Bottles and Containers for Storing Woodturning Finishes and Glue

Reuse Old Food/Condiment Bottles For All Your Woodturning Finishes

Maybe you have already thought of the ideas I will share regarding using emptied food or utility containers for your woodturning projects. That is, these can help you get organized, they don’t cost anything and you can make them a one time use or they might last for months or even years. One of my favorite is the Catsup bottle, mustard bottles and salad dressing bottles. I particularly like the clean bottles so I know the condition of the finish or glue that is inside the bottle.

Storing woodturning finishes in catsup bottles.
Storing woodturning finishes in catsup bottles. The top screws on tight and the flip top snaps tight eliminating evaporation of the finsh.

I was mixing up some special finishing mixes for my woodturning projects when I thought it might help others to know how and where I store these finishes. It might seem like a simple thought and for the most part when we buy a finish it comes in a can or bottle.

When you mix your own finishes you need to store it in something and hopefully it can also be a container that you can use to apply your finish …..I mean like, squirt it out onto a rag or the project or a paint brush.

Although this isn’t game changing information …it is practical information that you can use to help store and apply your finishes.

storing woodturning finishes and glue in old food containers
Ketchup and Mustard Bottles for Storing Woodturning Finishes

And make use of food jars and bottles when emptied. I’m on a low budget so I’m always thinking how I might be able to use this bottle or the next bottle or can. Some work out pretty good, others ….not so good, so in the long run you just need to experiment with different containers.

I can tell you I prefer glass containers. One big downside to glass is that it cracks to pieces when hitting the concrete floor 🙂 I use mason jars of various sizes for a lot of things and I break a lot of mason jars because they were left too close to the edge of the bench and hit the floor.

Use Big Plastic Bottles to
Keep Paint Brushes Clean

Keeping your utility paint brushes ready for use
I keep my cheap paint brushes in a big plastic bottle with some lacquer thinner, the brush hangs in the thinner and is always clean and ready to use when apply different sanding sealers and woodturning finishes.

I found some big pretzel bottles that were perfect for hanging paint brushes in with a little lacquer thinner on the bottom. I drilled a couple holes in the top and hot glued a dowel that I hang paint brushes on. I just use some baling wire to make some S-hooks and hang the brush into the lacquer thinner …..or course you could use whatever thinner you want…..I found lacuqer thinner cleans just about anything,

Capn Eddie’s Thoughts On finish Storage

I remember watching some Captn Eddie Castelin videos on how to mix OB Shine Juice and then apply it. He also was just as interested in how to store the finish you just made up and how to keep it in the right proportions since some of the ingredients will evaporate over a period of time, thru use or just through the plastic storage bottle itself.

Capn Eddie recommended using some squeeze bottles from Harbor Freight for storing and applying his finish but made the distinction that the DA (Denatured Alcohol) will evaporate over a period of time and you will then not have the proper amount of separate ingredients in the OB Shine Juice formula.

The long and short of it is that the alcohol evaporates from the bottle through the bottle and through the snap on top. Over time, you then need to calculate how much alcohol has evaporated and add the necessary Denatured Alcohol to get the formula back to the original recipe.

Capn Eddie recommended some plastic squeeze bottles from Harbor Freight, I purchased some and they didn’t last long. I found a good variety of Plastic Squeeze Bottles to store your finishes and other solutions….pretty cheap, Click Here.

Storing Your Custom Made Woodturning Finishes

So, over the last couple of years I have been using a variety of different food or condiment containers to store and apply woodturning finishes, glue and keep paint brushes on hand.

Reuse Old Plastic Squeeze Mustard Bottles

Mustard bottles make excellent glue storage and applicators. Buy your wood glue by the gallon and fill your old mustard bottles with the glue, the cap stays pretty tight and you can use it over and over. I use several types of wood glue so I ended up with about 3 mustard bottles filled with food safe woodglue …..works great . Mustard bottles are not the greatest for finishes because most do not seal very well. You have a screw down cap and a snap cap. The snap cap often times is loose fitting and will allow finish to evaporate …..but they are excellent for wood glue like the different formulas of titebond and other woodglues  you can easily have 4 or 5 bottles of glue laying around the shop for easy use or easy to get to.

Finishes like OB Shine Juice require air tight bottles. First I want a clear bottle so I can see how the individual components of the OB Shine juice seperate. Next I want to find a bottle that has an “air tight” seal at the screw in top and the snap on top. It becomes a trial an error method ….some work, some do not. I found Catsup bottles pretty good, salad dressing bottles are also good.

