I just opened a one year old can of latex paint with 2/3 of the galllon still remaining and, just as had feared, the inner rim had rusted. Opening the can had deposited a thousand little flakes of rust on the surface. With a tip of a rag I dabbed the surface and was able to remove the largest ones but the littlest of the devils sunk beneath the surface. Can latex paint be strained or is it too thick to pass through a paint strainer? Is there a better way to do this? TIA, Chuck
About all that latex paint...
Apr 08, 2007
14 Replies
Panty hose, cheese cloth? Or get a cloth strainer (1 or 5 gallon size) from HD. Strain away.
-- Oren
"The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas!"
Either that or a piece of window screen and you should be OK.
Strain with cheesecloth or filter paper into a fresh can. All available at HD or Lowes
Doh!! Cheesecloth - of course! Thanks for the slap upside the head, folks.
Both sell one gallon and five gallon size strainer nets. They have an elastic around them, and look like a small pillow case. I use them with a rubber band to siphon from a five gallon bucket when doing airless spray. Cheap, cheap, cheap. Buy five of each next time, or if you're cheap, rinse them out, and use them again. And while you are there, buy three or five of each of the meshes of the paper filters, too. Saves a lot of time when painting by not having to pick out the boogers, or try to get them off the wall once deposited by a brush or roller. These are some of the simplest cheapest tools in a painter's box.
And get some Floetrol, too. That will make that thickened paint run smoothly again. Mix thoroughly. Be careful not to add too much. Makes paint glide on like silk with no brush marks.
Steve
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Trick of the trade (even though I'm not a painter).....store your paint cans upside down!!!! You will NEVER get the rust/crud forming around the rim! Its a trick I learned years ago and paint now lasts
10x longer than before. The reason it works is because no matter how tight you reset the lid, air seeps in and out over time when your store cans right-side up. By turning the can upside down, no air can get into the can. Try it....it works!--Jeff
The box is a tight space, huh?
-- Oren
"I don't have anything against work. I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it."
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One tip I've read was to place a few golf balls in the partially empty can. This will raise the paint level, voiding space for moisture in the can - hence preventing rust.
-- Oren
"I don't have anything against work. I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it."
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I used to put a double sheet of plastic wrap over the can before firmly closing lid on top of plastic.
It helps some, but I'm with OP who stores cans upside down; that's what I'm doing now. Just make damn sure can is firmly closed, or you'll have an icky-sticky pool of paint!
And it got rid of my slice.
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I follow you. Had one leak upside down. Mine are still up-right for now.
-- Oren
"I don't have anything against work. I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it."
You mean rust? Balls are expensive............
-- Oren
"I don't have anything against work. I just figure, why deprive somebody who really loves it."
really loves it."
I suppose clean gravel would work just as well, and I have plenty of that laying around...
nate
Boy, you've got that right!!
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