Ol' Paint

February 23, 2006 6:18 AM

I've had cans of paint in my hall closet for 3+ years. They're garbage now, right?

We painted various rooms in our apartment many years ago and then stored the paint in a closet, in case we needed to do touch-ups. We never did.

So, a couple of questions really:

1. if they are garbage, what's the proper way of disposing of them?

2. if they're not garbage, would using them create anywhere near the original color?

Thanks for the help.

posted by papercake to home & garden (12 comments total)

They're probably not garbage, as long as they haven't been exposed to freezing temps.

To answer your questions:
1. According to this, you can dispose of latex paint in the regular waste stream. The same does not hold true for oil-based paints, as they are generally considered household hazardous waste. In this case, you need to contact your municipality to find out where/when they allow collection of it.
2. They should create the original color, as long as air hasn't gotten into the can and caused oxidation.
posted by SteveInMaine at 6:48 AM on February 23, 2006

If they were well-sealed after use, it's possible they could still be usable. Open them up, see if they're still near the original consistency, and if so, paint a small patch of an inconspicuous area to see if the color is what you want.

If not, the general disposal practice is pretty much to let it dry up completely (in a well-ventilated area, or by adding something like cat litter), and then recycle. Since it appears you're in NYC, the full details are at the Department of Sanitation's website; basically, you can drop off up to 5 gallons of latex paint at one of the special waste disposal sites in each borough.

As an aside, you can usually get good information regarding NYC services by calling 311.
posted by bemis at 6:51 AM on February 23, 2006

To dispose of old paint in the City of Minneapolis, open the can, let it dry out, then put it in your regular trash. Maybe your municipality is similar.

Lacking that, you can take it to a hazardous waste recycler, or there may be an outfit like the ReUse Center in Minneapolis that will take it [they're like a Salvation Army store for home improvement].

Probably the best thing to to is call whoever collects your trash and ask them how you should dispose of it.
posted by chazlarson at 6:54 AM on February 23, 2006

Open the cans and check. Stir the paint if necessary. If the cans were sealed, the paint should still be useable and the same colour as it was originally. Though if the wall needing a retouch gets a lot of sun on it, it may have faded.

I recently repainted a section of wall 4.5 years after the original painting. It worked perfectly well.

In future, it may be a good idea to store small amounts of extra paint in glass jars, such as old jam jars. You can be sure they'll seal and the jars will take up less storage space than a nearly empty paint can.
posted by orange swan at 6:55 AM on February 23, 2006

bemis beat me to the punch, but FWIW, NYC also has a FAQ on what to do with most things you would be interested in getting rid of.

I think we're all assuming that the paint is latex (vs. oil) too. If it's oil-based, then things change.
posted by gavia at 6:57 AM on February 23, 2006

You can also buy paint hardener / quick drying stuff to put in the can if you want to throw it away. It takes forever for 1/2 gallon of paint to dry in the can, but if you add the quick dry stuff, it hardens very fast and you can just throw it in the regular trash. Home centers and hardware stores will have the stuff if you ask in the paint department.
posted by evoo at 7:04 AM on February 23, 2006

I would give the contents in the cans a rigorous stir. Make sure everything is mixed together nicely, then grab a small paintbrush and paint a 6" by 6" area in an out of the way spot on your walls. Check the test areas out about 2 to 3 hours later. If your newly painted spots are impossible to notice, then I'd say that your paints are still usable.
Since they were stored in a closet in your house, I'll bet that they are still usable.
posted by NoMich at 7:33 AM on February 23, 2006

You can also buy paint hardener / quick drying stuff.

I have almost a dozen cans of latex drying out in my basement as I type. The local sanitation department website suggested adding cat litter to make it dry out faster. A gallon of generic cat litter worked like a charm.
posted by probablysteve at 8:04 AM on February 23, 2006

If the color has changed a bit, but the paint is still usable, but them on Craigslist free section. There are artists all over the city who would love to have free paint. Then you don't have to worry about disposal.
posted by kimdog at 9:34 AM on February 23, 2006

It's probably good. Check it out, use as needed, freecycle the rest. I've used paint that's 8 years old with no problem - I had put it away with a tight lid, and the can didn't rust. I recently took 6 different cans of off-white, cream, beige, etc, and combined it all into Back Hall Neutral Beige.
posted by theora55 at 10:07 AM on February 23, 2006

If you plan to use it, you might want to strain it. Paint stores sell cone-shaped paper strainers and mesh bags (spray hoods) through which you can pour paint.

I have used both oil and latex paint older than what you have there. Stirring well is important.
posted by wryly at 5:56 PM on February 23, 2006

If you want to try to use it, paint a test swatch first, as the driers can go out of old paint. You don't want a back hallway that never dries.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 8:55 AM on February 26, 2006