Can You Put Acrylic Paint in the Fridge?

You don’t have to be a starving artist not to want to wash your perfectly good acrylic paints down the drain. Nice acrylic paints can get pricey, so it’s understandable to want to find a solution to keep your leftover mixed paints lasting as long as possible. There are several ways to accomplish this, but can you put acrylic paints in the fridge?

Can You Put Acrylic Paint in the Fridge? Yes, Acrylic Paint can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. Whether it’s being kept on the palette or in a container, acrylic paint should be tightly sealed. This will prevent the paint from clumping and drying out.

In this article, I’ll discuss how keeping acrylic paint in your fridge can make them last longer. I will also suggest other ideal places to store leftover paints, clue you in on where to avoid storing them and give you tips on different ways to use any leftover paints.

How To Store Acrylic Paint in the Fridge Safely,

So, you’ve hit a stopping point in your project but aren’t entirely done with it yet. The only issue is that you still have plenty of mixed paints that give you the perfect shades and hues. Trying to duplicate the exact shade to continue your work over the next couple of days may be challenging. 

Tightly Seal Your Acrylic Paints

In this situation, the solution you are looking for is to store them in the refrigerator. Always ensure your paint pallet is sealed with either saran wrap or press and seal. Then to be extra cautious, place the pallet in a gallon-size sealable bag if it will fit. 

You can also use air-tight containers. Add your paints into the different containers and place the lids on them. Make sure they are nice and tight. Then, just as with the plastic wrap, place them inside sealable storage bags. 

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Properly covering your paints allows them to last longer than if exposed to the air throughout the night. Sealed paints are more likely to stay wet and remain usable. In contrast, unsealed paints will dry out quicker and get clumpy, potentially ruining your chances of being able to use them again.

Other options for storing acrylic paint include:

• Mason jars with lids
• Coffee tin
• Used food containers

Allow Time for the Paints to Reach Room Temperature

If you want the best texture when sitting down to paint again, you should set aside some time for your paints to sit out and reach room temperature. Typically this can take an hour or two. 

Regardless of how long it takes for the texture of the paint to transform back into what you’re looking for, you will be glad you had the patience and the foresight to pull them out ahead of time.

More Paint Storage Solutions

When choosing where to store your acrylic paints, two things to keep in mind are that you want to find a cool, dry place, and it needs to be free from moisture. Because acrylics are a water-based paint, temperature and moisture play a considerable role in how well your paints will keep. 

How Temperature Can Affect Acrylic Paint

Keeping your paints stored in a location that doesn’t maintain a consistent temperature of 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit (16-26 degrees Celsius) will cause changes to the paint’s consistency. This can result in not being able to use them anymore.

Temperatures that are too cold could cause the water in your paints to freeze, whereas temperatures that are too warm can cause drying out. If the temperatures are continuously up and down, the constant freezing and thawing can severely affect the consistency of your paint, rendering them unusable.

How Moisture Can Affect Acrylic Paint

Moisture is the nemesis of your acrylic paints, especially when they are stored at the correct temperatures. Unfortunately, the consistent temperatures of 60 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (16 to 26 degrees Fahrenheit) are the perfect breeding ground for mold when moisture is involved. 

If you notice your paints have an odd smell to them, this could be indicative of mold. Check out this article to learn how to determine if your paints have become moldy. If your acrylic paint has mold, throw it away immediately. 

So, aside from the fridge for just a few days, other locations that could be a good place to store your paints are:

• Cabinets 
• Closets

Avoid storing your paints anywhere that is directly exposed to water, such as:

• Laundry room
• Bathroom
• Kitchen

Other Ways To Use Leftover Acrylic Paint

Since I have gone over proper storage techniques for saving your paints for future use, I will now offer ideas of other fun ways to avoid wasting your leftover paints while creating beautiful works of art.

Create Messy Splatter Art

One fun way to use leftover paint is splatter art. This exciting technique involves slinging excess paint from your brush onto your canvas. Another variation of splatter art is to fill up water balloons and secure them just above the canvas. 

You can use throwing darts to pop the paint balloons. The result is a beautiful waterfall of colors pouring down your canvas. Just be prepared to clean up the mess!

Create a Dot Swipe Art Masterpiece

Swipe art is a really cool trend going on right now, although I’m sure it’s not the first some of you have heard of it. 

There is no rhyme or reason for how you need to do this. It can be as simple as squirting paint dots in random places throughout your canvas. Sometimes the most fun we have with art is when we wing it. 

To make this amazing artwork, follow these simple steps:

1. If you prefer a background color, make sure to paint the background and allow it to dry before starting your dots. 
2. Once your background is dry, squirt dots of paint wherever you desire on your canvas. 
3. Once satisfied, grab a squeegee or other type of scraper. Place it firmly at the top of your canvas and, slowly and carefully, swipe the squeegee downward until you reach the bottom of your canvas. 
4. Wipe the excess paint from your scraper and repeat the step repeatedly until you have scraped your entire canvas.

The final product is so cool. I highly recommend using some of your leftover acrylic paints for this project. But do not limit yourself, as there are many more fun ideas on how not to let your excess paint go to waste.

Final Words

If you’ve been working hard on that one-of-a-kind masterpiece but have to set it aside and come back to it tomorrow, don’t throw it out; cover it and store it in the fridge. This will keep it at its best consistency for when you are ready to start up again. Just remember to let it sit out for a bit to rise to room temperature before getting started. For all other leftover paints, try something new and exciting to use them up if you don’t have plans to store them.