Rusty - Latex Paint Cans

[MasterSolenoid]

From 'leaking' Batteries to 'rusty' Paint Cans - It never ends.

Years ago I made a shelf-unit to hold all the House Paints in one area / works great.

Problem is, after awhile the 'metal' gallon cans (latex paint) start rusting around the Lid Seal.

The Cover and Can are ALWAYS cleaned 100% after each use and wiped with WD-40.

The tight seal must be rubbing off the coating they put on.
I just opened a can that is 2 1/2 years old and it started rusting already.

That's it, I just ordered several of these 'plastic' containers that will solve the problem completely.
Anybody else annoyed by these rusting Paint Cans ?
I had the right idea when I ordered the 1 Quart (plastic) containers years ago / no problems with them.

 

[kkreit01]

I didn't know they sold these. Thanks for the tip. I often have rusty cans as well.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

OP here,

Home Depot sells 'empty' metal cans for $5.00
You could transfer the paint from 'rusty' can to New Metal, but that would just buy you some time.

For the same money, your better off buying the plastic.

 

[Jethro_Bob]

Paint fades over time, by the time the cans are severely rusted, the paint no longer really matches the walls. You'll either be left with an obvious patch or touch up job, or you'll need additional paint to cover corner to corner.

 

[benjayman227]

Originally Posted by Jethro_Bob
Paint fades over time, by the time the cans are severely rusted, the paint no longer really matches the walls. You'll either be left with an obvious patch or touch up job, or you'll need additional paint to cover corner to corner.


I have to contest this. We painted our foyer < 1 yr ago, and when I tried to touch up a few spots last week, the can had already deposited several large flakes of rust into the leftover paint. I had to keep an eye out while painting to make sure those rust flakes didn't transfer to the wall.

The can was stored indoors, at a reasonable humidity, etc etc.

 

[nthach]

I liked the all-plastic packaging Sherwin-Williams uses for their comsumer line(Dutch Boy and Pratt-Lambert). Ben Moore still uses metal cans for their paint.

 

[philipp10]

paint fades if it sees the sun.....otherwise, not so much

 

[chunt]

Great info, I had been looking for this for a while. I am no where near a Menards but I ordered a few on line. Thanks OP.

 

[Tdbo]

The plastic cans are great.
I have transferred all of the leftover paint that I use for house maintenance into them.
I have also rinsed them out and reused them for other paint when empty.

 

[Donald]

I will suggest an alternative. When you are finished using the paint for the first time, put a large enough dab of paint on some kind of material that will allow the sample to be read by a paint machine. Maybe take a picture of the label that often has the quantity of each tint. Put in a baggie and tape to the paint can.

I have had the paint can rust also. But by the time it rusts the paint may be old and marginal. Paint is cheap compared to labor to prep and paint. If the paint is marginal the important thing to me is to be able to go to HomeDepot or wherever and get a fresh gallon of paint that will exactly match.

 

[Wolf359]

Also for storing paint, flip the can upside down. The paint will seal the lid and prevent air from ruining the rest of the paint. I also always have the store shake the can whenever I buy it.

 

[Fawteen]

I use PPG for all of my paint and have for years for all of my rental units. If I need to repaint a wall after a tenant has moved out I just go in and they look up the site address (I use the address as my purchase order number) for me and make some up. It's always dead-on. I also do the same at home; I don't keep extra paint around. A few months ago we changed around some artwork and needed to patch the holes from the old artwork. I picked up a quart from PPG (they had all the records since we painted everything in our home with PPG) and it matched dead-on-you can't tell where the new touch up paint meets the old paint. It was originally painted about 8 years ago.

I've never had a paint that I bought recently not exactly match the same color that I bought years ago.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

OP here,

Home Depot and Lowes have paint mixing down to a science / watch them some time.
It's all computerized with no guessing or human error.
So if a person did need a little paint for touchup, buying a quart may be the way to go / instead of saving a one gallon can for how long ?

Perhaps the most important info to know and save would be:
1) The Label off the can / shows: Base Tint, Finish, Dry Time etc
2) The sticker employee gives you showing all mixing info
3) The paint Brochure

When I save a one gallon can of paint, it was used for the Basement Floor, Garage Floor or Foundation.
I really don't care if it matches perfectly, I just don't want to throw away 1/2 gallon (or more) of paint.

 

[pandus13]

Originally Posted by Wolf359
Also for storing paint, flip the can upside down. The paint will seal the lid and prevent air from ruining the rest of the paint. I also always have the store shake the can whenever I buy it.

^^^ This! ^^^

Also, for the posters complaining about rust flakes/paint globs, use strainer.
Also, HomeDepot/Lowes sells 2 gallon buckets with plastic lid.

(my closest Menards is 300+ miles away: their Fisher salty peanuts rocks).