Remember you are looking for a bottle that is clear, the top is easy to screw on and seals tight (no leaks) and a flip top that seals tightly ….again, no leaks!

Recycled Plastic Food Bottles
for Temporary Storage

Once again, I try to reuse things before they hit the trash!

Using cottage cheese containers with your woodturning projects and work
Cottage cheese containers come in handy when woodturning, whether storing parts and pieces, finishes, or filling up with coffee grounds they help you stay organized.

Large cottage cheese containers are perfect for holding parts while working on a project. They can also be used to clean paint brushes or glue brushes ….I also use them for mixing up special finishes in small batches. We go through at least one container a week ….when you are done using it, just toss it, doesn’t get any easier!

With any of these containers you can use them for long term storage if needed, with or without a lid. For instance I have a lot of 2″ sanding disks, they get used or the backing breaks off. I just keep one container for each grit. I’ll also throw in small square sandpaper sheets that aren’t completely used up.

small food containers for casting resin woodturning projects
You can use yogurt food containers for casting small resin woodturning projects

Yogurt and Cottage Cheese
Containers for Resin Molds

Plastic food containers make excellent resin molds. Anything from the size of a gallon plastic milk or water bottle to small yogurt containers. One serving size yogurt containers are perfect to experiment with casting turning wood and resin projects.

 

Storing and Using CA
Glue For Woodturning

Since most woodturners use CA glue in some form, whether it be thin or thick CA …you often get it in bigger bottles that the top gets clogged or the cap is lost causing all kinds of problems. Some CA’s come with very thin and long applicator tips ….these get lost, clogged and eventually have nothing left. Once you start using those applications you realize how handy they are.

CA by the way refers to Cyanoacrylate Glue or Superglue.

What to Use CA for When Woodturning

I use CA mostly for gluing purposes when woodturning. I will use it to fill cracks or crevices. You can pack a crack with sawdust, coffee grounds, shavings and then apply some CA to it, usually you will want to use thin CA because it will soak into the material you packed in the crack and it will bond with all material it touches ….there fore helping to keep the bowl or turning project together and not flying apart.

mica colors for mixing with epoxy when woodturning
Use a small amount of mica to fill holes, cracks and crevices in your woodturing projects

You can also mix a little mica color with the CA, in this case you would want to use the medium thick to thick CA to give the crack a color that either blends with the wood or is in start contrast with the wood. I also use a 5 minute epoxy for this, you get more time to work the material and most times it looks better.

CA For A Finish On Your Woodturning Projects

It would be remiss of me if I didn’t mention the fact that CA is a very popular finish for many woodturners. Many wood pen turners use CA for a glossy finish on their pens. Although CA isn’t used on bigger projects much, smaller stuff like handles, eggs, wands, billy bats etc look great with a CA finish…..some turners will use CA on bowls and cups but I’m not so sure that it is food safe even after it cures.

Although I do not use a lot of CA for finishes some turners do and will buy larger bottles of thin CA. This is where you would want to keep most of it in the freezer and split it up into smaller bottles for your use. Like I mentioned, some say you can keep it in the freezer for 2 years or more.

Storing Your CA

Depending on how much woodturning you do, your CA could go bad if not used in a reasonable period of time and kept in the right conditions. Therefore if is advisable to store your CA in a refrigerator/freezer until you use it. I know of some woodturners who use a lot of CA for their projects (CA can be used to give a bright glossy finish) and they purchase larger amounts of CA and by keeping it refrigerated it will last up to three years.

CA Application and Storage Kit
Kit for storing and using your CA glue more efficiently

I mention CA, storage and application because you can purchase kits that contain smaller dispensing bottles, a couple hundred applicator tips and other pieces to help make the most of your CA.


I purchased this CA Accessory Kit and am very happy with it. I did it mostly for the CA applicator tips but ended up using the smaller bottles and refrigerating my thin CA, Medium Thick CA and Thick Ca. Something you should consider if you use any CA at all, the applicator tips are golden. They help direct the CA into cracks and crevices and keep the CA from bleeding into the surrounding wood which cause discoloration.


Final Woodturning Storage Thoughts
Always keep a few coffee cans around when woodturning, store stuff or organize
Coffee cans are good for one time use or storage of parts and pieces ….good to a few at hand!

