Watering down exterior latex paint can improve its flow and workability, but over-thinning can reduce its durability. To remove dirt, grime, and mildew, use a power washer or scrub brush with soapy water to remove rough spots and scrape off loose paint. This step is crucial for creating a smooth, clean surface that allows the paint to dry uniformly.
Choosing the right type of paint is essential for achieving the desired finish. Latex paint can be thinned with plain water, but it’s best to test with a small quantity and a piece of scrap wood first. Water-based paints like latex and acrylic dry to the touch in 1-2 hours, while oil-based paints require 24-48 hours. Ensure the temperature is between 50-85F with humidity below 85 and choose a day with a low humidity.
Although acrylic paint is water-based, it offers some resistance to water once it has fully dried. To prevent the paint from losing its adhesive properties, add no more than 10 water or thinning agent to the paint. Acrylic paint typically takes 2 to 3 weeks to cure, while oil-based paint is less commonly used.
Latex outdoor paint dries much faster, but adding water to paint can make it level better and increase drying time due to the additional water content. It’s important to avoid adding too much water, as it can reduce the opacity and color of the paint.
To get the best results from water-based paint, follow expert advice on drying and hardening. Many products allow up to 1 quart of water per gallon (latex), while oils don’t need as much thinning with spirits.
📹 STOP Throwing Away Half-Used Dried-Up Paint Cans! How To Fix It To Last Forever! Tips & Tricks!
STOP Throwing Away Half-Used Dried-Up Paint Cans! How To Fix It To Last Forever! These tips and tricks I’ll be showing you on …
📹 Testing 6 EASY ways to DRY Paint Cans For Disposal (How To Harden Paint)
It’s time to clean all of that OLD paint out of your garage or basement! Here’s the CHEAP, SAFE, and EASY ways you can harden …
I’m a painter and have tried all of these but they just don’t seem to be long term practical for me. It’s just more time messing about and also trying to find a safe place for the wet metal lid when these are on (and paint dries on this then drops into the can when put back on). I also find it nerve wracking to shake the paint the next day with the spout one. And with the pourer, you can’t leave paint without a sealed lid or it skims which causes crap in your paint so you have to take it on and off all day. It just became easier to wipe the lid crevice each time you pour the paint into your tray or bucket and put the original lid back on. It’s quick and easy and if you are diligent with this the paint will be fine for the entirety of the job. Then pour some into a small container like the one at the end (haven’t seen them before, they look brilliant) and give to the client. The rest goes back to our local shop which recycles it. I really wish there was a way to have a spout system that was efficient, like maybe the metal lid with one built in that you can pull out similar to an engine or olive oil can. I guess they have tried these in the R&D department, maybe there was too much failure, or manufacture cost.
I use a NEEDLE OILER BOTTLE with oil in it. Before opening the paint can I run a bead of oil around the lid to keep it from rusting and make it seal beater. I put tape around the whole top and fold the tape over to cover the top grove. This keeps any paint from dripping into the grove. I don’t pour out the paint, but use a small cup like the measuring cup that comes inside a laundry soap box. I scoop out small amounts and fill a paint pan or a small peanut can. This keeps paint from filling in the grove. If I get some paint in the grove I clean it out before putting on the lid. Hope these ideas help someone.
That Shur-Line lid with the spout… you do know that the spout folds into the lid for flat storage right? Easier to store, and less air left in the paint can (leave air hole open until spout is folded down; then close the air hole). The homemade tape spout never worked for me. When you’re done stirring, just use your brush to wipe the stir stick off and you’re good to go. And lastly, if you transfer old paint to a smaller container (or any container), it’s always a good idea to use a strainer, to remove all the debris (rust from can, impurities that got in, etc.) and any paint clumps. Always strain old paint.
Love your website. As for paint, I go to Dollar Store and get plastic containers in various sizes. When I have left over paint, I pick the size closest to fill, add plastic wrap around lid and fill it. Then I turn the paint upside down so the weight of the paint seals to lid. Then I label the paint color and date it. BE SURE to get only screw on lids.
The Shur-Line Paint Pourer is the best of these options, in my opinion, but keep four things in mind: 1. It works fine with metal paint cans, but does NOT fit the new style plastic gallon paint cans that are being sold. 2. Just as the review says, make sure this thing is FIRMLY and COMPLETELY fitted into the rim of the can. If not, you will have a absolute mess or a very interesting floor mural. 3. With the pourer attached, you can’t carry the paint can by the wire loop handle. You have to use two hands to carry the paint can, and you’d better have a good grip on the can. 4. If you try to do anything more with the paint can than pour from it, keep in mind that you now have a paint can with a much bigger rim around the top. You will catch the rim with your ladder or paint brush or elbow, unless you are extremely careful.
