Green Building Forum - Storing paint

Storing paint

tony — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 22:29:29 +0100

How much paint â€˜goes offâ€™ during storage?

Emulsion paint in plastic tubs: on opening I scrape the paint off the underside of the lid and remix it using an electric mixer on an electric screwdriver, depending on how thick it is in a pot with paint or paint and water, when smooth add to tub and mix in. Wash and clean lid. When there is paint left over the sides of the tub are scraped clean with a broad filling knife and an eggcup full of water tipped on top of the paint before revealing the lid and putting on a shelf.

Tins of water based paints, open clean lid into the paint, mix, use, when done add a spoonful of water, put the lid on using a block of wood. Store on a shelf.

Tins of oil based paint, as above and at the end re-lid and store upside down for a couple of weeks then turn the right way up and store on a shelf. A friend keeps his tins upside down til re-use!

Paint is too expensive to waste.

Storing paint

Cliff Pope — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 15:30:09 +0100

Emulsion paint stored indoors, as it freezes. Oil paint is fine in a garage regarding cold, but if in a metal tin then condensation and rust are the main enemies.

Paint the lid with the last of the paint on the brush after you have sealed it, so that you can tell what colour it is years later. Don't rely on the printed colour mix sticker - it will fade. If you need to know the colour code, write it down in booklet of room colours and codes.
Also painting the top of a metal tin protects it from rust, to some extent.

If there is a skin over the paint when you re-open it, resist the temptation to charge in like an icebreaker, but make two holes and pour the contents off into another, preferably suitably smaller tin. Floating solidified paint won't dissolve - if you stir it in you just get bits and lumps in the next coat.
If you can be disciplined filtering paint with a cloth stretched over a funnel works well, but is very slow.

Never leave a brush in a jam jar of water or white spirit, unless you are literally only breaking for lunch. Paint will slowly build up in the bristles and spoil the finish. A professional once told me that when you pick a used brush out of your store, it should be impossible to detect that it had ever had paint in it before.

Storing paint

tony — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 17:53:48 +0100

Love it all thanks Cliff ðŸ™‚

Storing paint

WillInAberdeen — Tue, 20 Sep 2022 23:04:12 +0100

I decant enough paint to work with, and get the lid straight back onto the pot to try not to let the solvent or water evaporate from the pot, as edges will dry out or skin over. Don't dip brushes into the clean paint in the pot. Wipe the drips off the rim so they don't dry and fall into the paint next time.

Branded paint is sometimes much cheaper online (eBay) than in a DIY store.

Storing paint

Cliff Pope — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 08:46:56 +0100

Posted By: WillInAberdeen Wipe the drips off the rim so they don't dry and fall into the paint next time.

Only amateurs wipe the brush on the rim to remove surplus paint. Professionals dip the brush in to pick up exactly the quantity required - no wiping necessary :)

Storing paint

WillInAberdeen — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 10:23:37 +0100

No, I never put the brush into a paint pot, that's how dust gets in. Take the lid off the paint pot, decant a working amount into a clean container such as a shallow tray. Immediately wipe the drips off the lid and rim of the paint pot, and replace the lid firmly. It'll be good as new 15 years later when you need to redo the paint (I have found!)

Storing paint

LF — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 17:08:57 +0100

Some very nice pointers here thankyou - took us a while to learn to keep emulsion away from freezing cold storage.

If we have only a small amount of paint left we decant into a jam jar with little space for air/oxygen at the top.
Less space to store it and it is clean - you can see the colour. Add a label to the jar as needed.

Storing paint

Gareth J — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 20:03:03 +0100

If oil based starts to skin, in my experience, it'll always skin thereafter. Solutionn is to decant, with swringe or scoop (so as not to sully the tin lip/edges) and replace the lid - pronto. Keeps skin forming contaminatels (moisture??) out and paint lasts. Bit of a faff though.