The Easy Way to Store Your Paint
I’ve been painting furniture for over 20 years. I’ve used paint that came in cans. I’ve used paint that came in glass jars. I’m now using paint that comes in plastic jars. They each have pros and cons. Cans can get rusty and then you battle bits of rust in your paint. Glass jars come with a breakage risk. My plastic jars can be difficult to open once you’ve painted from the jar.
But they all have one thing in common. When you paint straight from the container you risk contaminating the entire pot of paint! Plus, if you use Fusion Mineral Paint, it’s easy to get too much paint on your paint brush if you dip directly into the pot. That’s why I always recommend dispensing paint onto a paper plate to both eliminate the risk of contamination and prevent you from getting too much paint on your brush. That can get tricky, and messy, if trying to pour from the jar. You can see my painting tips for Fusion Mineral Paint here.
That’s why I started looking for a container to decant my paint into. Over the past 10 years or so I’ve tried six different bottles that have had popularity in the painting world. I’ve had mixed emotions about each one until I found the perfect bottle!
So I’m going to share my experience with each of these bottles and their pros and cons. Hopefully this will keep you from buying and replacing dozens of bottles and protect your expensive paint at the same time.
The first bottle I tried was the FIFO bottle. FIFO stands for First In, First Out. You’ve probably seen these at Subway sandwich shops. These bottles open at both ends. In theory, you add product to the bottom of the the bottle so that the oldest product remains at the top and is used first. The bottle top has a silicone opening that is supposed to keep product in even though the bottle is inverted, and keep air out.
I used these bottles for years until I had enough. Here are the pros and cons for the FIFO bottles:
Pros
* Holds 16 ounces
* Easy to dispense paint
* Takes up less shelf space than a jar or can
Cons
* Must be stored top up as paint can leak out
* Air leaks in and thickens, or dries up the paint
* Nozzle clogs up with dried paint
* Difficult to fill without a funnel (not included)
When I got tired of having to clean out thick, gunky paint from the nozzle of the FIFO bottles, I started looking for another option. A friend recommended these with a flip top. That’s it! Or so I thought. In theory, I wanted something that could help keep the air out. So I bought a bunch of these and swapped out my paint from the FIFO bottles into these flip top bottles. These turned out to be my least favorite. Unless you get every speck of paint off both the nozzle and the underside of the lid, the lid won’t snap shut. That means that paint is exposed to air and can leak out.
Pros
* Holds 16 ounces
Cons
* Difficult to fill without spilling (no funnel included)
* Unless spout and lid are clean, lid won’t close.
* Large spout opening means less control of paint flow
After living with the issues of the flip-top bottles, I decided to try another bottle. I’d heard of people that liked the condiment squirt bottles so I decided to try that one. Instead of buying a bunch of them, I picked up one at Dollar Tree. Glad I didn’t by a bunch! It was the most difficult to fill because it had the smallest opening. It dispensed paint well and kept air out, but I had to make sure the nozzle and cap were clean so the cap would fit on.
Pros
* Holds 16 ounces
*. Dispenses paint well
* Keeps air out
Cons
* Difficult to fill (no funnel included)
* Nozzle must be clean for cap to fit right
My experience with the squirt bottles didn’t last long. I moved on to searching Amazon for another alternative. I wanted something that was easy to dispense and had a lid to protect the nozzle. I found one! Bad news is that it only came in 13 ounce sizes. My paint is pints. I was desparate so I bought some. I really liked these. They dispensed well and the lid helped protect from leaks and air. But pouring a pint of paint into the bottle meant that I had 3 ounces of paint left in the jar that I either had to use or wait until I used paint out of the bottle and refill. So now I’ve got both a bottle AND a pint sitting on the shelf.
Pros
* Dispenses paint well
* Has a lid to protect paint
Cons
* Difficult to fill (no funnel included)
* Only holds 13 ounces
Back to the drawing board. I heard about Stop Loss Bags so I ordered some. These are designed for both water-based and oil-based products so I was particularly intrigued about storing top coats to prevent “skin” on the surface. These came with a funnel and were easy to load. I’m still using them for top coats but decided they take up too much room when I have 50+ colors of paint to store. It’s easy to dispense paint and they seal tightly with no leak or air access.
Pros
* Easy to fill (funnel included)
* Keeps air out
* Seals tight to prevent leaks
Cons
* Takes up more shelf space than a bottle
So after trying 5 bottles with mixed results, I FINALLY found the ONE! This bottle ticked all the boxes for me! It was easy to fill with the included funnel. It holds a full bottle. It has a silicone nozzle to dispense paint easily. And, it has a flip top lid to seal away air and prevent leaks.
Pros
* Easy to fill (funnel included)
* Holds 16 ounces
* Silicone nozzle makes it easy to dispense paint
* Flip lid to protect nozzle from air and leaks
* Small footprint so it takes up less space on my shelves
You can find the EPIPHANY Condiment Squeeze Bottles in my Amazon store here
There’s a great Canadian option here
I do have another hack that my friend Donna from Funky Junk Interiors came up with. She drills a hole in the lid of her Fusion Mineral Paint, pours from the hole, and then tapes over it. No need to struggle with the lid! I haven’t tried this but Donna swears by it! Might be worth a try. My biggest challenge would be having room to store all the jars.
