How many of you ALWAYS box your paint on a big job?

[Jake]

OK, so I'm getting ready this morning to roll out and start a new job on a 3400 sf interior and I can't find a squirel mixer in all my stuff. I call this guy who's doing the job with me , and who's been painting pro for as long as me and I ask him if he has a squirel mixer. He said he had one at home but he was already on his way. So I said OK, no prob, we'll just box everything by hand. He was all like "What"?

I told him that since it's my job, I'm calling the shots and that we Alway's Box the paint. He starts asking me "why.... They shake everything at the store" I told him that that's just the way it is because even when they tint everything all at once... There can still be inconsistancys in the 5's and/or the gallons. Hence... We always box the 5's for super uniform color.

Same thing with gallons. When we box those, we'll empty the cans into a five bucket, put a little water into the bottom of the cans, shake em up, put a screen over the top of the 5 , and then lay the can on top of the screen upside down to get all the good stuff on the bottom of it into the 5 where we then box it all together.

The color is then super sweet and uniform.

Do any of you do this as well?

Gotta roll out here in about half an hour. You can bet I'll be doing everything above here in just a little while. 

[the PAINTSMITH]

I've always taken them to the box stores and had them do it...

[LJ]

I only box if I start a new can/5 mid-wall.  I find that as long as any ever-so-slight shade differences occur at natural breaks, no one ever sees them.  To tell you the truth, maybe I just have poor eyes for color, but I have yet to see any noticeable difference in shade between cans/5's.  Of course, I almost always buy my paint all on the same day.  I do always box, if the paint has been sitting, or if I purchase paint on different days.

I like your idea about getting the last little bit out of 1 gallon cans.  They will dry faster that way also, allowing them to be disposed of more quickly.

[LJ]

I've always taken them to the box stores and had them do it...

Nice! 

[Georgie Wood]

I don't do many of the really larger jobs that call for many 5 buckets of paint. But, I do box all paints(except white trim paint). The necessity to box paints was one of the first things I learned from (bad) experience back in '89. What a heart breaker when you cut everything, roll, then sit scratching your head wondering why what was cut is a bit lighter/darker than what was rolled. Then the light goes on...Ooooooh!

Man, I like that idea of using a roller grid to drain buckets. Something so simple, I should have thought of that myself.

I think you're doing the right thing, Jake. It takes time, but if there is any touch-up, etc to be done, you are assured that it's going to match up nicely. One less thing to worry about.

[rmichael]

I always BOX my paint... sometimes it wins, sometimes I do... 

Seriously, We always box our paint, if it is singles we empty in a five, put about 1"-1-1/2" of water in an "empty" single, tap on the lid and shake vigorously, pour into next can and repeat and so on, then pour into five. Then pour back and forth a few times with an empty five. The last pour gets strained through a 5 gal strainer bag... yes, these days it's a good idea to strain new paint... 

[canadianpainter]

All I do is large commercial jobs and I never box paint.  I don't see the need to go through all that work if you simply use the same can/pail to cut as you do to roll.  I think boxing paint the traditional way is a complete waste of time because if you just use your head and never let your can or tray get empty then you're boxing the paint when your fill them up. 

If I ever caught one of our employees boxing paint I'd probably tell them to stop F$%^ing around and put the goddamn paint on the wall already. lol

[UUjohn]

if its a two coat job of 2 or more gallons per coat, i'll work out of each can for the first coat...  i'll box the 2+ cans for the final...  y'know, just in case the batches are different for each can, a tad off on the tint formula etc etc ...  you know the drill ...

[rmichael]

I have seen a full shade difference between lot numbers with off the shelf colors.... and of course there is human/machine error... ever seen a tinting machine spit?...    .

If the paint color "off shades" on the job it can skew an entire wall, ceiling, or the whole job and there is really no way to fix it.. except a repaint..   

I have experienced some mistint horrors, so IMO Boxing is worth the effort... 

[readboutjc]

on the few big jobs i have, i use an 18" roller and add the first gallon to the pan, then about half way
through the first gallon i start to add the second and so on.  i cut in as i go and use the same paint that
is in the tray.

[HeatherP]

I box the second coat...don't worry about the first coat.

[jackpauhl]

I box the second coat...don't worry about the first coat.

Ditto. Lighter colors not so much.

[rmichael]

I box the second coat...don't worry about the first coat.

Ditto. Lighter colors not so much.

Hmmm... Why not box enough paint for both coats?   I don't see any time saved by boxing the second and not the first.. JMHO

[canadianpainter]

I have seen a full shade difference between lot numbers with off the shelf colors.... and of course there is human/machine error... ever seen a tinting machine spit?...    .

If the paint color "off shades" on the job it can skew an entire wall, ceiling, or the whole job and there is really no way to fix it.. except a repaint..   

I have experienced some mistint horrors, so IMO Boxing is worth the effort... 

I think every painter has had "mistint horrors" and it really does suck.  However, I don't see how boxing the paint resolves the problem and maybe boxing does more harm than good.  I mean, if I buy four gallons of paint and one of them is mistinted; I box the paint and then paint the area and everything looks great....but what happens when my customer or I buy a gallon of that colour to touch up and the colours don't match because a mistinted gallon of paint was boxed with the good ones?  Furthermore, what good does that do for the industry standards?  My supplier wouldn't know about the mistint; hence they'd be unable to take action to prevent these errors in the future. 

[Fred]

We box it all, all the time. And always leave enough for touchup.
We've a couple builders who do 11 month punch lists, so we're always back fixing nail pops and corner cracks. we call it grocery money lol