Stupid Is As Stupid Does

[Jim Frye]

Sometimes I'm not sure why I do stuff. I'm making a new shop tool and like all of mine, I finish them. Since it's a tool, I usually just do a rudimentary finish. So I slapped some dye on the wood, grabbed an old can of semi-gloss poly and began a series of wipe on applications. Well stupid me. The varnish is really old and won't flow out like it should, even after adding thinner. It cures, but slowly with streaks. Serves my cheap butt right for hanging on to a couple of inches of finish beyond its usable date. Word.

[leehljp]

Doggone it, I have some paint just like that in which I was planning on using in the spring! Guess I should learn from the master!

[parpwidow]

Word indeed. That’s the maker’s paradox right there — you go all in on the build, even if it's “just a shop tool,” and suddenly it deserves a nicer finish. But then out comes the old half-solidified can like, “Hey remember me? I’m still technically liquid!”

Honestly though, we've all been there — trying to squeeze the last bit of usefulness out of crusty supplies because hey, it might still work. And it technically did… just with attitude.

At least now it has character. “Streaky semi-gloss with emotional baggage” might become your shop's new finish standard. You thinking of sanding it back or just letting it ride as-is?

[Jim Frye]

No, I gave it a good rubout and proceeded with fresh stuff with a different sheen.

[NicholashomNTpson]

I totally understand your struggle with old finishes! A little extra care at the beginning can save you a lot of trouble later on so don't let those 'stubborn' items hold you back

[dbhost]

Better than what happened in mine.. I had a gallon of Golden Pecan sitting on my workbench and my cat managed to sneak into the shop. Well needless to say the cat ended up on the floor, open and I could NOT get it all up before it stained the floor. I need to epoxy coat my shop floor just to hide the wood stain on it...

[Jim Frye]

I think a pristine workshop floor is one that isn't used. Even my workbench has stains on it and the concrete floor sure looks a lot different than the rest of the basement.

[capncarl]

Ahhh, paint stories! The back wall of my shop is 7’ tall wall to wall 3’ deep closet. On top of the closet is storage ( another name for clutter ) after building the house and shop 19 yrs ago I had a 5 gallon bucket of latex paint left over. I transferred it to plastic 1 gallon paint cans and stored them on top of the closet. Recently I noticed sticky oily substance on a lot of tools in the closet. I investigated and found several of the gallon paint cans split and had leaked their sticky mess all over the closet top, through the joints of the boards and onto everything in the closet. What a mess. I threw away all the paint buckets and left the paint on top of the closet to dry and trashed most everything in the closet that had paint sticky on it. Saving old paint way past its expiration date seldom ends up well.