# Watco Oil - How do you open the darned can?



## SawTooth1953

I just bought a quart of Watco Danish Oil. I am not weak; my hands are not arthritic. The frickin' can took 10 minutes to open! The stupid soft plastic on soft plastic "gears" that engage when I "push down and turn" just slide past each other! I had to apply a large wrench to the cap and it STILL was a battle…holding the wrench tight on the cap, pushing down on the cap, and turning wasn't as easy as it sounds…the can had to be fixed in place.

When I finally got it open, a cardboard cover was stuck in place. When I peeled it off, a thin layer of 'paper' from the cardboard remained. Removing that left bits of it around the rim.

Now that it is open, I don't want to close it… but I have to.
In the past I've taken plastic from a shopping bag to put between the cap and can to 'seal' it. It works, but isn't wonderful.

Can I Vaseline the cap's threads without ruining the product if they mixed?
Any advice for this dilemma? Am I the only one?
I am aggravated over this stupid thing! HELP!

Spencer


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## LeeBarker

Before I open a fresh can I take my bottle opener/paint can opener (a screwdriver will to) and pop off the plastic cap (straight up).

Now you can work with pliers if you need to.

Watco is sticky stuff so it gathers on the threads and makes its own gasket! Cool!

Just have the pliers on hand whenever you need to open the can. In over 30 years of using the product I've never had to throw out a can that wasn't empty.

Kindly,

Lee


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## wapakfred

I've had that happen with other products and used a pair of arc joint pliers to get it off. Squeeze tight enough turn, it will come. You could also warm it up with a heat gun to soften the bond the finish has caused, but that always seemed to be more hassle to me (and maybe not quite as safe). I suspect the thinner in the finish could dissolve some of the vaseline and allow it to get into the finish…thoough I'm unsure what would happen. Likely nothing, but I'm not sure. I would clean the thread of the cap and the can with MS, and then just put the lid back on, or empty the whole thing into a canning jar and put a food storage lid (one of the plastic ones) on it. It keeps longer in the frig…


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## DMC1903

I too, remove the plastic cap prior to using the product. 
Also, consider cleaning the threads after each use will help.


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## Senorbutt

Like others I usually remove the plastic cap.
If I get lazy and the threads gunk up I go straight to a pair of channel locks.
Good luck!


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## donwilwol

Like others I usually remove the plastic cap.
If I get lazy and the threads gunk up I go straight to a pair of channel locks.

ditto!


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## firefighterontheside

I bought my first can of watco the other day. Same problem. I'm not weak. Pushed down and turned, it slipped. Use pliers in one hand, pushed down with the other hand, it slipped. Took a screwdriver and pried the lid off. Now when I put it back on it comes off as it should by pushing down and turning.


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## steveg769

Same here, trash the plastic piece and get the channel lock pliers. Works every time.


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## SawTooth1953

So I'm not the only one!
As I said, this was a brand new can from the store…but I will wipe off the threads w MS after each use. I assume then that you guys use a screwdriver or some sort of pry-bar and fight to pop off the 'outer' plastic cap.

Sheesh!!! I wonder if WATCO is aware of the efforts we expend to use their product… My next can of finish, I will look to see if competitors opted for a different kind of cap…IMHO, the one on this can is inappropriate for this use. It is hard to like a product when using it involves a battle…the manufacturer should solve this problem for us.

In fact, I just contacted them online (RustOLeum Corp.) and told them how I feel. ARGHH!!! No I didn't… their Contact Us page doesn't work! I filled it out…at the bottom it says they use a system to ensure a human is submitting the form (I assume a Captcha method) but there is no method on the page and the Submit button does nothing. (I'm using IE10) Apparently they think all their products are perfect since nobody has contacted them to say otherwise…go figure! (Update: I refreshed the page. IE said only secure content is shown. The first time, I left it at that. This time I said to Show All Content and the Captcha appeared. Fortunately, I thought ahead and Copied my message before Refreshing the page so I didn't have to re-create it from scratch. Now y'all know what I learned about that! ) Ok…my comment successfully submitted to RustOLeum. I'll let y'all know what their response is.

Meanwhile, I welcome any other tips on how y'all handle this issue.


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## PaulDoug

I remove the plastic to on that and everything else I can. I know why they it there, but I reserve the right to remove it. Now a pair of pliers solves the problem. A rag to remove the spillage after use is a big help also.


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## helluvawreck

Channel locks or vise grips works pretty well.

helluvawreck aka Charles
http://woodworkingexpo.wordpress.com


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## JollyGreen67

Give it to a 4 year old, it will be opened in about 3 seconds!


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## SawTooth1953

Hmmm… I know where you're coming from, but this isn't computer-related. I'll bet it would take a 4-yr old at least a minute.


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## A10GAC

+1 to the channel locks

After it's been opened the first time, I put a wrap of plumber's Teflon pipe tape around the threads. Usually this prevents me from needing the channel locks for a second time.


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## SawTooth1953

I tried the Teflon tape in the past, but it didn't want to stay in place. That's when I went to plastic from a shopping bag, which wasn't so great, either.

