I mentioned on my desk I used Cabot 8000 varnish. The stuff I used had been in a Stop Loss bag for over 12 months....not a long time, but maybe long enough to prove their worth (?). In any case, there was no degradation (gelling, etc.) of the varnish at all. I will say the SL bags aren't the easiest to use...they can be tricky to get all the air out of them. I managed to use up the rest of what was in the bag and clean it out; that part wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. With the cost of oil based finishes on the climb, these bags are a good way to keep finish from spoiling waiting for the next project. My last coat of varnish for the desk will be some semi gloss Cabot 8000 (first coats were all gloss) that has been in a SL bag longer than the gloss, it looks good and I expect the same results.

I got one of these years ago and put some Waterlox in it.  I hated spending good money on it and having half the can go bad.   I'll have to look for it and see how it's fared.   I believe it's been six years or more.

I will be very interested in hearing what condition the finish is in!

4 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said:

I will be very interested in hearing what condition the finish is in!

Found it, Waterlox Original dated 06/15.  So roughly 4.5 years.  Still looks to be in good condition.  Six years must have been the can that went solid on me before I got these bags.

 

I have a number of woodworking friends that are retired Proctor & Gamble engineers.  One worked on bottle for a shampoo that had a Saran vapor barrier so the scent would not permeate the plastic and go into the air.  Most plastics, to my understanding, are somewhat permeable to air and vapors.   So for storing a finish in ordinary plastics, air gets in and reacts with the finish.   I have a peanut butter jar into which I stored varnish and it's now a solid mass.   I take it when I teach finishing classes.

 

US Plastic in Lima, OH sells bottles that have vapor / solvent barrier.   I used them to hold small amounts of naphtha, alcohol, and lacquer thinner in my touch up kit.

That's great to hear the finish has kept that long...gives me even more faith in these bags. If they work that well, it's worth a little hassle to use them.