Paint Can Hack

 I wish I could honestly say that this was the first time this has ever happened to me…but…sigh…it certainly was not. Working right out of the can is NOT a great practice for a few reasons, but obviously I was going for quick and not clean. It had also been a while since I completed a project requiring primer, so my bad habit and time caught up with me.

So, I was off to the local hardware store to pick up a brand new can of primer. YES! …nice clean rim!

I was going to use a roller for this project so I was going to have to pour the paint into the roller tray. I was determined to do better this time. Dried out paint is just a waste of money.

I dug out the plastic pour spout I mentioned earlier in an attempt to take better care of this can than the last one. However, I had the same problem that I always had with this, namely it not fitting tightly and threatening to cause a bigger mess if it let go while I was pouring paint into the roller tray. It was also starting to crack a little, so into the garbage it went.

Ok. Time for Plan B because I did not have the time to run back out. 

 I found a package of poster tack.

I pulled off a strip of it and kneaded it until it was soft and then rolled it out.

I pressed the rolled poster tack into the rim of the paint can.

I slowly poured paint out of the can over the tack.

(There still are those pesky little drips.)

When I was finished, I just pried out the poster tack and threw it away.

I have to say that Plan B worked beautifully! There was a little clean up to be done on the rim, but the deep grooves that form the seal on the can were clean and I was able to reseal it successfully.

Of course, this is a use-it-once-and-throw-it-away solution, so perhaps it is not the go-to solution for everyone.

However, in a pinch, it worked!

I will be using this method again when I open my brand new quart of paint to paint my project. I think I will create a little bigger dam of poster tack this time, just to be sure.

Interesting how problems can be solved. I guess necessity really is the mother of invention.