Darrel,
Pick up a few of these refreezable ice packs.
[
www.walmart.com]
Toss them into the freezer and keep them frozen.
Just place a paper towel on the top of one of the frozen ice packs to help keep things from sliding around.
Put in equal parts of a and b finishing epoxy and mix slowly for 2 minutes of 120 seconds.
Set the plastic mixing cup on top of the freezer block and go ahead and apply finish. The ice block will keep your finish cooler and will extend your pot life for a considerable amount of time.
p.s.
I have tried mixing finish in aluminum foil cups and i hate it.
I try to take the finish out of the plastic mixing cups and I hate it.
So, I don't use aluminum anything for finish. I just use inexpensive 2 oz mixing cups for each batch of finish that I apply and toss the cups when finished with the rod build.
I use inexpensive craft sticks for mixing that I first blunt cut the ends and then use my belt sander to put rounded corners on the ends of the mixing sticks. the square end on the ends of the stick allow me to use the stick as a scraper to get all parts of the finish mixed, and by sanding a small radius on the end corners of the mixing stick, the other wise sharp corners of the craft stick, do not try to perforate the sides of the mixing cup.
When I finish mixing, I use a paper towel to wipe all of the finish off the mixing stick so I can use the same stick for many many batches of epoxy mixing. I throw the cups away when done with one mix. I use disposable nylon application brushes, so I never clean any brushes.
So, I never clean cups;. I never clean cups. I wipe off the craft mixing stick and reuse the same stick many many times, so I have no cleaning solvents in the shop to deal with their fumes etc.
But, try the frozen refreezable ice and you will have an end to your application issues caused by short pot life.
