Idea for paint and other liquids storage - thoughts?

I know there are a lot of smart "materials" people on here.....

I ordered some Kiwi-grip recently and it came in a "baggie" instead of a can. It was brilliant - I could pour out what I needed with no mess. Best of all, with the remainder I could squeeze out all the air right up to the tip of the spout and then put the screw on cap back on with absolutely no air inside!

Being a DIY guy, I thought this would be fantastic for all that leftover stuff I have after projects. Nothing worse than leaving 1/2 a can of varnish for 6 months and then expecting to come back to use it. I thought, OK, I know Kiwi-gip is water based, so if I tried to use these pouches for anything else it would be a disaster.

Well, I decided to spend $7 on Amazon and test a few liquids in the bags. Nearly all of the bags are advertised as sneaky liquor-carrying "flasks" and have food-grade claims - Food Grade", "BPA Free", etc. I am pretty sure 90% of the baggies sold on there all come from the same place and are made of the same stuff. I couldn't find any information there or on Google on what the pouches and caps are actually made of. Again, not holding my breath after reading the purpose of use.

I bought a cheap multi-size pack of pouches and poured several different liquids into them put them upside down (liquids right against the cap and the glue/heat melt area of the top). After 3 days now, in the engine room, there is no sign of leakage, deformation of the bags, or degradation of any of the materials.

Whoa! This could be a game-changer for me! I would love to be able to put leftover paints, varnish, stains, and stuff in these baggies and get all the air out --- and then be able to pour out small amounts with a no-mess top! Not to mention they take up A LOT less space than 1/2 empty cans.......

The only real downside is you need a very small funnel to fill the bags the first time (at least one usually comes with the pouches). There are inexpensive 25, 50, and 100-packs of small disposable plastic and paper funnels on Amazon also that would work for this, though, at very little cost. I think this would beat the propane/gas shot into the can thing for me, also.

I'm gonna continue let these sit and will report back if there are any breaches, but so far its looking really good. I am going to try a few other "caustic" chemicals in the remaining ones I have. If I went this route as a 'thing' I would still put the whole lot of any pouches in a tub for storage, well, you know, just in case......

Any thoughts or experience with these? Am I missing something? Are they really impervious to Acetone and other things?

You may want to pay attention to what you store together. If two bags fail and leak into the same resevoir, you may inadvertantly mix 2 chemicals that you shouldn't mix.

Benthic2 said:

You may want to pay attention to what you store together. If two bags fail and leak into the same resevoir, you may inadvertantly mix 2 chemicals that you shouldn't mix.

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Good point!

I think it is a brilliant idea. Only if it works however. I'll be watching for updates!

I agree, a very good idea. I didn’t even know bags like this existed.

Ken

Curious to see how it works out. There are some wine box and bag options for sale on the internet that may offer larger sizes.

I use a Rubbermaid tote (maybe 12" deep) for my chemicals. Between spray cans or corrosion inhibitor, WD40, spray bottles of caustic cleaner, and a ridiculous amount of soaps, it's only a matter of time before something leaks. Started doing this at home in the garage after a couple of nasty cleanups.

Ted

I have not bought Kiwigrip for a while and it didn’t come in a bag then. It seems to last ok in the gallon can because I used some of it this year and it is at least 3 years old. I did get a bag of oil with a power washer I bought this year. Some of the buyers did get the pressure washer that had leaking bags of oil and made a real mess of their new washers.

Most people under estimate what polyethylene will hold. For example, the thinnest zip lock bag will happily hold boiling water safely.
For larger quantities of storage, I re-use 4litre box wine bags. Double thickness food grade polyethylene. Carefully lever out the original valve, rinse, dry & reuse both bag & valve.
For on boat storage, just be mindful of chafe from vibration (I lost quite a few cans of soda/mix one season from micro abrasions on cans from FRP locker bottom) and PE is susceptible also.

Here's an old skool trick I've used to keep paints etc from hardening in a partially used can.

Using the lid as a template cut out a waxed paper disc and place the disc on top of the paint when you're done. It's important to keep the can rim clean to allow a good re-seal.

You'll come back a year or more later to open the can, pull out the waxed paper and find your paint or varnish ready to go.

I suggest storing the bags in a leak proof tub just in case. I do that with every liquid container.

Might be overkill or to much work depending on the situation but if the concern for leakage due to abrasions, punctures, and other mishaps why not put the liquids into the bags and put the bags back into the original can if the inside of the can be sufficiently cleaned. This way you still have the labels and directions for the product. If the can or jar can not be reused just get a substitute.

Portage_Bay said:

Here's an old skool trick I've used to keep paints etc from hardening in a partially used can.

Using the lid as a template cut out a waxed paper disc and place the disc on top of the paint when you're done. It's important to keep the can rim clean to allow a good re-seal.

You'll come back a year or more later to open the can, pull out the waxed paper and find your paint or varnish ready to go.

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I have also put an inflated balloon in the can to both create a seal with the sides of the can, and to take up the air space in the can

Good tip, Ray. Might come in handy for storing unsavory concoctions to heave at those who make a sport out of throwing huge wakes.

UPDATE:

Another two weeks of storage in the warm engine room. Have added Rustoleum Metal Primer, Minwax Penetrating Oil Stain, Rustoleum Topside Paint to the Acetone, Minwax Polyurethane, and Bilgecoat pouches already under test.

Still no leaks, deformation or degradation of pouches visible. An unanticipated side benefit is that re-mixing the separated paint chemicals is as easy as kneading the pouch for a bit prior to pouring out!

Found some issues getting some of the thicker liquids to go through the tiny funnel provided with the bags at an acceptable rate. Will look for some disposable ones (paper?) with largest opening that still fits in the pouch spout (a lot more room is possible).

Also, tipping a can over into the spout/funnel arrangement proved somewhat "sloppy". Plan on using a large-ish coffee scoop to transfer the paint(s) going forward.

All-in-all (so far) a big PLUS for me!