Sealing the lids on paint tins

Smile. Get to know the staff. And ask nicely in a Johnstone's decorator centre. And they might give you a special paint tin opener.

That's what I did. Unfortunately not one of the nice Johnstone's branded ones as they had run out, but a not so nice old Dulux one. Can't win 'em all.

Rod

Reply to
polygonum
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"HeyBub" wrote

And be sure that a dumb blonde doesn't get a hold of these instructions. ;-)

Max

Reply to
Max

In article , Harry Bloomfield writes

snip

I used to store paint tins upside down, BUT in my shed the temperature changes over a wide range; at high temperatures the pressure in the air space above the paint increases and causes the lid to ease off very slightly to relieve the pressure and a little paint oozes out. When the temperature drops the pressure decreases and the lid is 'sucked back to a tight fit. Result; a layer of dried paint sticking the tin to the shelf.

Reply to
Chris Holford

As the man says. If the skin is on the top you can cut it and remove it ... if underneath it will be mixed, broken and you will have to sieve the paint.

:-)

Reply to
Charles

Might be a good idea if you don't clean the rim...

Air passes through plastic sheet generally less than 4mm thick, but as a gasket I don't think this applies.

I solve the "air in paint can" problem by filling the can up with glass marbles to take up the space. I used to do this in my darkroom for my photo chemicals, but thats long gone! Glass of course doesn't react with the paint, and they stay on the bottom. A bonus is as you shake the can, they stir the paint! (Hold the lid on...)

The only problem at the beginning was raiding enough toy stores to get a gallon of marbles! The dollar store was a good find!

See the pic of my cleaned marbles drying on the stove top at Alt.binaries.photos.original

Reply to
BobF

Yea right - every time I do that with compresses gas it usually blows the lid off :)

Reply to
Rob

Darkroom - that's on the desktop nowdays.

Reply to
Rob

Fill the can with CO2 before closing - no oxygen to react with the driers in the paint. CO2 is heavier than air, so displaces the air and stays in the can. Storing the can upside down just puts the "skin" on the bottom

Reply to
clare

You don't need to visit toy stores. Search the web for "marbles wholesale"

Here's one place that sells about 500 5/8" marbles for $28 (500=half-gallon) (smaller assortments available).

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the marble business is highly competitive...

Reply to
HeyBub

value your time highly enough" Every job gets a new brush.

Reply to
clare

Makes sense.

Reply to
Gib Bogle

I thought of that, too. The problem is that anything that touches the paint surface will create a bit of a mess when you remove it. No need to inflate the bag, just put the bag inside the can so it is touching the sides and surface everywhere, and fold the rest over the outside of the can. The lid will hold it in place. All good except for the mess later.

Reply to
Gib Bogle

This is the only good advice you've gotten. The air inside the can is enough to skin over the paint. Kitchen plastic wrap pushed down into the can, touching the entire surface of the paint will keep air away from the paint... then cap the can with the lid.

Works great on ice cream, too, to keep it from crystallizing or getting freezer burn on the surface.

Reply to
-MIKE-

Ah, now, I'm hoping to move within the next few weeks. The place I intend moving to has a large, windowless area just the right size for an enlarger and the associated bits, and I do enjoy messing about with proper B&W film. Much more satisfying than manipulating bits, IMO.

Reply to
John Williamson

The tin of emulsion from TS was so thin that a screwdriver would have opened it - like a can opener! The best tool I found for the job was an old metal tyre lever (push-bike size) that id rounded and smoothed about 40 years ago. Plenty of area and no sharp edges. Then "stir thoroughly": even a plastic kitchen thingy (overgrown spoon, metal handle) deformed the can, so a metal stirrer... )h, also about 5mm of freeboard in a 5 litre can...

Reply to
PeterC

Yebbut you can't escape to your desktop and lock the door for the afternoon.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

Don't forget the kettle and biscuit tin.

Absolutely! Watching that image appear in the developer tray is still a magic moment. Beats clicking the "OK" button in Photoshop.

Reply to
Paul Giverin

Biscuits are banned due to crumbs. I *hate* spotting prints.

Reply to
John Williamson

I use the cling film trick when a job needs to go from one day to the next. Also a couple of supermarket bags one from each end and tucked down over paint trays and rollers.

Cleaning non-water soluable paints etc is a PITA. I'd go for the new brush everytime if I could find a source of decent brushes at a sensible price that aren't part of a various sized set.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

Gawd what a faff and lots of containers all mucky with paint...

See other comments about tins stuck to shelves. Think I'll stick with cleaning lid rim and can carefully and tapping the lid fully home. With maybe an inversion to get paint around the inner edges but store the right way up.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

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