Hi

It’s been a slightly frustrating week, with too much time spent sorting out missing and delayed deliveries (yep, a sure sign Christmas is around the corner), sorting out glitches on our accounting software, and organising foreign language labels. We all need a break!
So, it’s handy that Christmas is coming and we’re going to get one! We’ll be closing our doors for the last time this year on 23 December, and won’t be back until 5 January 2026.

The website and online shop will be open, of course, but we won’t be sending out any parcels until we get back.

Although, of course, we will be having our quiz on 29 December—more details at the end of this Newsletter.

Well, the cold weather, and the damp atmosphere it brings with it, are certainly with us.

Prompting a message from an aerosol user getting white misty patches in his finishes. He’d already worked out it was the humidity in his garage causing the problem, what could be done to prevent it? Would moving the piece into a warm area immediately after spraying help?

Sadly not, as the damage is done during application, not in the drying stage. The moisture is picked up whilst the spray is in transit from the nozzle to the wood.

If increasing the temperature in the whole workshop isn’t possible, our best suggestion is to get a large cardboard box (or similar), provide a heat source (no naked flames!) for it, and use that as a heated spray booth. This should cure the problem.

We get some odd questions, as regular readers will know already! Will our acrylic (water-based) products handle being stored at minus 6 degrees C for a few hours is one that came in recently.

It’s not ideal; extreme cold will damage any water-based finish, and once frost has set in to it, it’s game over for it.

We don’t know the full circumstances of the need to ask this question, and we’d strongly suggest avoiding it if possible; but if not, the use of some good insulation around the product should offer enough protection to ensure the product isn’t damaged if it’s only for a couple of hours.

A little add-on to the question above, one of the products asked about was Acrylic Sanding Sealer. We checked, and it was the brushing version; the aerosol is less prone to permanent damage due to cold.

However, being an aerosol, the cold can affect how well it sprays; if it gets very cold, for a long time, the propellant will temporarily lose its oomph, causing a poor spray pattern. In cases like this, it’s usually best to allow the can to warm up, preferably naturally, to allow it to return to full strength.

So, that’s all the questions for this week, but there will be plenty more in our quiz—but don’t worry, they will be general knowledge and, we hope, a lot more fun.
The quiz is free to join in, it’s on our YouTube channel at about 7.30 on 29 December. Pop over to https://youtube.com/live/A1AjpPuNvSk?feature=share and, if you’re signed in, you’ll be able to set up a reminder.
And, we’re working on a special surprise for the quiz as well, I hope to be able to tell you a little more next week.
Next week’s Newsletter will be the last of the year, and I just might finally tell you why I was in Belgium a couple of months ago! I’ll see you then!

All the best

Terry