Paint bottles

Are impossible to open. Does anyone have a tip on keeping the tops from sticking to the bottle and not budging? I'm getting blisters on my hands from old bottles with paint dried in the threads! I heard a tip about putting celophane over the lid, then screwing down the cap, but when I tried that all I got were not so nicely cut celophane circles. Any other ideas.

Put the bottle upside down, drop some thinner into the thread. Wait for a few minutes. Wrap a rubber band around the lid, then twist. If the lid is plastic like Tamiya or Gunze, soak it in hot water.

I do it in an unsafe mannor.... I use a bic lighter to heat the metal lid and then twist it right off. if you heat it so you cant hold the lid it is too hot and you might break the glass or make the paint explode as it is most likely flamable. so I don't advise doing this, but it works.

I heat the cap up with a small space heater with a fan. Just 20 to 30 seconds in the hot air and the tops twist off easy as you like. It can get pretty hot so I hold it with a towel which allows more purchase anyway. I also use the heater for warming up rattle cans before spraying. Needless to say you don't want to leave it there too long!

i got 2 of those thin rubber grip pads that are designed to help open larger jars, you usually use just one but I find 2 alot easier because of the smaller paint jars.
Edit:
I found a link to some but you can only buy them in bulk there, but here it is just to show what they are.
http://www.gimmees.com/detail.asp?pNum=511

I just use some pliars to twist off, saves my hands atleast :grinyes:

Bring the tops under hot water for a few minutes, if that doesn't work pliers do the trick.

I use a jar opener like this one. http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=81313 Got mine at a yard sale for a quarter.

I use a jar opener like this one. http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=81313 Got mine at a yard sale for a quarter.

I've got one, those rock!

I just use a thin rubber grip as well (works 99.9% of the time). For really stuck on one's I use my gf's jar opener (similar to the one's posted but for larger jars)

Rubber gloves!

Rubber gloves!

Kinky modeler :lol:

Just a joke :grinyes:

For the little square Testors jars, if you can't get a good grip on the glass, put the jar in a vice. DON'T clamp the vice, just close it enough so that the bottle cannot spin (about 0.5 a millimeter gap between vice and glass). Works beautifully.

If you can't get the top off still, you can use a pair of pliers and the vice to very easily get the cap off, but usually you damage the cap so the probability of finding dried up paint in the bottle 7 days later goes up significantly. Transfering the paint to another container takes care of this.

Yes. Clean the cap and the threads of you paint bottles before you close them... :evillol:

Bill

You can prevent sticking caps in the first place a few different ways:
- Always stir your paint, never shake the bottle. Paint seeping around the edge of the lid and drying there.
- Never pour paint from the bottle, always use a straw or pipette or, what I prefer, a glass medicine dropper. This will also prevent paint from bonding the cap to the bottle.
- If you use a paint brush, transfer some paint from the bottle to an artist's palette with a medicine dropper, and dip your brush into that. You can get one for a buck or two at a craft store (Looks like a metal or plastic egg crate).

Always be careful when using pliers or other mechanical means to remove a stuck cap: Sometimes the bond can be stronger than the glass or plastic of the bottle, which means flying glass and paint, and likely a big mess.