Plastic Paint Cans Are a Bad Idea

Wednesday, 07 July 2010 | by Pat's Picks

I don’t know who thought this shift to plastic paint cans was a good idea. But I’m repairing a little section of drywall and I’m not happy to find dried up paint and a lid that won’t seal.

We’ve done our whole apartment in Pratt and Lambert paint, and a few years ago they stopped using the traditional metal gallon paint cans and shifted to these plastic containers. They’re great the first time you use them: easy to open and easy to pour. But I’m convinced the paint doesn’t keep as well.

Today I opened a can after about a year and there’s some ugly dried-up paint around the lid that’s preventing it from sealing properly.  With the old cans you just got out a hammer and pounded until it was sealed up tight.

If it ain’t broke ...

I was glad to learn I’m not the only one who hates plastic paint cans. There was a lively discussion about the topic on a website called, appropriately, painttalk.com