How to store paint - top tips!

However, Quinn suggests that by knowing a few simple tricks, you can keep leftover paint from “going bad.” Then, you’ll have it available for touch-ups, or you can give it to Metro to be re-blended into good quality recycled paint.

Keep paint out of the air

Keeping air out of the can is the key to preventing paint from drying out. To keep paint fresh longer, many professional painters claim they exhale several times into a paint can before putting on the lid. The carbon dioxide from their breath displaces oxygen in the can.

Cover with plastic

Another trick is to cut a round piece from a plastic shopping bag, making it two inches larger than the diameter of the can. Placing this over the top of the can before replacing the lid serves as a gasket, and prevents metal-to-metal corrosion when the lid is replaced. Using a rag to remove paint from the groove on the lip of the metal can will also make the lid fit tighter.

Drain excess paint

If you dip your brush directly into the paint can while painting, punching holes in the lid groove will allow excess paint to drain back into the can during a painting project. However, painting directly from the paint will contaminate the paint with bacteria and debris. Contaminated paint will mold and has a short shelf life. If you want to paint like a professional, ladle small amounts of paint into a painting tray while you paint.

While an “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” securing the lid on the can by bashing it on with a hammer only deforms the lid and leaves spaces for air to enter. Instead, use a rubber mallet to tap all the way around the lid. This technique will secure the lid without making it difficult to remove later. If you don’t have a mallet, place a block of wood on top of the can, and hit the wood with the hammer instead of directly striking the metal lid. Draping a rag over the can before the lid is tapped on will absorb any paint spatter. Once the lid is securely in place, the can should be stored upside down to make an airtight seal.

Store the paint in a dry location, raised off of cement surfaces, which hastens rusting. Heat accelerates the deterioration of paint. Latex paint should be stored out of direct sunlight and away from furnaces and fireplaces.

All latex paint labels emphasize the instructions, “keep from freezing.” Latex paint is water-based paint that will freeze at 32 degrees F.

While some quality paints are formulated to go through several freeze-thaw cycles without problems, many inexpensive paints or low-VOC and solvent-free paints do not use glycols and have no freeze resistance.

Thawing frozen paint

Frozen paint should be thawed at room temperature. If the paint stirs into a homogenous liquid and has no foul or unusual odor, it can still be used and should be properly stored. Often, though, thawed paint resembles cottage cheese, has a thick, dough-like consistency, or smells rotten. This paint cannot be used.

Never pour spoiled or useable leftover paint down the storm-drain, and never dump it on the ground. Latex paint pollutes ground water and kills fish and wildlife.