Sealing the lids on paint tins

Someone I know puts a couple of very thin plastic sheets (cut up vegetable bags from the supermarket)under the tin lids of tins of varnishes, paints and glues that come stored in tins.

It makes the lids come on and off very easily and he claims they act like a 'washer' and hence give a more *airtight* seal. But since air passes through plastic bags (why long life bread is packaged in 'silvered' plastic bags) albeit slowly, would this be worth doing?

Reply to
john brook
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The reason paint goes off after being opened and used is the large quantity of new air when you replace the lid.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Your better dropping a peace of plastic in the bottom

Reply to
steve robinson

Or fill the space with some inert gas?

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Store the tins upside down.

Reply to
Huge

Makes no difference once the tin is opened and new air introduced.

Reply to
steve robinson

With oil based paints, it ensures that the skin is under the paint, not on top, when you come to use it.

Colin Bignell

Reply to
Nightjar

I transfer leftover paints to nice clean glass jars. Takes up less space, and makes it easy to see the colour.

Reply to
S Viemeister

The reason for rotating tins was to help keep the oils and pigments mixed, otherwise they eventually seperate

Reply to
steve robinson

But how do you then stir the paint to get the oil back in without breaking the skin and get loads of bits in the paint?

As for the plastic bag under lid can't see a reason for it provided the lid and rim are in good condition. I always wipe around the lid and rim to remove excess paint put the lid on firmly with a few taps from a small hammer. Don't have a problem with stuff going off and if there is a skin it is easy to remove in tact.

Reply to
Dave Liquorice

so what is actually needed (dragon's den here I come) is a paint tin that can be made shorter, perhaps collapsible corrugations ? or an inner cup that could be screwed inside the can and would then effectively raise the bottom surface of the can.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Oxygen is the enemy of unused paint. Here are some tips:

  • Don't paint out of the can. Pour paint into another container and re-seal the can.
  • When finished painting, return the unused paint to the can, then - pay attention here - EXHALE three times into the can. This replaces most of the oxygen with carbon dioxide.
  • Use a plastic bag as your friend suggested. It acts like a gasket around the edges.
  • Store the can upside down. Any remaining oxygen will cause a thin film to form on what will be the bottom of the paint next time you open the can.
  • Make sure the lid is on tightly. Else some paint will leak out, firmly attaching the lid to the shelf such that when you grab the can, the lid stays on the shelf, the remaining paint plops to the floor, and you have an empty can in your hand.
Reply to
HeyBub

Something like a wine box?

Owain

Reply to
Owain

Only if there's more than 1/2 a tin left when you put it away!

Reply to
Andy Burns

problem is that paint separates, so it needs to be something with a solid bottom and room to get a stirrer in. What about a tough plastic bag inside a tin?, you could then seal the bag in close proximity to the surface of the paint and undo it for stirring and use.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Only if you are an alien? Typical human exhalations have only 4%~5% carbon dioxide in place about the same amount of oxygen leaving ~15% oxygen (plus added water vapour).

Reply to
Robin

Or use an inflated plastic bag to fill the void.

(I started off writing "blow up a plastic bag...", but I suspect this is one problem that wouldn't be best solved with explosives :)

Reply to
Andrew Morton

OR: put a thin plastic bag into the can and tuck it in so that it contacts the paint and leaves the open end outside the can, putting the lid on inside the open end of the bag would mean that air could not get to the paint surface. A bit like the old idea of a greaseproof paper round on top of jam.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

If you keep paint out of the sealing area between the lid and can you get the same effect.

Store the can upside down to keep the air on bottom.

Reply to
Leon

New air or not the paint will skim over, better on bottom than on top.

Reply to
Leon

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