottle. Drop the cap, take another breath, lift the cap, and exhale again--gently blowing--down into the neck of the bottle. Your exhaled breath doesn't contain much oxygen, although some oxygen will surely get mixed in as you blow gently into the bottle. Still, this technique has always worked surprisingly well for me. Also, as your oil supply gets lower and lower, you can transfer it to smaller and smaller jars--but try to find narrow jars. You don't want a lot of surface area your oil when it's inside the jar. I like that marble idea, too!

Good ideas all, guess another way is to simply fart in the jar, just don't let anyone catch you doing it cause it is sure to cause a red faced moment when they ask "What ARE you doing?"

Cheers

Kim

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"It's a Tone Faerie thing"
"Da goal is to sharpen ur wit as well as ye Sgian Dubh"
"Sippin Loch Dhu @Black lake" ,Kirby O...

Be sure to stay away from pilot lights and open flame! Safety first!

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Carlton Macksam
Muskegon, Michigan

you can also put a small hole in the foil top to dispense small amounts and then store the bottle up side down. It if skins over it does so at the bottom and not the dispensing end.

I liked the idea of the marbles. I was using some true oil this weekend and managed to dig up some
marbles, was all ready to drop them in the bottle - only to find they were too big. I was looking around for something else
and was going to put some hex nuts in the bottle, but happened to see some cow pea seeds laying on the table and ended up using them - they might even have some of that heavier than air gas in 'em.

Thanks for the tip, Kim

john