My stored emulsion paint is lumpy?

Question

I have stored my tins of paint in my outside shed. Some of the paint if fine to use (after a god stir) but some are extremely lumpy. There was no film that had formed on the top only what i can call a liquid substance that looks like cloudy water. When i came to stir it, it all mixed in but its really lumpy, looks like my lumpy gravy when attending to cook sunday dinner ð . I’ve added water and tired more but it doesnt see to work. The tin of paint is only 6 months old? and it has well over half left in the can so i dont want to buy more as it an expensive job. Please help!!!

Rose Schowalter · Accepted Answer

I worked for 40 years formulating paints and your paint has been frozen at some stage. In the good old days before environmental issues were important , emulsion paints used to contain 2% of ethylene glycol (the active ingredient in car antifreeze) to stop this,Now due to eco legislation and cost it is not included. If the paint seems gritty you can throw it away,The polymer used in it has broken and coagulated.You cannot rre disperse the bits.Your question says its only 6 months old so if it was alright when you first used it and hasn’t got frozensince its something else.The something else ( and your gravy description makes it likely ) is called syneresis. This is the cloudy milky layer on top of the rest of the paint.Stirring a large pack (7 litres plus)is best done by using a cheap blade you put in an electric drill. at low speed Small cans below 5 litres can be done by hand. Adding water will make it worse.Ina nut shell if the lumps are large soft ones buy a mixing blade.If there is an overall gritty feeling with lots of small hard lumps (about 2mm) then its been frozen and no use.Sorry but that’s the way it is.

Rose Schowalter · Answer

You might just have to mix more. A kitchen whisk can be a good tool for breaking up lumps. I keep one in with my painting tools just for that purpose. And there are those paint mixer gadgets that attach to an electric drill.Press the lumps between two fingers. If they are soft, they should eventually mix in smooth. If not, if they are hard, forget it. Toss the paint. Also, whether the lumps really matter might depend on how you plan to use the paint. If the lumps are soft and you’re using a brush, you can just brush them out. If you’re using a roller, it might not do that. You wouldn’t know without trying it. I used some paint last summer that had a lot of small lumps but when brushed on it worked fine.If you know the paint got frozen at some point, throw it away. It will never work right.

Rose Schowalter · Answer

All my radiators blend in with my walls. I buy a similar colour and shade of satin paint to my emulsion paint. I have had no problems whatsoever and my radiators get very, very hot. I have tried hammerite radiator paint and found it difficult to apply as it was very thick and I could not get a smooth look like I do with the satin paint. Good Luck!

Rose Schowalter · Answer

it has froze and gelled, nothing you can do with it,

Mr. Bertha Ziemann IV

My stored emulsion paint is lumpy?

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