How to Store Paint and Keep It Fresh

We promise this article is much more exciting than watching paint dry. Actually, if you follow these ways to store paint, your paint won’t dry out. It can be quite a pain to find the exact color you used on your kitchen walls two years later. Keeping paint fresh and accessible is important to ensure you can make proper repairs.

The Best Way to Store Paint

Storing Watercolor Paint

Probably the most common and easy paint to store. This paint can be found in your child’s paint collection. It comes in the form of dense chalky type discs and requires water to become active. These are sold inside containers and should be stored just like that, but away from the sun.

Storing Oil Based Paint

Oil-based paints are often used on a pallet. These are common to be used by artists painting on a canvas. If you find yourself needing to store the paint on your pallet, lay a sheet of saran wrap around the wooden pallet. If you are looking for a more permanent storage option, try a sealed container.

Storing Acrylic Based Paint

These paints you find in many art stores. They are meant to be used for projects on many types of surfaces. They are sold in tubes and should be kept inside their original tubs to preserve them. Just make sure the cap is free of old paint and keep them away from sunlight.

Storing Latex Based Paint

This is your household paint, used on the walls, etc. This paint comes in large cans ranging from 1 gallon to 4. The trick to keeping these paints is to make sure the seal between the lip and can is airtight. Place a plastic sheet between the can and lip and hammer it down. When you reopen this paint it might need a good stir or a shake to get the color back.

We hope this will help you when you are trying to keep paint in its best condition. The best place to store paint for the future is in a self storage unit, away from the sun and with climate control.