Gasoline as finish?

[Puckdropper]

I was cleaning the gas out of the snow blower (I know... should have done it 8 months ago) and couldn't help but wonder if gasoline could be used to finish wood. If it evaporates in a carborator, it leaves deposits that dry to a varnish hard finish, so mightn't that work on wood?

It'd be a little dangerous to be around open flames with the stuff, but then again most finishes are like that. Except for the solvent side not evaporating completely, I don't see why gasoline wouldn't work.

(I'm NOT posting a question to a car group asking if I can run my engine on shellac. :-))

Puckdropper

[salty]

Why would you want to do this? Gasoline has very little in the way of solids, and the smell would be a long term issue.

[Steve Turner]

I'm thinking of taking a piss on my next project to see how that turns out. Probably not that much different than fuming with ammonia, right?

[Swingman]

Eat asparagus first.

[Leon]

AAMOF it is a common "belief" that the rustic furniture from Mexico, the stuff with rusted hardware and hinges that simply hold the door on the cabinet, not allow it to swing with confidence, is treated with used motor oil for that distinct color and aroma. ;~)

[Steve Turner]

Roger that. :-)

[Lee Michaels]

And take some videos of this piss finish project.

There is a whole market for this kind of thing. ;)

[Phisherman]

Sounds like gasoline on wood will dissolve resins and possibly stain since gasoline contains a variety of mostly low-chain hydrocarbons. You can always try in on a scrap piece, but messing with gasoline is not a good idea. Petroleum jelly might work, and certainly safer and cleaner. Mineral oil is another good choice for wooden kitchen utensils.

[Tom Watson]

Regards,

Tom Watson

[Nonny]

I have never used gasoline deliberately on wood, but if you want an incredibly rugged finish, consider cyanacrolate glue (superglue) for small items.

One time I was turning a bunch of ballpoint pens out of various scrap woods I had in the shop to give to friends and folks who came by. Long ago, my Uncle had taught me the value of keeping brown paper grocery sacks around for polishing wood and I was thinking about just burnishing the pens with that. I had a big bottle in the refrigerator of superglue and thought that if I dripped some on a pen blank before burnishing, that it'd waterproof the blank. I did this with the lathe stopped, BTW.

The superglue uses capillary action to really permeate the wood it is contact with and both reinforces and plasticises it. In fact, as most of us know, wood saturated with cyanoacrylate glue can be drilled and tapped for minor mechanical forces.

The glue really soaked into the pen blanks and didn't raise the grain. When I then burnished them with the brown paper bag paper, they took on a glow as if I'd done about a dozen coats of finish.

[Puckdropper]

[e-mail] wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Oh, I don't want to do this... just wondering if it'd be worth exploring. The responses were bound to be entertaining. Few solids probably means it's better as a solvent than a finish, eh?

Puckdropper

[salty]

Wipe it on and light it for a nice charcoal finsih.

[Robatoy]

[clare]

Gosoline does nof contain varnish - it forms varnish as it oxidizes. - so gasoline evaporating off the wood will NOT leave a finish.

Using "leaded" gasoline as a solvent in oil based paint has the effect of hardening the finish and increasing the gloss, however.

It's the lead.

[Leon]

I do recall of the above.

Stopped going there when my friends, with family in Mexico, refused to drive across the border. They had family members meet them at the border and take them in from there. Too many policemen were on the take, they wanted to get back home with their vehicle after the visit.

Snip

My sister and BIL ran a furniture store in Denver back in the mid 90's. This Mexican furniture was all the craze up there at the time and they sold it as fast as they could get it. They in fact had several, SEVERAL pieces of the crap in their home. I just shook my head. Their retirement has not been great because of too many decisions like that, I guess.

Snip

Speaking of which.... ;~) Let me ask you a strange question concerning tar..........and when you were a kid.......

Did you ever chew the stuff? Yeah, I did. Before you think to your self, so that is what is wrong with Leon. ;~) I have only recently dared to admit this fact about my youth and it seems that several people that I know most in their 60's also chewed tar when they were kids. ;~)

[Leon]

So uh,,, it leaves ...varnish? ;~)

[clare]

No, it doesn't because it evaporates off, it doesn't oxydize or polymerize.

[Leon]

I'm sorry, I could not resist. I hope the hook was not set too deep. ;~)

[J. Clarke]

What it leaves is dye, detergent, and additives.

[Father Haskell]

The pigment in walnut Watco is asphaltum.