Steps to Storing Leftovers From Your Paint Job

So you’ve finally completed that wall painting project that’s been gnawing at your to-list for months. All you want to do is prop your feet up and relax after hours of moving your arm up and down. But those piles of paint cans won’t stop staring at you. Yeah, it may be tempting to throw the lids on, move the paint to the garage floor and be done with it. But you may need to use that paint again. And it won’t look nice if you don’t store it properly. So before you settle into the couch to catch up on your favorite TV show, take the extra 10 minutes to ensure your paint stays fresh years down the road.

Where to Store It

The place you decide to store the paint needs to have low-moisture and be temperature-controlled. A nice dry basement would be a good option. But set it on a shelf instead of the garage floor, to help protect against moisture. If you don’t have a basement, a closet inside the house would work just as well. The reason that you want avoid a high moisture environment is because the metal can will develop rust around the lid. When you go to open the lid, the rust will fall into the paint and ruin the paint job.

A temperature-controlled environment is very important given that the weather in Wayne, NJ area can get both quite hot and very cold. If the temperature of the paint color gets too high or too low then it will change the consistency of the paint and make it unusable. If this goes on for too long then the paint can turn into a hazardous waste and be harmful to the environment.

How to Store It

First of all, make sure to clean the sealing rim of the can where there may be paint buildup. This will help the lid seal tightly. Then place some plastic wrap across the opening of the can, creating a gasket between the lid and the can. And then to seal the lid down, take a rubber mallet, not a hammer, and gently hit lid just enough to ensure no air can get in. When you store the paint, place the can upside down so the paint color can help create that airtight seal.

When you need to use the paint again, do not shake the can. First, open the can and take a look at the paint color. You’ll need to remove the thick layer that has formed over the paint. If there is a thick layer, it doesn’t mean the paint color is unusable. But it does need to be removed before the paint gets mixed up. If you mix up the paint before this layer is removed, you’ll get lumps in the paint that can ruin the paint job.