How Do I Properly Store Paint and Other DIY Materials?

Storing Paint and Other DIY Project Materials

Buckets of paint:

Saving leftover house paint could be important. You need that paint for future repairs, but you can also take some to the paint store later if you need to mix another batch of the same stuff.

To start, always open paint cans with a paint key; never use a screwdriver or you’ll bend the cover so you can’t store the paint properly. If you don’t have a paint key, buy one. It will cost about $1 or less. Then, use a wet scrunchie pad - similar to something you might use in the kitchen to wash pots and pans - to get the extra paint off the cover of the paint can and off the little groove or channel around the top of the can. Then put two layers of plastic wrap across the top of the can. Then put the cover back on the can. When you close it, hit the top only with a rubber mallet to secure the cover. Trim the cellophane wrap off the edges of the can. Then secure the top all the way around with non-air-permeable tape (duct tape) to create an even tighter seal.

Then turn the paint can upside down and use a marking pen to write the date, the name of the job, the kind of paint you used, and the room where the paint was used on the bottom of the can. Store the can upside down.

Buckets of pre-mixed stucco patch or drywall compound:

Start by cleaning off the drips and clumps of material on the inside walls of the plastic bucket holding the mixture. Those drips are your biggest obstacle in fighting to safely store this mixture. If that mess dries on those walls, it can contaminate the rest of the mixture and it’s all over. So wipe down the inner walls with a wet scrunchie pad like the one used above. You may want a bucket of water or a faucet nearby so you can keep rinsing away debris. Once you’ve cleaned the walls, dry them with a paper towel.

Your next objective? Keep oxygen from leaking into the bucket after you close it. That oxygen could cause the mixture to set and could harden into a rock. So pour a thin coating of plain water over the sticky stuff inside the bucket. Then stretch two separate layers of plastic wrap over the top of the bucket. Finally, put the lid back on.

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