I hope I might have opened up your eyes to finding new and unthought of methods of storing your glues, finishes and other woodturning related products. Just keep your eye out for empty spray bottles, coffee cans, condiment bottles and other disposable food containers and you just might get a little more organized in your woodturning shop!

I have a couple of garbage bags filled with empty plastic and metal containers. Some I probably will never use but others can really make life easy in the shop….. and coffee cans, whether metal or plastic are always of use and can be easy one time containers that you’ll be glad you had around 🙂

Plastic Bottles for Vase Inserts

As I write I keep thinking I should mention other purposes for used containers. One of the most important ones for me is using a plastic water bottle for a vase insert. It holds water, won’t leak and is easy for a client to replace. Smaller vases can use medicine bottles or other pill bottles.

Using plastic water drinking bottles for vase inserts
Empty drinking water bottles provide excellent inserts for woodturned vases and are easily replaced.

Wood vases are really cool, I enjoy turning them but it becomes expensive to epoxy the inside to make it water proof so you simply have to make it big enough to hold a drinking water bottle that has had the top cut off. When turning  a wood vase with a water bottle insert in mind I usually make it at least 1/4″ wider than the plastic bottle ….sometimes even a 1/2″ bigger. You want to make it bigger because the hole will either shrink or get deformed if water is dropped into the untreated vase interior.

Cherry Burl Woodturning Projects Using Epoxy Resins and Lacquer Finishes, Best Lacquer Finish

I watched a video of someone turning a Cherry Burl along with using epoxy resin. It was very interesting and since I am still trying to learn some of the basics of turning wood with epoxy resins I ended up picking up a few tips. However, I think I posted more information for him on how to use Lacquer Finishes with your woodturning projects and basically that’s what this post is. First I will show you the video and then you can read my thoughts on how to apply an finish using Lacquer.

Good video, thank you for your efforts ….and Merry Christmas along with wishing you and yours a fantastic 2020 ….a year full of prosperity, good health and good luck 🙂

cherry burl and epoxy resing I wanted to mention something about lacquer finish while watching one of your videos, not sure if I did so excuse me if this is a duplicate!

I’ve been messing around with lacquer finishes for the last 2 years, its a good fast finish if done right.

I pretty much always use Deft Lacquer Sanding Sealer……if necessary you can apply multiple coats in 15 minutes, but it seals up the wood very good https://amzn.to/34Z1X5h I ususally thin the Deft Lacquer Sanding Sealer with anywhere between 10% and 25% Lacquer Thinner. It gets into the wood while stiffening the fibers and filling the pores ….thats why I put multiple coats on. I lightly sand either between coats or on final coat before the lacuer spray begins.

I use Deft Lacquer Spray with good results also. https://amzn.to/2Q1eQYw

However, I also have used Watco lacquer spray ….all the way from Matte at the bottom to Satin to High Gloss. https://amzn.to/2t2jRXz Buffing out any of these finishes produces outstanding results. All will give good depth of finish, the sheen or shine comes from the gloss factor. Its amazing but you can get a slight and deep gloss finish from a matte spray.

Depending on the wood you can build up multiple layers fast. However I found that you get the best results if you spray a coat, wet sand and then spray another coat….it takes time but the finish will be exquisite!

The real trick is to know how long to let it dry before you can turn it at slow speed on your lathe and use a soft cloth to buff it out. You can buff out a Satin finish to a nice gloss with good depth. The trick is to use a very soft cloth, small piece while trying to buff a spinning project on the lathe. Capn’ Eddie says to never use a rag or cloth on a spinning lathe project for obvious reasons, however, I found that an old sweat shirt inside out provides some very nice buffing surfaces that really brings out that sheen or shine. But please be careful because if you are working with a piece of burl, live edge or other irregular piece of wood the cloth can easily get caught and send you to the hospital!

The problem with buffing too soon is that you will burn through the finish. And…..if you try to buff it out on a buffing wheel you must take great care otherwise you will mar and burn through the lacquer finish. The most important variable for taking a lacquer sprayed piece to the buffing wheel is “how long has the finish dried?” I let it dry a couple of days before I attempt and if I have the time I let it dry for 30 days for I do any heavy duty buffing. I have a buffing motor/station and it might turn too fast …if you want to get into finishing lacquer seriously you might want to get one of those Beal buffing systems for your lathe. https://amzn.to/353wCOO

Hope you find this info useful …..I really enjoy watching your videos ….I haven’t gotten into too much resin/epoxy work so I am learning much from your efforts.

Again….Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 🙂