I am mixing boiled linseed oil and gum turpentine to coat my alaias. Several friends have mentioned the low flash point for the Linseed oil. Basically putting the rags in the trash can cause a fire, so I have been drying the rags out and trashing them. This past time I had 1/4 cup of mixture left over in a cup. I wanted to know a good way to dispose of the leftovers if I am not going to use it immediately. My wife is freaking out about the stuff equating it to gasoline. Thanks.
Acetone has a low flashpoint. You could put a lit match out in Linseed Oil. Soaked rags, confined, will spontaneosly combust, if the pile is thick enough to allow heat buildup.
If you’re doing lots of this - ideally get a covered metal can designed for it - allowing fumes to escape safely. In a pinch, just put them in a metal can and cover with water. The water evaporates, leaving the rags stiff and relatively benign. The can is really what you need however, and you’ll undoubtedly use it for other oil based rags etc… beware of local ordinances, this stuff doesn’t really belong in landfills, so find out where you can safely disgard it.
Your post caught my eye 'cause tuprs & linseed are what I paint with!
Tell wifey to relax.
Linseed oil comes from pressed Flax Seeds.
Turpentine is distilled from the sap of Pine Trees.
Leave the open container outside until the mixture firms up then chuck it in the trash.
thanks gang. i have 3 kids under 5, so wifey’s paranioa is par for the course.
I have had linseed oil soaked rags spontaeosly combust before my very eyes. Scary.
Burn them or bury them.
vinegar comes from old apples, but if you pour it on your lawn, it’ll die - also, little kids have little lungs, and yep, I’ve seen the results of spontaneous combustion in a garage -
get a can.
Keep the rags in a metal can, use them for starting beach fires (or your fireplace if you’re careful). A woodworker friend makes burritos out of newspaper, finishing rags, and sawdust to burn as firewood. Liquid waste: Pour into a bucket with kitty litter (also in a small covered metal trash can). I dump all my leftover resins, acetone, paint, etc in that bucket. Dump the kitty litter weekly.
He asked how to dispose of the liquid remainders; not the rags.
If you squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the rag and just hang it out in the open air like clothes hung up to dry you'll be fine.
If you leave them wadded up on your work bench you may lose your shop or home.
Made my living working wood for 30+ years...
thanks uncle. exactly. i made up a batch of 1 cup linseed/turpentine and never got to use it. i didn’t want to pour it in the yard or empty it into the garbage, so right now it’s sitting in the cup getting hard. still pretty liquidy right now though.
In the future, if there's enough, you may want to keep it.
If it's stored in an air tight container (paint can or similar) it will keep for quite a while. The less airspace in the container the better. Take a straw and exhale into the container as you put the lid on and the CO2 in your breath will displace the air making it keep longer. You can also dump marbles into the container to take up the room. This works for linseed and tung oil concoctions.