Storing a paint brush in a plastic bag and refrigerating?

[hal1]

An internet search seems to lend credence to this. My brother-in-law swears that you can store a currently used paint brush or roller (still fresh with paint) in the fridge in a plastic bag for several hours or overnight if not done with the job. Personally I hate washing and re-using a roller as they never seem to work as well the second time, I get much better results if I start with a new roller the next day - though I'm not even as good as an amateur.

Does this really work well?

 

[4xdog]

I've done it a number of times, and I'm so-so on the approach. It sorta works for me. Definitely better overnight than for days or weeks.

Maybe I need to use a higher barrier covering or tightrr wrap -- it always seems to dry out enough for the paint to harden the brush a bit, and I often end up washing the them to restart. At least I don't have to clean them completely. Works better with rollers, possibly because they're not used to cut in or they work OK even when not in perdect condition.

I use plastic bags, although when my dad taught me this near forty years ago he used to do it with aluminum foil.

 

[thewatusi]

I'll tightly wrap a roller nap in one of the thousands of plastic grocery bags that have infested my pantry.

It won't last forever, but it keeps it from drying out until I'm ready to roll on another coat.

Brushes I wash after every use.

 

[headwrench]

I wrap the brush or roller with foil...you can wrap it tight & i have had them last for a couple weeks. Just my .02

 

[ezriderga]

I've wrapped many a paint brush in a plastic bag and put in the freezer. Take it out the next day and in a few minutes it's ready to go again.

 

[Stuart in MN]

I do it as well, it works fine. just wrap it up so it's airtight.

 

[reader2580]

The painting of the interior of my house took about two weeks. The rollers were kept in my old fridge when not being used. At the end the rollers ended up being kept there for weeks. They still seemed to be in good shape after weeks, but I threw them away at that point.

 

[250]

Saran wrap, cling wrap or what ever you want to call that stuff. Wrap it a couple inches up the handle, place in fridge, remove beverage.

 

[jchetty]

Yup it works. Someone actually sells snap covers. Saw them at Home Depot.

 

[rlitman]

Don't freeze latex paint. Sealed in aluminum foil, a brush with oil based paint on it can last for months in the freezer.

I've stored rollers with latex paint wrapped tightly in plastic bags for a few weeks. I wouldn't do that to my good brushes.

 

[npp]

I do it all the time,works great,a professional painter tod me about it.

 

[hal1]

Would you all say they work as well the next day as if you were still freshly painting something without having stopped?

 

[mobiledynamics]

Yes. I've never done brushes. Just rollers - when I'm spanning days, etc.

LOAD up the roller with paint. Bag it tight. Fridge and it's good to go.

With brushed, even with me wetting the bottom, depending on task, I will get dried paint as I a paint on the inside/edges. So I'd rather just wash till the next time I need it....even if it's just a day

 

[mbatarga]

Those snap covers were first introduced on Shark Tank - invented by a family (father,sons) that are painters.

I've always just grabbed a plastic grocery bag as others have suggested. Put brush/roller tightly wrapped in the fridge if only for a few days - or the freezer if it might be a week or more.

 

[taumac]

I wrapped my rollers in plastic bags for about 2 months. Unwrapped them and they where fine. I do it with brushes also. For cleaning rollers Google cleaning rollers with a garden hose. I've learned this from working with a professional painter. Only thing I do is I don't hold the roller in my hand. I put it on a long pole or behind a bucket so I don't get wet of covered in paint.

 

[Strouty]

I like to wrap them in cheap plastic bags, then use a rubber band around the handle, then insert the whole thing in a ziploc bag. I have had brushes last for a long time like that.

 

[Strouty]

would you all say they work as well the next day as if you were still freshly painting something without having stopped?

yes!

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I've done this only using aluminum foil. Also, have done the same when cleaning a the brush or roller.. For latex, wash the majority of the paint out of it, and squeeze in dish washing soap and wrap in aluminum foil. Come back in a day and finish cleaning (or rinse out and start anew). Same for oil based, do the same with Stoddard solvent .. Works pretty well even without the fridge involved..

The best invention ever is the roller or brush spinner, the one that you "pump" and the brush/roller spins..

 

[egdede]

I'll tightly wrap a roller nap in one of the thousands of plastic grocery bags that have infested my pantry.

It won't last forever, but it keeps it from drying out until I'm ready to roll on another coat.

Brushes I wash after every use.

Yes, yes, yes. Airtight. Latex paint only. Buy good brushes and treat them right!

 

[rippered]

We would just drop the roller setup into the 5 gal bucket with the paint, then cover the top with plastic, wrap with tape and you're good overnight. We always washed latex brushes every night. Our brushes were 30 to 40$ so you like to take care of them. I feel like a brush left in the fridge over night handles a little different then a fresh one. You can't cut in as fast or exactly. Sometimes we would switch brushes at lunch. I'm really picky with brushes though.

 

[rippered]

My favorite for cutting in.


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0049PCUUK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Norcal]

Brushes with oil based paint will be fine in the freezer for a while but I learned the hard way that it will not work long term, forgot about a brush in the freezer that had been used to paint some trim, ended up throwing the brush away because it hardened. Latex paints clean up too easy to try to hold it in a freezer.

 

[PelicanPines]

My painter buddy would drop the roller into the can of paint for storage. Was fun watching him try and get it back onto the handle... he became a general contractor... he was better at painting... as a contractor... he measured once and caulked twice.

