Better resealing alternatives to paint tins?

I have a 5L tin of primer that keeps getting used for small jobs and after all that screwdrivering it now is hard to get off and Im losing as much paint to air leaks as I am using to paint.

Does anyone have a good alternative to prise lid tins? I used to have some medium sized barrels with a sort of sprung ring to keep the lid on but I don't know if they go small enough or where to get them (or their technical name).

Could you just buy some smaller empty tins?

Jim

metal bike tyre levers to open.

Kilner jars?  I use one for white spirit.

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 26/08/2018 13:28:06

For primers I use plastic tubs with self sealing tops and take up the air by means of glass marbles.....works very well. Just getting to the end of my 'Ardenbright' alluminium primer from 1957...keeping the air out worked well.

Decant what you need for the job, replace lid, invert tin for a while to get a paint seal around the lid rim.

Air leaks? If properly sealed, they will not deteriorate until quite a low level.

One of the guys I used to work with was very anal about wiping excess paint from around the tin before replacing the lid. He never had any problem opening and resealing paint tins. After having problems myself getting lids off I’ve now adopted his method, thanks Tim!

I agree with this method have done it for years and find it does help a great deal as it is the build up of paint that make the replacing and removal of lids a pain.

My dad always used to pour a thin layer of thinners onto the top of remaining paint in the tin, this always stopped it skinning over.

Phil

To address OP's question I look for good metal screw top jam jars with the rubber seal still in good condition. I find plastic screw tops less effective. I also try plastic sheet under the lid but it never as good.

On the separate subject of paint skinning. Even a totally sealed half full tin will skin if in the wrong conditions. If the top cools the body of the paint being warm evaporates thinner which condenses on the lid and allows a skin to start. Repeated temperature cycling makes it build up a skin even if the solvent is dripping back. I try to minimise this by stacking tins and bunching them up so only the lid of the top one gets cold.

"Does anyone have a good alternative to prise lid tins? " Hardware stores in Australia sell a tool for opening paint tins (a bit lke a push bike tyre lever) which does not damage the lid like a screw driver. Should also be available in UK stores. Cleaning the lid and and groove in the top of the tin before it hardens is important for re-sealing and easy opening. This will aid in the re-opening of the tin but will not stop the paint skinning because of the air in a half full tin.

Paul.

After replacing the lid my father always inverted the tin briefly, never had issues with drying out.

Got it in one, Nick. No air leaks.

I do it every time I have finished the paint job.

Beware of old paint when top performance is needed - even unopened tins have a limited shelf-life.

Paint doesn't just dry, it also hardens. Some types rely on evaporation of solvent, others harden by a chemical reaction triggered by exposure to air. Many do both.

Taking the lid off immediately causes most paints to deteriorate slightly, some seriously. Symptoms include difficulty cleaning brushes, poor adhesion, lumps, poor coverage, poor finish, streaking and reduced resistance to weathering. The older the tin, the worse the problem. If you get disappointing results, try new paint.

Dave

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Never tried it but perhaps a layer of clingfilm pushed onto the surface of the paint before closing the tin would work ?

How about something collapsible to remove the air (or most of it).

**LINK**

Ed.

If the lid is well sealed leave the tin upside down and the paint skin will be on the bottom.

Frank

Never tried it but perhaps a layer of clingfilm pushed onto the surface of the paint before closing the tin would work?

I remember a round plastic film layer on something I opened years ago, had to peel it off

Chucked it away in my ignorance, probably shouldn't have

Edited By Ady1 on 27/08/2018 14:09:09

Paint tins under 2 litres i used to transfer to translucent plastic 2 litre milk bottles with screw cap. Cap would seal air-tight, you could see what colour the paint was, and an occasional shake would keep it well-mixed. Worked most of the time but ended up being too fiddly as milk bottles don't stack, bottles less than 2/3 full would still skin, and for most jobs paint was purchased either in 600ml (small jobs) or 4 litre (big jobs) tins so ending up with many more milk bottles than would otherwise be needed if kept in the tins, so that's what i do now. Agree with other posts about tyre levers to open tins and about keeping the rim clean. Also clean off underside of lid when opening the tin so that the paint on the lid does not dry and cause problems replacing the lid.

Unfortunately Brickies advice is not good, although it is seems a popular belief. All it will achieve is to form the skin on the surface of the paint which is in contact with the air-space i.e. halfway down the tin, where it is almost impossible to remove without getting bits of skin in the paint.

As S.O.D. says, there are many types of paint but talking only about the oil-based household and hobby paints: The last thing the paint manufacturer does before sealing the tin is to add a small amount of methyl ethyl ketoxime which is an anti-oxidant. This does not interfere with the drying because it is highly volatile and quickly leaves the drying film. The ketoxime is sufficient, together with the small air-space in an unopened tin to stop the paint drying (aka skinning). If you open the tin, use half of the contents then reseal the tin, you will have lost the ketoxime while the can was open, and there will be enough air above the paint to cause skinning.

There is only one way to avoid this, and that is to open the full tin and decant the contents immediately into smaller, well-sealed containers until they are required. Or buy smaller tins of paint

Chas