If you’ve got a spray can with a lid that doesn’t want to come off very easily, you could tug and pull on it until it finally does break loose, and maybe hit the nozzle and spray something you don’t want to spray, but there’s a better way.
David Baker from Halfway, Ore., has figured out how to tame that reluctant lid. Here’s what he does:
The lid on the can I’m using to demonstrate this tip does not want to come off. And it even has the little indentations that you’re supposed to compress to make it easier to remove. Let’s go inside the lid and see what makes it work. There is a solid, concentric ring of plastic inside that cap that is meant to grip the top of the can. What David does is take his tin-snips and he makes four cuts into the inner ring at ninety degrees to each other. Because we’ve made these cuts, the ring inside the cap is not going to grip the can so tightly, and it makes it a lot easier to pull off. When I put this cap back on, all it takes is a gently tug and it comes off like a dream.
Thanks, David. Great tip.
View Comments
Simple solutions are best! Thanks guys!
Good unforgettable tip!
Hmmm. I was hoping this was going to be about stopping spray tips from clogging. That's what I need a better way for. No matter what I do- turn it upside and spray and wipe the tip- the things still clog up. I soak 'em in thinner and try to clean them with a oxy-acet tip cleaner- no go! I wouldn't mind if they sold spare spray nozzles, but they don't(that I know about) so it leads me to believe it's a scam and way to sell more cans of paint.
If you spray a squirt of WD-40 through them when you are done, they will not be clogged. Better than trying to tip upside down and clear. You can get a lot more product out before you lose pressure that way also.
TRY, when you get the CAP off, THROW IT IN THE RECYCLABLES. Move on.
>>If you spray a squirt of WD-40 through them when you are done, they will not be clogged.
Now THATS a good tip! Thanks.
As for the cap, I agree, recycle and move on...