Latex Paints in Recycled Containers?

[C855B]

Prepping for the big sky project, the plan is to pre-mix the paints - five shades - in gallon bottles rather than cans for ease of pouring with minimum mess into the spray gun pot. Testing has the ideal reduction at 2:1 plus a couple of ounces of extender/conditioner, so the light-cream consistency will work well with the bottles. The paint is not acrylic, but a really cheap interior latex. No expense was spared.

Being hopeless pack rats, we have quite a choice of recycled gallon jugs for projects. My biggest concern is traces of the original contents lingering even after extensive rinsing, and whether any trace amounts are going to corrupt the paint. Choices are: household vinegar, windshield washer solution and laundry deodorant/disinfectant ("OdoBan"). I might have a couple of fruit punch bottles in the stash, but I think most of those were used-up for oil changes.

The driving notion is some familiarity with plastics recycling, where detergent bottles, despite being labelled with recycling codes, are excluded because residual detergents can contaminate the process, and I also wonder about the acetic acid remnants in vinegar bottles.

My knee-jerk thought is former windshield washer solution bottles, and that's only because of repeated mentions of washer solution (with its alcohol content) as a reducer for modeling acrylics. Anybody have any specific knowledge or experience?

[MK]

Why not go get a gallon of spring or distilled water, drink the water and use the bottle?  How much cleaner than drinking water?

[peteski]

I get my "spring water" in gallon jugs.  It is the supermarket's generic brand and it costs 99 cents/gal.  I always keep few empty ones handy in case I need them for something.  Those are clean - no residues. If your supermarket carries cheap generic spring water in gallon jugs then it might be worth buying them just for the containers.

If you want to use the ones you already have, I would rinse the empties few times with warm water and not worry about contamination.  Specifically the washer fluid and vinegar jugs. Not sure about the others. After couple of rinsing the amount of leftover substances will be just a trace (if any).  Not enough to affect latex paint.  At least that is my thought.

[C855B]

There is a difference - the plastic of supermarket water (and milk) bottles is quite thin in comparison to the ones I mentioned. I used to recycle motor oil in milk jugs, and had a couple of bad experiences where, say, a push into something would pinch the plastic or otherwise puncture into a pinhole. Also, the lids - once the purchase seal is broken - are not secure enough for vigorous shaking.

I think the riskiest of the batch are the disinfectant bottles. Even after several rinses the fragrance remains overwhelming, so residual surfactants must still be clinging to the plastic. I'll relegate those to oil changes. I found the stash of empty fruit punch bottles, but in thinking about it we want to keep those for potable water, something we can't do with the disinfectant or windshield washer solution bottles, and probably don't want to do with the vinegar jugs.

Still leaning towards the washer solution bottles, unless somebody knows something we don't yet.

[Lemosteam]

You can buy brand new empty plastic 1 gallon "cans" for this purpose:

https://www.thecarycompany.com/plastic-paint-cans-30wkpn?utm_source=google_shopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_7HdBRDPARIsAN_ltcKQBhYqaj-Crh49QLOvGbhgPA5Ccy3IRsf-hGCqfCI-0dOBiYalJ-gaAm5mEALw_wcB

[Mark W]

If you know someone with a cat, they may have a few of these jugs for ya.  If not, there are plenty other uses for cat litter around the home.

[C855B]

You can buy brand new empty plastic 1 gallon "cans" for this purpose:

No cans, that's what I'm trying to get away from with this job. I have plenty of empty paint cans which I have dutifully cleaned and set aside. Cans are an enormous PITA to handle with a spray gun. I"m taking advantage of the lower viscosity of the reduced paint with the bottle idea.

I searched for "bottle" at Menards since they have everything, hoping to find new empty bottles. Instead, this is what I got:



Figures.

[MK]

There is a difference - the plastic of supermarket water (and milk) bottles is quite thin in comparison to the ones I mentioned. I used to recycle motor oil in milk jugs, and had a couple of bad experiences where, say, a push into something would pinch the plastic or otherwise puncture into a pinhole. Also, the lids - once the purchase seal is broken - are not secure enough for vigorous shaking.

I think the riskiest of the batch are the disinfectant bottles. Even after several rinses the fragrance remains overwhelming, so residual surfactants must still be clinging to the plastic. I'll relegate those to oil changes. I found the stash of empty fruit punch bottles, but in thinking about it we want to keep those for potable water, something we can't do with the disinfectant or windshield washer solution bottles, and probably don't want to do with the vinegar jugs.

Still leaning towards the washer solution bottles, unless somebody knows something we don't yet.

As cheap as $0.96 in store.  Very sturdy and the cap is very secure.  I reuse mine to bring water to the park.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/POLAND-SPRING-Brand-100-Natural-Spring-Water-101-4-ounce-plastic-jug/15724074

Or, if you want to spend more.  Here's one for $5 and infrared steralized too.  Check with a local camera store.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/218434-REG/Delta_1_11130_Datatainer_Brown_32_oz.html

[Lemosteam]

No cans, that's what I'm trying to get away from with this job. I have plenty of empty paint cans which I have dutifully cleaned and set aside. Cans are an enormous PITA to handle with a spray gun. I"m taking advantage of the lower viscosity of the reduced paint with the bottle idea.

Ah, gotcha!  then there is this if you already have the cans:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Shur-Line-Pour-and-Store-Gallon-Paint-Can-Lid-2007061/202903561

[C855B]

Ah, gotcha!  then there is this if you already have the cans:

Looks useful, but I got a chuckle out of the vacuum relief hole - nowhere near big enough to offset pouring pretty much anything through the spout, much less something as viscous as unreduced paint.

As far as "virgin" bottles go, I could get new, chem-type (thick wall, like the ones I'm recycling) 1-gal jugs for about a buck-fifty each from U-Line, in minimum 1-dozen case quantities.

I'm going with the windshield washer solution bottles at this point, seems the safest, quickest, cheapest and most convenient. Interestingly, a few minutes ago I was emptying the remaining washer solution in a couple of 'em into the disinfectant jugs, and they foamed like a sonofagun. That was eye-opening confirmation that the rinsed disinfectant containers still had enough surfactant residue to mess with things. Live and learn.

[learmoia]

I searched for "bottle" at Menards since they have everything, hoping to find new empty bottles. Instead, this is what I got:



Figures.

I assume if you search for cans you get Russian brides as a result?