you’ve gathered all necessary items you’ll need to start painting. There’s all tubes of desired color you want. All you need just now is to open the tube, take the color and start painting! There shouldn’t be anything to stop you now. So, why waiting?
Chances are you’re being too careful not to damage the tube and spoil the paint, or you’ve already tried but in vain. Now you’re here to figured out how to open the acrylic paint tube. And we’ve got you! Let’s see how to open the acrylic paint tube now!
How to open a tube of paint without damaging it?
In most cases, I face the problem where I’ve applied too much force and have damaged the tube. In the process I also spill some paints everywhere. The other time the cap just struck too tightly that I have a hard time opening it! However most annoying one is when I’ve somehow twisted the tube or damaged the cap. If you’re here, then you’re facing the same.
Use nutcracker or crab-leg cracker
Now I use nutcracker or crab-leg cracker to open paint’s cap. It works for not only acrylic paints but all other paint tube too! You can easily open the paint tube or other solvents tube caps without twisting the tube or breaking the cap this way.
Use pliers
Sometimes the upper part of the tube is more resistant and the cap is too stuck at this point. I place multiple pliers on the collar to hold it and then I gently unscrew the cap with the nutcracker if this happens.
Place the tube under hot water
If it is still without effect, I then exert an inverted movement of the two clamps at the same time. To open a cap of a tube of oil paint stuck by the hardened paint, nothing could be easier, place your tube under the hot water tap for 30 seconds.
This is because even though water is not a thinner for oil, hot water dries out oil paint.
Try bain-marie trick
For more stubborn corks, place your tube directly in a bain-marie for a few minutes in a pan of boiling water.
Use a solvent
If water and pliers aren’t going to open it, so it’s time to get a little more serious. Paints are sometimes left unused for years, making reopening these a difficult task. Turpentine and other solvents have been used successfully by several artists.
To do so, soak the cap in the solvent for a week before attempting to twist it off.
If all else fails, cut it open
If everything else fails and you can’t remove the cap from your paint, you may have to cut it open.
Squeeze all of the paint to the tube’s top and cut off the bottom. Although this is a significant risk of damaging, it is preferable to rendering the paint utterly worthless.
You’ll need a really strong clip to keep it closed while it’s not in use, and a common bulldog clip is the best alternative.
How do you open a tube of acrylic paint?
It’s happened to me before, and I always grab the pliers or vice grip. It will sometimes come off, and other times it will be so tight that it will twist the top of the tube if you don’t stop or it will twist straight off. It typically comes off just fine if I twist it gently and deliberately.
If you only have one pair of pliers, you can end up twisting the tube and not loosening the cap. I’d actually use two pairs of pliers. One set at a diameter somewhat less than the tube’s actual diameter, and just at the point where the tube’s straight sides begin to taper in towards the cap threads. This pair of pliers grips the tube tightly enough to prevent it from twisting out of shape. The other pliers simply grab the cap, and this is the one you want to turn counterclockwise.
Putting the tube’s cap end in very hot water for 15–30 seconds usually softens the dried paint that is keeping the cap stuck. Hardened acrylic will ease for a twist off. You can also heat the edge of the cap/tube with a cigarette lighter while spinning. Just be careful with it as we don’t want to burn the cap or the tube.
In an emergency, if you’re on a location where you don’t have any tools, your teeth can do the job.
To avoid this in the first place, use a cotton swab to dab a little petroleum jelly to the threads when you first open a tube of any kind of paint. It works perfectly. You won’t have to worry about the problem reappearing if you reapply it on a regular basis.
How do you open a tube of oil paint?
The nutcracker may be sufficient in some cases, but if it becomes too jammed, the upper portion of the tube is more resistive at this point. Here’s how to open oil paint caps without breaking them or twisting the tube.
I use numerous pliers to hold the collar in place while slowly unscrewing the cap with the nutcracker. If that doesn’t work, I try moving both clamps in the opposite direction at the same time.
Nothing could be easier than placing your tube under the hot water tap for 30 seconds to open a cap stuck by hardened paint on an oil paint tube. This is because, despite the fact that water is not an oil thinner, hot water dries off oil paint. Place your tube straight in a bain-marie for a few minutes in a pan of boiling water for more recalcitrant corks.
How to prevent the cap being struck?
Well, you have finally opened the cap, used the paints and now want to close it. What will happen when you’ll reopen it? How to prevent the cap from being struck in the first place? It is possible to avoid getting a cap stuck in the first place.
For years, painters have taken a simple approach to counter the problem, and the secret is petroleum jelly. It works wonders and is an excellent habit to develop.
Wipe the threads clean before closing the tube of paint to remove any remaining paint. Then, before twisting the cap back on, dab a little Vaseline or another petroleum jelly around the grooves inside the cap.
If you want an alternative, you can also use glycerin or a small bit of olive oil or similar cooking oil.
How do you open dry acrylic paint?
Dry acrylic paints become hardened. You can twist open the cap with enough force. Just be careful not to squeeze the bottle or the tube. Gently but firmly grab the tube and use other hand to twist open the cap.
How do you open a stuck paint tube?
You just have to apply heat so that the paint dries up a bit and then you can twist it open. You can either turn on the tap water setting the hot water or can submerge the paint tube on hot water. In both cases how long you have to put it on the water depend on the paint itself.