What Are The Best Conditions To Keep Your Paint

What Are The Best Conditions To Keep Your Paint

Making sure you store your paint properly is the best way to ensure that you can reuse it. Here are the best conditions to keep your paint.  

A lot of people can agree that painting isn’t the cheapest hobby because if you’re not careful, your paint can dry up and when that happens, it can be difficult to use. However, we have your back! In this article, we discuss the best conditions to keep your paint, and some tips on how to store your brushes so they don’t get damaged over time.  

If you’re new to painting and you want to keep your paint fresh and ready to use, here are the best ways to store your paint.

6 Mistakes With Paint Storage

You might be asking yourself why you need to know the best conditions to keep your paint, but this is helpful for you if you want to be able to use your paint over and over without having to buy more. Before we get into the tips on storing paint, we want to show you the six most common mistakes people make when it comes to storing paint.  



  1. Mislabeling your cans: Sometimes labels from the cans fade and if you haven’t used a certain color for a while, you could make the mistake of putting the wrong label on your cans. To properly label the can, you can use a permanent marker and write down the name and the code of the paint. 


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  2. Not having your paint remixed properly: When you first buy your paint, it’s common knowledge that the paint is mixed by the store you purchased it from. If you haven’t used the paint in a while, you can expect the pigment to have separated from the resin; and while you can mix it yourself, having the paint remixed by a machine will ensure that the resin and pigment will be blended perfectly. This service is free and is available in any store that sells cans of paint. 


  3. Ignoring the smell: Properly stored paint will be able to retain some of the chemical smell that you get when you first buy the paint, but older paint has a tendency to smell like rotten eggs. When the paint smells like rotten eggs, that means it has bacteria, but this can also happen when the color is tinted. If your paint smells like this, you should throw it away because it won’t work as it did when it was new.

  4. Using the wrong bucket size: This mistake is more common if you’re using acrylic paint to paint your house, but when you finish painting and you find that the original container is too big for the amount of paint, it can dry out your paint. Instead of leaving the paint in the container, opt for a smaller container because the less air you have in the can/bucket, the lower the chances of the paint drying. 

  5. Incorrectly opening and sealing your can: A common mistake people make is when they use screwdrivers to open the can; this is bad because you can damage the lid and cause more air to enter the can, which will cause your paint to clump or worse, dry out before you can use all of it. When opening a can, buy a paint key so that you can open the can without damaging it. Aside from that, you should seal the can with a rubber mallet because a hammer can dent the can and make it more difficult to seal your paint. 

  6. Storing the paint in your garage: While it may sound like a normal thing to store paint in the garage, something you need to remember is that temperature can affect your paint. Dry heat can cause chemicals that are critical for your paint to evaporate, so avoid storing it in the garage. 

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How To Properly Store Your Paint

Now that we’ve gone over the most common storage mistakes when it comes to storing your paint, we can go over how to properly store it so you can use it again when you need to. 

  1. Store your paint in a temperature-controlled room: As we have mentioned, temperature plays a big part in storing your paint. The best temperature to store your paint in is 65-75 degrees celsius. This is the perfect range that will keep your paint fresh because it’s not too cold that the paint will freeze, and not too warm that the chemicals will evaporate and cause your paint to dry up.
  2. Don’t store it in a place that gets moist: While you need some moisture to keep your paint from drying out quickly when you store the paint, you want to avoid moisture at all costs. You can still get mildew and molds in your paint if you store it in a place with too much moisture.
  3. Store your paint in airtight containers: The best way to ensure you store your paint properly is by storing it in an airtight container. This way, you can control the temperature and the moisture in order to avoid ruining the paint.
  4. Plan your painting projects: Properly stored paint can last up to 10 years if you do it correctly; however, if you don’t then you will find your paint covered in mold or dried up. Planning out your projects will help you gauge how long you need to store it, and how much space you have. Before you buy multiple cans of paint, try to think of how long you’ll be able to use the paint. 

These are the best tips we have gathered for those of you who are new to painting. Remember that storing your paint is as important as properly using it.  

Conclusion

Knowing how to store your paint is an important step if you want to become a better artist. We hope you like our tips on the best conditions to keep your paint. Feel free to let us know your painting questions. 

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