How to Thicken House Paint

At times house paint must be thickened to better cover certain surfaces or to return it to usable quality after long periods of storage. Different types of paint may require different processes to thicken them. Oil paints consist of a mix of solvents and tints that are blended together to form a thick, water resistant coating. Latex paints are water-based and are thinner by nature than oil-based paints. Paint thickening methods are straightforward but limited in effectiveness.

Flat head screwdriver
Mixing stick

Instructions

- 1
  Open a can of oil paint with a flat head screwdriver and stir the paint using a mixing stick. The tints and oils in your paint may blend together while you're mixing, but the resulting blend may remain too thin to use.
- 2
  Leave the paint can open outdoors until the level drops noticeably. The solvent portion of the oil paint mixture will evaporate, thus causing the overall blend to thicken. Once a significant amount has evaporated, try mixing and using the paint again. If it still remains too thin you can mix it into a few more gallons of the same paint so the extra solvent is distributed out and the paint becomes usable again.
- 3
  Blend any latex paint that's become too thin with at least 2 gallons of the same paint to return it to the proper thickness. Latex paint will dry out if left uncovered so don't use the evaporation method in this case.

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