Repair/mechanic tricks and or tips?

[BTDT]

Actually wrapping the brush in foil and placing it in the freezer works better than thinner for some finishes. Things like Deft and similar.The cold temps put chemical changes on hold. You can take the brush out of the freezer and stick it in the same material and pick up where you left off the day before. I have left brushes in the freezer like that for a week or two with no problems just picking up where I left off. (Results can vary depending on the type of coating.)

Pat

Just be sure to grab the right brush when you go to baste the bbq

 

[Bedlam]

Cool idea Pat. (pun intended LOL)

I'm not sure the misses would like that idea tho. I already have to wait till shes gone for the day to use the dishwasher to was 'things' LOL
To show how cheap I am these are the Dollars store brushes.But actually they aren't bad at all wooden handle, and once I found some angle cut sash brushes. Throw away, but they held up to good to use just once.
AL

 

[patrick_g]

Yeah, I have found throw away brushes that were pretty good and lasted quite well after the initial shedding of a few bristles. Then there are others that aren't worth using if they were free and mailed to you to save a trip.

Pat

 

[SPYDERLK]

Actually wrapping the brush in foil and placing it in the freezer works better than thinner for some finishes. Things like Deft and similar.The cold temps put chemical changes on hold. You can take the brush out of the freezer and stick it in the same material and pick up where you left off the day before. I have left brushes in the freezer like that for a week or two with no problems just picking up where I left off. (Results can vary depending on the type of coating.)

Pat

That trick is good for another reason as well. Freezers are very dry. Many chemical formulations react with h2o and degrade. i do the brush trick, and also before putting away an opened paint can, put it inthe freezer uncovered for a minute - then open door and slapon cover before removing.
larry

 

[patrick_g]

SPYDERLK, I don't think much moisture migrates through the freezer foil I wrap with. As a container is used up there is more room for air each time you seal it. I sometimes pour the contents into a smaller container to enclose less air. I suppose if you were careful handling to reduce splashing you could attach a desiccant holder to the inside of the lid with a magnet.

Bedlam, If you wrap it well with freezer foil there is no transference problem.

BTDT, Thanks for the great idea. I hadn't thought of that. I can wrap the BBQ baster brush with foil and put it in the freezer instead of washing it every time. I suppose you could write something on the handle for disambiguation purposes.

Pat

 

[SPYDERLK]

Patrick g. Musta read it wrong. The dry air in a freezer is a plus. Getting that air into a can over a paint is very near as effective as repeated downsizing with use and is quick and no mess.
larry

 

[patrick_g]

Patrick g. Musta read it wrong. The dry air in a freezer is a plus. Getting that air into a can over a paint is very near as effective as repeated downsizing with use and is quick and no mess.
larry

I read it OK. My comment relates to the impermeability of aluminum foil. Once wrapped tightly in aluminum foil, the brush and whatever stuff is on the bristles are excluded from contact with air, in or out of the freezer and humid or dry. The cold serves to slow down chemical changes, the reason for putting it in the freezer.

I do understand the dry air thing and how you employ it in the freezer. Different concept, just happens to also use a freezer.

I have room for a brush in the freezer but not a gallon can, however brief it may reside therein.

Sometimes in varnishing some bright work topsides it takes just a minute to make a pass over the work and then several minutes cleaning the brush. Then the brush is left dry till after this last coat dries enough to be lightly sanded or bronze wooled for yet another coat. You can spend a lot of time cleaning a brush and little time actually spreading varnish. Therein lies the beauty of the air tight wrap and deep freeze treatment. You save a lot of time and hassle.

The freezer is like having a relativistic time dilution machine. I recall when I was working for Digital Development Corporation and they bought potting epoxy in small tubes holding a fraction of an oz. The epoxy was premixed but came packed in dry ice and was stored in a freezer. The assy workers would take it out of the freezer and squeeze it out onto the little magnetic head assemblies as soon as it warmed sufficiently to be squeezed out of the tube. Then when it warmed up it "went off" like epoxy was supposed to do. It kept in the freezer for months without problems due to the reduction in chemical activity at reduced temperatures.

Putting the paint can in the freezer wth the lid off tends to fill the air space in the can with dry air. If you put in a small chunk of dry ice or vented a CO2 bottle (or other heavier than air) shielding gas used for welding into the air space of the can and put on the lid it would be even better than the freezer routine since it would exclude oxygen as well as moisture. This would work for water based coatings which are not suitable for the dry freezer air treatment since they are a water based solution themselves.

Pat

 

[SPYDERLK]

ok, you wouldnt have to slow down the chemical changes in air dry paint if you truly were excluding the air. The seams in the Al are the cuprit of course. Random motion at hi speed does the mixing if there are any openings. As youve found, doubly inhibiting the cure by starving reagents and slowing molecular motion can buy enuf time. On removal i magine you allow the preserved item to warm before unwrapping so it doesnt get wet.

CO2 and other fancy solutions notwithstanding [I am getting a Nitrogen separator] the freezer dry before resealing the product container is free easy and effective on everything iv tried it on. I cant imagine it working on water based stuff so i havent tried that.
larry

 

[SpringHollow]

Latex paint in the freezer would not be a problem. However, I would be careful about putting an open can of oil paint in the freezer if you have thinned it with something volatile like lacquer or mineral spirits so that you could easily spray it. The fan, thermostat, light switch, etc. in the refrigerator are all potential spark sources and many refrigerator/freezers have air paths between them. I have seen pictures where an exploding refrigerator has taken out more than 1 room.

Ken

 

[SPYDERLK]

good point about volatile spirits. It would take awhile to build up an ignitable concentration tho and a minute is plenty of time to exchange the atmosphere in the can. Very little solvent other than that already present in that volume gets into the freezerair. I just stand at the door with the lid in my hand, open quickly and slap it on, remove can and seat lid firmly.
larry