Painting can be an enjoyable hobby for many people. However, painting supplies can be extremely space consuming, and this can make them difficult to store for those that live in small homes or apartments. Renting a self storage unit can be a great way of making space for the various painting supplies that you do not currently need.  

Keep The Paints In A Stable Temperature And Humidity

Paints can be extremely sensitive to changes in the temperature or humidity. Over time, these change can result in the pigments degrading, and this can lead to the paint losing its vibrancy. Protecting your paint against degradation while it is in storage will require you to rent a unit that allows you to control the temperature and humidity. These units may be more expensive, but this is necessary regardless of the type of paint that you will be using. When you first remove the paints from storage, the caps to the paint tubes may be difficult to remove, but a pair of pliers can be very effective for easily removing the cap.

Properly Store Your Canvas

Canvas can be another painting material that can be extremely vulnerable to suffering degradation due to excessive humidity. When the air has a high moisture content, condensation can form on the canvas. This condensation will eventually cause the canvas to become discolored and rotted. Considering the sizable investment that a large amount of canvas can represent, it is important to prevent the damage from occurring.

In addition to condensation forming, you will also need to ensure that you are storing any canvas that has already been assembled horizontally as this will reduce the risk of the canvas warping. When the canvas is still rolled, you should store it vertically as this will reduce the risk of mold or rot forming as it will improve the airflow around the rolled canvas. Make sure your storage unit has the proper shelving or tables to allow for storing rolled and assembled canvases.

Individually Wrap Each Brush

High-quality paint brushes can be extremely expensive, and these sites will also be extremely delicate. Individuals will often store all of their brushes in a single container, and this can expose them to a far higher risk of being damaged. In particular, the bristles of the brushes can become entangled. You can prevent this from happening by individually wrapping the brushes. When wrapping the brushes, avoid using plastic as this could trap moisture against the bristles and rot them. Rather, cotton or microfiber cloth can be ideal as it will allow moisture to evaporate without harming the delicate bristles. Again, make sure you have a table or shelf set up to store different brushes.