You spend a fair amount of time talking about keeping the rim clean and I disagree, not with idea of doing so, thats good, but all you need to do is use your brush a few times to really keep the rim area clean, it wont be perfect, but it can be darned close, in my opinion. Problem is most people wont take the time to do so, but in fact it takes hardly any time at all. If you pour the paint into another tray or otherwise to do your painting, then you’ll only need to do this “cleaning” a few times, just do it. The real problem to solve is the air problem. And I have seen mentioned here a couple times turning the can over, which as I think about it ingenious. So why dont we do it? Because, in my opinion, as humans we like ORGANIZATION, and looking at a shelf full of upside down cans can be bothersome. I am going to go right now and turn my cans all upside down (assuming I have closed them tight which I always do, so I dont even need to check that) The point about the key tool vs. flathead screwdriver, I am so embarrased I didnt know about that, some of my lids have all kinds of contortions as a result of the flathead, I will get the tool and use it going forward. Finally I agree that if the can has a lot of empty space in it, you’re looking for problems and really the only solution is to transfer into another container, I see no other way. I’d love to be able to freeze paint, but that would have its own issue of having enough space in a freezer to do so, besides of course the fact that it would ruin the paint LOL
Have used several of the products to you mentioned. If I have less then 1/2 of a gallon left and do not plan to be using the paint in the foreseeable future I like storing the paint in a smaller plastic container. Ideally the container has a large enough opening to allow inserting a brush if I need to touch up a spot.
A guy taught me this trick several years ago and it works very well. Simply remove the lid on a new can of paint, take a heavy gauge nail (spike), and pound several holes around the top of the paint can, so that the excess paint, after being poured, will drain back into the paint can. It does leave some paint around the lid website, but just take your brush and clean the website before closing the can lid.
Well, I finally had a chance to try some of this out; here is the promised update (see my comment from eight months ago). This of course is for LATEX paint. Oil-based (alkyd) paint is considered a hazardous material and must be discarded in accordance with local hazmat regulations. Getting back to latex… Kitty litter is the way to go; clumping kitty litter is better than non-clumping. If you have a nearly full can of paint, decant about 20% of it into another container, such as an empty coffee can; you can deal with that one separately. You need about 20% head room for volume expansion as you add kitty litter, and also some room for stirring without spilling. Pour in (very roughly; the exact amount does not matter) a half cup or so of kitty litter and stir. Then another half cup and stir. Then another and stir. Keep going until it is so thick that you can’t stir any more. Let it stand a few days. At that point, there might be a little bit of liquid on the top. If there is, throw in a little more kitty litter to soak up that bit of liquid and give it another couple of days. At that point, it should be quite solid – not rock-hard, but quite solid – and you can legally dispose of it in the trash. As for ventilation: I found that latex paint that I had from about 2010 onwards has very little VOC and you can do it indoors, though you still should not do it in an enclosed space. Latex paint that I had from about 2000, although it is not oil paint, has some non-negligible VOC in it, so you should do this outdoors or in a room with exterior ventilation (say, in the garage, with the door open).
About cat litter: There are many kinds I have seen it made from paper. And from wheat. I wonder if they are all effective for paint. I used clumping clay liter today – Very effective. Then there is OIL DRY. It is used to absorb oil spills. Available in auto parts stores or on line. Basically clay cat litter without the perfume. It may be cheaper.
Very good article. I doubt that the sand would work because it won’t, properly speaking, absorb any water. The other materials are all absorbent. When sand is “wet” the water is not in the sand grains, it’s between them and on them, unlike with, say, kitty litter. Maybe the sand would still work, but I doubt it. I’ve tried to dry out paint cans just by leaving them outside. I left them only partly open to keep out birds and other small animals. It took forever. Eventually I moved them to a sunny part of the yard. That helped somewhat, but the sun has to be almost overhead to actually be on the paint surface if it is still in the can, unlike in those more open experiments in the cardboard. Eventually I could legally throw them out, but it really took a long time. I still have to dry out a lot more paint, which is why I am perusal this article. I think I will try the kitty litter this time. I’ll bookmark this page. Maybe I’ll have an update eventually on my own experiments.
My local lumber yard always has hundreds of pounds of sawdust from their mill; they give it away (I got two 33-gal trash cans full). Using old scrap 2″x4″ lumber I build a 4′ x 8′ frame on my driveway, lined it with black ‘visqueen’ sheet plastic, and filled it with sawdust. I had a dozen partially full, one-gallon cans, and two partially full 5-gal cans of paint to dispose of. I poured the paint(s) into the sawdust and mixed it (not all at once). It worked, but it took a long time (a couple of weeks) for the paint to solidify enough to dispose of as “trash”. I kept adding more sawdust. I live in California and rain isn’t an issue (or at least wasn’t when I did all this). Okay results, but not if you are in a hurry.
When using the search words: “how long does it take for a gallon of paint to dry out”, I only got articles about using kitty litter & other methods. If I choose NOT to buy kitty litter, I want to know how long it would take for a FULL GALLON to dry out by just leaving the lid off. I hope to get an answer. Thank you.