Today is Monday and I'm hoping to get a reply from RustOLeum, who puts out the Watco Oil product.


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## robscastle

Yep you are not alone its a conspiracy against old people with failing eyesight and the most annoying micro dot printing on the lid and direction labels as well, I need glasses and a magnifying glass to read it these days.

A pair of vice grips works every time for me !!


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## NiteWalker

No need for pliers; I use a scrap of epdm rubber (for rubber roofs) and the grip is amazing. The cans open easily.


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## GFYS

channel locks


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## SawTooth1953

Everybody:
I forgot to post the official reply from RustOLeum. Here it is:

Spencer-

Thank you for contacting Rust-Oleum Product Support.

We do occasionally get complaints on the difficulty of removing the cap. I will pass your comments along to our Marketing Department.

If you are worried about it sticking when you reclose it, plumber's Teflon tape will prevent it from sticking.
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Yup… that's it!!!
Meanwhile, thank you all for replying. I am glad I'm not the only one. It would appear to me that some sort of pliers is the most common answer, with or without first prying off the outer plastic cap.

The project I was working on is almost completed and I will post it when I get more time. It is a Lips Box…a band saw box project from the Tom Crabb book…a variation of one I posted a couple of years ago.


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## woodenwarrior

Pliers here as well.

...if you need something fixed, what do you need? a hammer. If that doesn't work…get a bigger hammer.


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## Gene01

+1, Warrior.
Six years as a B52 mechanic taught me that if you can't fix it with a hammer and a 12" screwdriver, the problem is electrical. 
As to the Watco can lid, I'm with most everyone else. Ditch that blasted plastic nonsense and keep the Channel Locks handy. As Lee said, don't worry about the seal. It takes care of itself.


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## GFYS

by the way….this is one test I use in determining the experience level of a new hire. I tell him where to find a can of abs glue or poly or some other container of liquid that always cements the lid making it impossible to remove with out mechanical aid. If he returns with the can and the lid loosened already, he advances to the next task.


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## wormil

I rub mineral oil or wax inside the lids so they don't seize shut on me, doesn't last forever though.


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## etm567

I have an old can of tung oil, been sitting in a hidden cupboard for years. It's a "push down and turn" type, but it isn;t plastic. (the plastic bottles and caps were a great improvement in my opinion.) This is a metal can, metal top. The top turns just fine. Can push it down and even turn it pushed down. Then it makes a grating, kind of gear shifting noise, but won't open.

How do I get in there? Short of putting a nail through the lid and putting the oil in something else, that I will never recognize again? (I'm 64, and the memory is bad.)


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## wapakfred

If by "tung oil" you mean Tung Oil Finish (as opposed to 100% tung oil) you might want to just dispose of it. If it's the finish I mentioned, it's actually some kind of very thin varnish, or maybe a varnish/oil mix. In either case it's likely to be unusable…..oil finishes do not keep well if once they've been opened. If the can hadn't been opened previously, then gripping the cap with something like arc joint pliers (Channel Locks) is about the only remedy. Your idea of cutting it open and draining it might work, use a canning jar or such to capture the finish. Now, if it happens to be 100% tung oil, it should be good, so getting it open and using it is practical.


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## BillWhite

Don't you guys understand "ADULT PROOF PACKAGING"? 
Bill


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## SawTooth1953

etm567,
It seems the consensus of answers say to pry off the outer cap. (The "grating, kind of gear shifting noise, but won't open" suggests it is a double cap as we talked about throughout this thread. The need to push and turn indicates double cap, too.) After prying off the outer cap, use a Channel Lock/large-mouth pliers to get a good grip and unscrew the cap. (If the outer cap won't pry off, then just try squeezing the entire cap with the pliers as you turn counter-clockwise…squeeze hard enough to not slip, but the goal is not to collapse or flatten the entire cap that even a super-hero couldn't turn it.
If you succeed in opening it and the cap is re-usable, wrap plumbers tape around the threads before replacing the cap.
It is simply wrong that companies use caps that make us do battle to use them.


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## Firewood

Yup. Pry 'em off and grab the pliers.

Wooden Warrior - if you can't fix it with a hammer, it's an electrical problem.


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## 000

Punch and a cork?


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## wichman3

If this is the type of container with a flat metal top, I punch a hole in the top with an awl and a sheet metal screw in the hole, #8. Bypasses the "whole" problem.


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## wormil

> I have an old can of tung oil, been sitting in a hidden cupboard for years. It s a "push down and turn" type, but it isn;t plastic. (the plastic bottles and caps were a great improvement in my opinion.) This is a metal can, metal top. The top turns just fine. Can push it down and even turn it pushed down. Then it makes a grating, kind of gear shifting noise, but won t open.
> 
> How do I get in there? Short of putting a nail through the lid and putting the oil in something else, that I will never recognize again? (I m 64, and the memory is bad.)
> 
> - etm567


It's probably so old it's no good. Toss it and buy a new can.


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## EricLew

I am SO happy to read this, I also bought Watco for the first time recently and couldnt get the cap off for several minutes. Felt like an idiot, I never had that problem with any other finish.


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