Bloxygen
is a spray can of common inert gases that is sold for the purpose of
preserving varnish and other finishing products after they have been
opened and partially used. It works in two ways. First by adding a
layer
of heavier inert gas between the left over finish in the can and air
trapped in the can. The second benefit is that is displaces
trapped air that can hold moisture. This is very important when
trying
to preserve hydrophilic liquids such as fuels.
While Bloxygen is marketed largely towards woodworkers, it has
countless
applications in the automotive shop. If you plan to store
opened epoxy resin, polyurethane paints, or fuel additives more than a
week or so this product is a must. With the price of some resins over
100 dollars a gallon and paints such as Imron that are commonly over
250 a gallon, Bloxygen is common sense decision. Not only does it
prevent excess waste, but it also allows you to buy in larger volumes
saving you additional money.
As part of a long term test we placed a one ounce sample of Imron
polyurethane paint in two glass test tubes. One test tube was
simply sealed while the other had a 1 second burst of Bloxygen added
before it was sealed. This is an ongoing test, and as such I
will update this review as changes are noted. Below is an
image of the paint samples on day one.
