What Paint Strainers Are Meant For, And Why Pros Use Them
Paint strainers are tools used to strain paint. You might be wondering why anyone would ever need to strain paint, since it is a fairly fluid material as it is. However, there are some valid reasons and uses for paint strainers that the pros give when they are painting your house (either inside or out). Here are some different kinds of strainers you may see your professional painters use, and reasons why they are using the strainers in the course of their work.
Clip-On Mesh Strainers
These types of paint strainers are made to fit over the tops of traditional gallon buckets of paint. They are round and mostly flat, with the exception of the attached clips that help the strainers clip onto the lips of the paint containers. They help pour the paint without all of the messy drips associated with straight pouring from the container to the paint pan, which keeps the work area neater. A neater work area also means there will be less chance of accidentally tracking paint around on one's shoes.
Nylon Stretchy Strainers
These strainers are akin to large nylon stockings. They stretch over the tops of any size paint can and any shape of paint can. (Remember, not all paint cans are round! Some are square.) There is less control with paint drips with this type of strainer, but more control over the speed of the movement of paint strained. Given that these will also stretch over various sizes and shapes of paint containers, and not just over large round containers, painters can be more choosy about which brands of paint they want to use.
Plastic Pour and Strain Strainers
This takes the paint from the paint bucket or container and pours it into a straining bucket, and the straining bucket has a pouring spout and protection lip for pouring the paint into a roller tray or for taking paint by brush straight from the strainer bucket. It gives painters a little more versatility in use than other types of strainers, but some pros dislike the fact that you are moving paint around to multiple containers to strain and use the paint. It is a personal preference when it comes to your choice of which straining device you will use.
Other Reasons for Using Strainers
Paint, as you know, tends to dry out and collect a "skin" across the top when exposed to air. Most painters try to avoid this by closing up the paint containers, but there will always be some air trapped inside the more empty the paint container becomes. In order to get the most paint out of the container without losing it to this drying process, the pros will strain remaining paint out and place it in a fuller container to continue using available paint.
For more information about paint straining, call a company like Spray Right.