: For storage, either pick up some Bloxygen, or simply shoot a little propane
: into the can before you close it. . . Bloxygen is a great product, and there is also a home brew for it but I dont remember what it is.

Photographic chemicals used to be preserved from oxidation by atmospheric oxygen by using nitrogen. I suspect Bloxygen is something similar -- a common, non-reactive, heavier-than-air gas. When Freon was cheap and commonly available, that was used for such purposes, too. Propane, which is heavier than air, would probably fill the bill, but I'm not too happy with the idea of storing flamable substances in sthe first place. Adding blowtorch fuel to the top of it sounds like a recipe from the Anarchist's Cookbook. Are we preserving varnish, or making Molotov Cocktails in those glass mason jars?

Why not just mix a tablespoon of baking soda with a tablespoon of vinegar in a plastic cup, and pour off the resulting carbon dioxide. You won't see it, or smell it, but just hold the cup at a slight angle over your open jar and, while the baking soda fizzes, the CO2 will flow out of the mixing cup and into the varnish can, displacing the air. Don't pour any of the vinegar/baking soda mix into the varnish can -- jsut the fumes that come off of it. To check that you really are getting some CO2 from your "brew", move well away from your paints, finishes and solvents, and light a match. You should be able to extinguish it with the gas coming out of your mixing cup.

You can also get CO2 from a soda bottle. Pop open a fresh drink and pour the excess CO2 into your varnish can when you finish for the day, then drink the soda. Did I mention that you get CO2 from fermented beverages like beer, too?

Hope this helps

PGJ