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Learn how to strain paint, why you should, and what could happen if you don’t. Plus, easy ways to strain paint using stuff you may already have!
It’s important to strain paint to remove debris before brushing, rolling, or spraying. Learn three easy ways to strain paint, including a few ideas using stuff that you may already have on hand.
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Straining paint means removing debris like dust and dirt; and lumps, chunks, and clumps of dried paint. The paint is poured through a filter or strainer into a clean container. The strainer collects the debris. The paint in the clean container is smooth, debris-free, and ready to be brushed, rolled, or sprayed.
Back to Table of ContentsHave you ever needed to touch-up on a paint project? It never fails. When you reopen the paint can, dried paint chunks fall from the lid and rim into the paint.
Those chunks will end up in your brush or roller. Then those paint chunks are transferred to whatever project you’re painting. A lumpy, bumpy paint job doesn’t look professional.
Related: Best Way to Clean Paint Brushes
Or worse yet, those dried paint chunks can clog your paint sprayer. Then you’ll have to stop, clean your sprayer, and start again.
Related: 7 Ways to Prevent Orange Peel Texture When Using a Paint Sprayer
Taking the extra time to strain your paint will make your project look more professional. And avoid the hassle of stopping to clean your sprayer.
Back to Table of ContentsI have read that brand-new paint should be strained. I thought it was a ridiculous waste of time. It’s new paint. How could it have any debris in it?
As an experiment, I decided to try straining a can of new paint. After I strained the new paint, I found clumps at the bottom of the strainer. Now I’m a believer.
So yes, new paint should be strained too.
Back to Table of ContentsPlace a drop cloth on your worksurface to protect the surrounding area from any drips or spills.
Stretch the stockings around the opening of the container.
💡 TIP: You can use new or used stockings. The dollar store is a great place to buy inexpensive stockings. If the stockings are used, make sure they don’t have any holes or runs.
Make a fist and gently push the pantyhose down into the container. Be careful not to tear the material.
Open the paint container and stir the paint. Then, slowly pour the paint into the stockings.
Don’t overfill the stockings and allow some time for the paint to drain into the container.
Remove the stockings. If you strained a water-based paint like latex paint, you can rinse the stockings and reuse them again.
Place a drop cloth on your worksurface to protect the surrounding area from any drips or spills.
Position the wire mesh or window screen over a clean container or bucket. Then, gently press down in the middle of the screen.
💡 TIP: Fiberglass screen also works but it should be attached to the container so that it doesn’t fall into the container while pouring the paint.
Open the paint container and stir the paint. Then, slowly pour the paint into the screen.
Don’t overfill the screen and allow some time for the paint to drain into the container.
Remove the screen, and clean it so that it can be reused. Use water for latex paints and use mineral spirits for oil-based paints.
Place a drop cloth on your worksurface to protect the surrounding area from any drips or spills.
Position the strainer holder over a clean container or bucket. Then, place a clean cone filter (also known as a paint sieve) in the holder.
Open the paint container and stir the paint. Then, slowly pour the paint into the filter.
Don’t overfill the filter and allow the paint to drain into the container.
It’s important to strain paint to remove debris before brushing, rolling, and spraying. It’s easy ways to do with stockings, wire mesh or a cone filter.
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How a Paint Strainer Can Save You Time and Money. Author - Andy Potts July 16th 2020 (reading time 2 mins)
The humble paint strainer is a low-tech, low-cost tool that most spray shops overlook. But it's a little lifesaver that can improve your paint finish. And because using a strainer adds a quick and easy quality control step into your process, you won't waste production time and materials on fixing poor finishes.
A paint strainer is typically a disposable paper cone with a fine nylon mesh insert. You can also buy reusable versions, but you have to wash these out after every use, which adds time to the production process. Filters are available with different grades of mesh, ranging from 400 microns for medium filtration through to 125 microns for super fine filtration.
The idea is that you pour your paint through the strainer to filter out debris such as dried flakes, undissolved pigment, foreign bodies and dust particles that can:
It's a simple but highly effective filtration method that will help you to achieve a top-class paint job the first time, every time. If you work with automotive paint or wood furniture finishes, using a paint strainer in your day-to-day operations is a no-brainer.
A paper filter is compatible with all types of coating, including:
You can use a strainer in two ways - on the way in and on the way out.
Use a strainer as standard when you mix your paint to catch any contaminants that are larger than 190 microns. This will remove any undissolved pigments, dry paint and foreign particles.
Filtering at the mixing stage ensures that:
Straining at this stage is particularly important if you use a gravity-fed system because it sucks the paint (and anything that it contains) into your gun.
After your first sift, sit a strainer inside your spray gun to perform a secondary strain of the same material using a finer mesh. This will capture any smaller matter that may block your gun or block the nozzle and disrupt the fan pattern, which would lower the quality of your finish.
It's best practice to use a disposable paint strainer at every stage of the spraying process, and because it's so cheap and easy to do, there's really no reason not to. But, if you really must cut corners, be sure to strain the final topcoat. It will give you a far superior finish.
Colad's pack of 10 disposable strainers is popular with our customers here at Ultrimax. Here are some of the product's key features and benefits:
Watch this short video to find out more about TPS4 and how it can benefit your paint shop:
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