I have dozens and dozens of old paint cans, some rusty. I want to go through them all and chuck out all those with dried up paint. How shall I reseal them? flexible gap filler? Clingfilm between the lid and tin? scrape off the old dried up paint or leave it?
advice please.
Ensure that the lid is fully hammered down, then invert the can so that a film of paint seals the lid, then store correct way up.
Andrew
Check them out & store them upside down. (Ensuring lids are secure) Solves all problems.
+1
In article , Andrew Mawson writes
Sounds good.
Another here has suggested a squirt of butane to displace the air before closing per your suggestion to reduce skinning on less full tins. .
Skinning is caused by continued loss of solvent from the surface through the lid seal. Storing the can upside down stops this.
Easier to roll the paint around the inside seam but basically it works very well at sealing a paint tin. Unfortunately it isn't much good for a tin that has previously been badly stored unsealed and has a hard (or soft) dry skin on top of the paint already.
I've tried the upside down method, and didn't get on well with it. Next time I opened the tin it needed stirring. Stirring broke up the skin which created lumps in the paint.
I favour a blast of gas from my blowtorch before putting the lid on, store upright, then if skin does form cut it out in one piece before stirring.
Mike
In article , Andrew Gabriel writes
BUT, IME, if you do this you will end up with a big ring of dried paint on the shelf. I think what happens is that when the temperature rises on a hot day the vapour pressure of the solvent increases and the lid 'eases' slightly like a safety valve and reseals when the temperature falls. After many cycles you get a puddle of dried paint round the can.
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