What can be used for resealing partially used contents: glue, paint...

[bent]

I am just wondering if I anyone has suggestions for a re-usable containers, or cheap enough, or commonly available so you can get rid of the extra air in mostly used containers. It could be anything from 2/3 gallon, down to an ounce. Although glass is breakable, if I had them I'd go do all my paints right now. Not only would it be done, but you have a very high likelihood that you could clean it out after and re-use it for something else later. Is there special glass for this type of application? I am mainly concerned about the locking potential of the top. Peanut butter jars: are they any good? What about adding something to the seal to get it hermetically sealed (air tight), like wax paper in the thread: this doesn't sound particularly appealing though. preferable these containers would come right from the grocery store, after I have eaten the contents. I don't want to spend a lot, but a little, if specific.

I have (gallons/liters/other) cans of various things that get to be less than half full and then even when sealed they end up drying out. With a gallon can of paint, when you get down to 2 inches you can't even be sure if you have enough to paint a pencil if you had already done a couple in the past. I am thinking about things like glue, paint, stains, somewhat thinners, etc.

[Lew Hodgett]

Oldest trick in the book.

Propane is heavier than air.

Just before resealing a can, point an unlit propane torch down into the can for a couple of seconds, driving out the air.

Lew

[bent]

sounds a little dangerous, eh, what is this

[Art Ransom]

I use plastic soft drink bottles. Just squeeze them to get the air out and seal. When using , open let bottle expand to original shape, seal and shake. I have 5 year old latex paint that is still usable.

KISS keep it simple stupid!

[B A R R Y]

I do the same with varnishes and oil based paints, using Wine Saver or Bloxygen, a canned inert gas. On latex paint, I cover the top of the liquid with a piece of Saran Wrap. With lacquer and shellac, I do nothing, as it will redissolve in it's solvent.

Folks with bottled argon often use it to blanket finishes.

I don't bother with glues, as I use it fast enough.

[Prometheus]

Here's the obvious suggestion, though I've been guilty of not doing it myself. When you get doing painting, staining, etc., take a damp rag and wipe all the excess drips and splashes off the rim. If you do that, you'll get something very close to a factory seal on a can, and it should last almost indefinately.

If there is already a little junk on the inside channel of the rim, scrape out as much as you can without dropping any dry chunks of whatever into your paint, and then lay a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the can before putting the top on.

If you're careful about cleaning up and resealing properly, a metal can should last for a really long time- without any need to find some different container.

[Puckdropper]

"bent" wrote in news:1166317277 [e-mail]:

*snip*

One Surge Cola fan

suggested a long time ago moving pop immediately into smaller containers if you weren't going to drink it all. That would help keep the carbonation in. Simply compressing the container would not.

Just putting my 1/50ths of a dollar in. Puckdropper

[Ron Magen]

'Pro', Got the 'plastic wrap' trick from my wife, the chemist. When she worked in the lab they used something called PlySeal {?? not sure of the name}. It was a soft, pliable plastic they would wrap around a stopper, or lid, to get an air-tight seal. She used to 'liberate' the stuff for me.

Since then I've used a lot of different plastic materials. For short time storage, a plastic bag {from HD, Lowes, the supermarket} will do. For anything 'long term' it's worth the trouble to get something a bit more substantial. If you can't get the industrial 'Visqueen', a roll of the stuff sold for sealing exterior windows, air conditioners, etc. is a good substitute.

Another trick I typically use in conjunction is . . . storing the partially filled cans upside down. That way if any 'skin' does form, it will be on the bottom of the contents and the usable portion can be easily decanted.

For containers I've used everything from babyfood jars, to gallon paint cans. The handiest, for me, tend to be the instant coffee, spaghetti sauce, and mayonnaise sized jars - with SCREW-ON lids.

Regards & Good Luck, R>

SNIP

[Mike]

Lee Valley or Rockler carry a spray can of inert gas that you spray into your half used container and then put the top on. The inert gas is heavy and will displace any air in the container.

Mike

[jtpr]

Also, whenever I open a new can I take a nail and drive 6 to 8 holes around the rim so the paint can drip back in.

-Jim

[B A R R Y]

The same stuff is sold by wine shops.

[N Hurst]

You don't want to squeeze the air out of plastic carbonated beverage bottles, because it's the pressure that builds up in the container that keeps the carbonation in. If you squeeze all the air out of the bottle, you're giving the CO2 a lot more room to fall out of solution and make your drink go flat. There are products for carbonated beverages that actually inject CO2 into the bottle and repressurise it, thus helping keep your drinks fizzy.

[bent]

This should be under not what to do if you want to keep a good seal for the next time

[efgh]

I always thought you should leave a little bit of whatever is in the can around the rim so that it does create a good seal when the lid is on securely.

[bent]

Almost all my cans are upside down now, and it helps, b/c I think it dedfinitely limits corruption to the air contents of the container. Latex/oil, o/, who knows: this may be something that could be a solution, if only I could remember which, anyways. But there is still corruption inside. The liquid contents stops more air from geting in. When right side up, no matter how clean your can is, air gets in and out. But a can near empty of air helps. Doing both is prob best, and only need lose a fraction of the total, and little scraping. I just need best containers with seals that can be cleaned, or maybe just lots of them. And how to seal them best. Then if its unlimited maybe it would be worthwhile

[bent]

make sense don't know

[B A R R Y]

The holes are inside the lid ring and sealed by a properly attached lid.

[Mike]

Brent, the important issue here is not air that is seeping in/out of the container, but the air that is trapped in a half full can. Try to use a smaller container, or displace the air.

[Prometheus]

That's a good one- I never thought of it, but it sure makes sense.

[B A R R Y]

Before I found Bloxygen / Wine Saver, I used to fill empty space in expensive varnish (Waterlox Original & Gymseal) cans with marbles or clean, large metal nuts and bolts.

It worked great and was cheap and reusable.