Aftermath

When it comes to me, a shop mess is the gift that keeps on giving.

I talked last week about how what I thought was a minor polyurethane mess turned out to be not so minor. Flash-forward to yesterday, and the word “minor” has no place in this discussion. That was when light at just right angle caused an odd reflection that caught my eye.

Yeah, I slopped polyurethane there, too. That rectangular shape is from the bottom of the yellow bucket in the upper right. (Shop tip: Cat litter buckets have dozens of uses in the shop.) Of course, it’s long since cured so cleaning it up is pointless – it’d take the paint off the floor if I tried. But I’m cool with it. It’s a shop floor, after all. Another reminder to be careful.

But in my kitchen I’ve been trying for a week to clean something off the counter. Couldn’t really see it, but you could feel it. Nothing big, just something that normal cleaning wasn’t getting so I got out the heavy-duty kitchen stuff and started wiping away without success. What the heck is that? I leaned down to get a better reflection from the window and … recognized a familiar rectangular shape.

I casually asked Sally if she’d borrowed a bucket from the shop and when she confirmed she had, I pointed out the counter. “Yeah,” she responded. “What is that? I’ve been trying to wipe that off for days.” Clearly, she must have taken that bucket only minutes after I finished varnishing my miter saw outfeed support – the source of the poly mess – and set it on the kitchen counter.

Dried and cured on the countertop, the poly easily scraped off without damage. Makes me wonder, though, just how many more leftovers from this polyurethane mess I have yet to find.

On the plus side, maybe now she’ll stop taking things out of my shop.

A.J.