 

[Barnabas]

Wrapping tight to keep in the moisture in is good, but I would not recommended putting it in the refrigerator. Keeping the paint cool should have no effect on keeping the paint wet. In fact, your refrigerator is a very dry environment, so putting it in the refrigerator should only make it dry out faster.

Yes, I actually paid attention in physics class.

 

[slomatt]

As long as no paint has made its way in to the ferrule I often use this trick between coats of latex paint, usually for an hour or two but I've left them overnight before with no issues. I wrap them in a plastic shopping bag and just leave them horizontal on the bench, never put one in the fridge. In fact, I bagged a brush twice today between various coats and it cleaned up just fine when I was finished.

 

[rlitman]

We would just drop the roller setup into the 5 gal bucket with the paint, then cover the top with plastic, wrap with tape and you're good overnight. We always washed latex brushes every night. Our brushes were 30 to 40$ so you like to take care of them. I feel like a brush left in the fridge over night handles a little different then a fresh one. You can't cut in as fast or exactly. Sometimes we would switch brushes at lunch. I'm really picky with brushes though.

The longer a brush sits in paint, the more that paint wicks up the bristles towards the ferrule. One way to slow this process is to start with a wetted brush.

If painting latex paint, soak your dry brush in water before starting, and then hand spin the water out. There'll be enough water high up in the bristles to keep the paint from getting too high up there.

If painting with oil based paint, dip your dry brush in mineral spirits and squeeze out the excess before dipping in paint. Same idea as above.

Wrapping tight to keep in the moisture in is good, but I would not recommended putting it in the refrigerator. Keeping the paint cool should have no effect on keeping the paint wet. In fact, your refrigerator is a very dry environment, so putting it in the refrigerator should only make it dry out faster.

Yes, I actually paid attention in physics class.

Your refrigerator is actually a very wet environment. It may be low in absolute humidity, because the low temperature supports very little moisture content, but that is why it is always near 100% relative humidity. The RH is what matters when it comes to evaporation, and is why your crisper doesn't dry out lettuce and vegetables. But when it comes to latex paint, freezing will cause separation (i.e. putting it in the freezer will be a disaster), and chilling a few degrees will have almost no effect in preventing evaporation in comparison with just wrapping tightly in plastic.

For oil based paint, the cold of the freezer will significantly reduce the vapor pressure of the solvent, and significantly increase how long a brush can be left there. I've gotten many months this way with disposable brushes (I still wouldn't leave a good brush more than a week or so).

 

[Beaumont67]

Learned this trick, a few years ago:
- buy HF stainless steel puddy knife pack (for $5-$6/4 scrappers)
- one has a curved end, that perfectly matches the diameter of a paint roller

^^ Use curved profile to pull excess paint off roller, filled with paint.
Next use a garden hose to spin paint off the roller / while still on the roller handle.

BTW - Rollers are cheap, I only clean out ones with latex paint & toss rollers covered in oil base paint (when job is finished).
I often freeze rollers & paint brushes, in oil base paint / plus freezing them once covered in wood working urethane, works real well.

 

[Beaumont67]

TIP form a professional painter (+30 years, in business) - final brush clean, put some dish soap in the palm of your hand, and suds up the bristles a few times and rinse clean under a water tap...keeps them soft, for a longer time.

 

[srmofo]

I use the freezer, then run the bag under warm water until it thaws out when I need it the next day. Ive never had the need to do it for more than overnight. Who drags a painting project out that long anyway?

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

My painter buddy would drop the roller into the can of paint for storage. Was fun watching him try and get it back onto the handle... he became a general contractor... he was better at painting... as a contractor... he measured once and caulked twice.

My dad would do the same.. Union painter for 40+ years....

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I had a shop teacher who insisted that you take the brush you just cleaned and "paint" on your nice school shirt... If you didn't do a good job cleaning the brush, you'd know.. and you'd have some explaining to do with the folks after school..... I remember that like it was yesterday.. Thanks Mr. Allison / John F. Nuner, South Bend, IN!!

 

[wood02]

Definitely works for me. I insert the handle of the brush through the "lower corner" of a sandwich bag and then wrap the brush with bag. I use a wire tie wrap to keep the bag closed/sealed around the handle of the brush. I set the brush in the my garage fridge next to "my soft drinks" grab a drink find a comfortable chair and admire what I am painting and reflect on how much I hate to paint!

 

[MarkG]

Roller in fridge and plastic bag, yes. But I always clean my brushes completely and shape/store correctly after each use. Just a habit I got into being in the sign business where you could very quickly ruin a couple hundred dollars worth of brushes in no time if you were lazy! If you care enough to do a good job, you take care of your tools.

 

[dfiler2]

I don't even put them in the fridge anymore, just wrap them tightly in a plastic bag and they are ready to go the next day. This is especially handy when you are doing a small job like an entry door or something, it takes longer to clean the brush and roller than it does to do the painting.

 

[CooperFarm]

I don't refrigerate them, never have. If I'm really desperate (or lazy) and can't clean my brush I'll put two or three inches of paint (depending on the size of the brush) in a quart container and leave the bristles in the paint, then cover it up. Good for a day. Of course I don't do that with my $25 brushes And rarely with latex, it's just too easy to clean.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Here's a couple of tools re brush and roller cleaning and storage.. The wire "squeezer" wrings paint from the roller cover... and can be used to "fish" the roller from the bottom of a pail of paint if the painter removed it from the handle to close the pail.. (done that a few times). The brush/roller spinner is another invaluable tool.. brought this one new, picked up another at a pawn shop for cheap.. (one in painting tool box/basement, the other is in the garage).