Quick Tip: Storing Leftover Paint

While working on my recent painting projects, I’ve noticed that our older paint cans are beginning to look pretty nasty. Did you know those cheap-o cans from the paint store aren’t air-tight and definitely aren’t intended for long-term storage?

Since you’ll need to do some serious mixing if paint has been sitting for this long (the pigment will separate from the base), it’s a good idea to get it out of that corroding metal can (you don’t want chunky paint). And it’s even better if you can do it before the rust shows up!

Obviously, it’s waaay too late for me, but I’m too cheap to throw paint away. :) Here’s my solution: On a recent Lowe’s trip, I picked up a handful of plastic containers with air-tight lids. They come in all sizes – 1 quart, 2 1/2 quart, 1 gallon, and even 5 gallon for those big paint purchases.

Once I transferred the paint to its new home, I made sure to label my containers with both the product information and room I used it in. And in some cases, I even managed to transfer the store label with all it’s valuable information. Now our paint stash is neatly stored in the laundry room cabinets, where I no longer fear it will spill everywhere. And bonus: Now I don’t need a screwdriver and hammer to open and close the cans! I just love organization, don’t you?

Quick Tip: Oil or Latex?

While we’re on the subject of paint, here’s a quick tip for determining if your existing trim is covered in oil or latex paint.

Most interior woodwork (trim, doors, cabinetry) is coated with oil-based paint. Although it’s rather messy to clean up, oil-based has a better look when you’re painting semi-gloss or high-gloss trim. Oil-based takes a little longer to dry, but it won’t show as many brush strokes as latex. So if given the option, I’d always choose oil-based paint for trim.

Our existing trim was covered in oil-based paint. But before we purchased 5 gallons of the new color, I wanted to be absolutely sure. Oil-based paint will adhere to latex, but latex won’t adhere to oil. So if it was originally painted with oil, you better repaint with oil.

Here’s the 5 second way to find out: rubbing alcohol + cotton balls.

Put a little alcohol on a cotton ball (or an old rag) & rub it on the paint in question. It’s a good idea to do this in an inconspicuous area. If paint comes off on your cotton ball, it’s latex. If not, it’s oil based.

So there you have it. Give it a try & let me know how it goes – Happy Painting!

I’ll Take the Big One!

Since my husband has been cooking up a storm today (20+ gallons of spaghetti sauce for a cookoff tomorrow evening) and storing that sauce in 5 gallon paint buckets (they’re new & clean – why not?), I thought I’d share our adventure with a 5 gallon bucket of paint.

It’s been a love/hate relationship from the start.

One of our first big projects after moving day was the master bedroom. Remember this? Big mess.

 

With that gaping hole in the ceiling, it was completely inhabitable. And even though my dad boarded it up, but I sure wasn’t sleeping in there! Since the room was already torn apart, I decided to redesign the whole ceiling – new can lights & relocate the air vents (because that’s where I wanted the can lights, of course).

{master ceiling – during the redesign}

After we called in reinforcements (in the form of Angel, my oh-so-talented drywall guy) to patch up the ceiling, we had LOTS of painting to do. Walls, ceiling, trim, doors – if there hadn’t been carpet on the floor I would’ve painted it too!

After much deliberation, I finally settled on Benjamin Moore’s “Super White” for the trim. Since we planned to use it on all 23 interior doors (yes, 23 – they’re out of control), the entry and dining room wainscot, plus various built-ins, I figured we’d need at least 5 gallons. And since there’s a nice discount on the 5 gallon bucket, buying in bulk seemed like the perfect solution.

So I drove down to my local Ben Moore store, bought that big bucket & proudly lugged it home. Ethan & I got started on the master bedroom trim right away and painted the first coat that evening. Check out our handiwork!

{Can you believe how yellow the trim was??}

One coat down – we were well on our way (and EXTREMELY excited about seeing that yellow trim disappear!)

Fast forward to the next night. We’re armed with 4.99 gallons of “Super White” and ready for coat #2. But the can didn’t open as easily this time.

We’re slightly messy painters, and we’d failed to clean the small cap as well as we should have. So it took a wee bit more elbow grease to open the second time around. Here’s my mess from the first night of trim painting.

Multiply this episode by a few more rooms/weekends. We started using pliers to open & close the can until finally, it wouldn’t close at all. Fabulous.

I think this was the first time (and it surely won’t be the last) I realized the difference between overseeing a whole home renovation and actually doing the work yourself. It has everything to do with your manpower & the oh-so-crucial timeline – days or weeks vs. YEARS. Where’s that painting crew when you need them?

So here’s my recommendation (and the solution we found for our dilemma) to any DIYers who might actually need 5 gallons of paint.

1. Make sure you actually need that much and buy it (but seriously, calculate first).

2. Go directly to Lowe’s/Home Depot (do not pass go, do not collect $200) and buy five 1-gallon easy-to-seal paint buckets.

3. Carefully portion out your paint into the new buckets. It’s probably a good idea to do this outside.

You may lose a little paint during the transfer, but you won’t risk it drying out, getting clumpy, and having to strain debris out of your paint months later (take it from a girl who knows). So there you have it. Five gallons of paint: good, bad, or maybe a little of both.

One thing is for sure – this overzealous DIYer still has about 4.25 gallons of “Super White” paint sitting around her house. We have some painting to do!

UPDATE: Ethan’s spaghetti sauce won third place at the cookoff! I’m so proud.