PAINTING TIPS AND TECHNIQUES

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint®

How to Store and Use Leftover Paint

Sometimes you will have leftover Chalk Paint® no matter the size of your painting project.

You will probably want to keep the leftover paint for future projects or for touch-ups.

Not everyone wants to store leftover paint in their house but extreme temperature changes can wreak havoc on your leftover Chalk Paint® and other water based paints!

Here are the best ways to store Chalk Paint®

Extreme Temperatures

When leftover paint is stored in a place that gets very hot or very cold, the paint will change in consistency, making it unusable. The perfect temperatures to store Annie's Chalk Paint® is 55-85 degrees.

Where to Store Paint

The key to successful storage for Chalk Paint® is to keep it in a COOL DRY place.

For example, a nice dry basement is a good place to store paint.

Don’t have a basement? Find a spot in a closet inside your house. The 2 most important factors when you’re choosing a place to store leftover Chalk Paint® are: low-moisture and temperature-controlled.

You want to avoid places with high moisture because metal paint cans will quickly form rust around the lid. As soon as you open a paint can with a rusted lid, pieces of rust and debris will fall into the paint and ruin your paint job.

If the basement is where you’ll be storing leftover paint, be sure to keep the paint cans off the concrete floor — because moisture will wick up and create rust.

How to Store Paint

You will prolong the life of your leftover Chalk Paint® if air is kept from getting at the paint.

Here’s how to store Annie’s paint with the least amount of air possible:

Clean paint out of the sealing rim of the can to obtain a tight seal.

Use a layer of plastic wrap or foil as a gasket between the can and lid.