Zinsser BIN - reusing a plastic paint stirer

DaveyH · Post by **DaveyH** » Tue May 23, 2023 3:38 pm

Daft question.

I mixed a brand new tin of BIN yesterday with a plastic stirring stick.

Some BIN has now dried on this stirring stick.

Do I need to throw this stick in the bin (pardon the pun) or can I reuse it to stir the BIN again?

I'm asking because I'm worried that the dry BIN on the stick will become reactivated, then drop off the stick and put lumps in the tin.

Thanks in advance.

Grendel · Post by **Grendel** » Tue May 23, 2023 5:19 pm

I don't know the actual answer but as it's common to give BIN a second coat I'd assume it's not going to reactivate on the stirrer. You could always give the stirrer a scrape if you are worried , or just chuck it and use another. Personally I use wooden stirrers which are basically a strip of wood with holes in. I give the holes a ream out every so often but that's about it.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Tue May 23, 2023 6:40 pm

Methylated spirit is the solvent, it will soften the dried BIN to allow you to scrape it clean. If it stays solid it will be fine in the BIN as a stirrer.

DWD

Tom d'Angler · Post by **Tom d'Angler** » Wed May 24, 2023 9:38 am

DaveyH wrote: ↑Tue May 23, 2023 3:38 pm I mixed a brand new tin of BIN yesterday with a plastic stirring stick.

Buy a couple of these: https://bit.ly/432qvt7.

I've got them and they are terrific. Easy and quick to use and very easy to wipe all the paint off before it dries. So much better than those plastic stirrers.

aeromech3 · Post by **aeromech3** » Wed May 24, 2023 1:22 pm

Won't they rust?

Tom d'Angler · Post by **Tom d'Angler** » Wed May 24, 2023 1:36 pm

aeromech3 wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 1:22 pm Won't they rust?

Mine haven’t and I use them almost every day, on w-b and o-b. They really are terrific.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Wed May 24, 2023 3:23 pm

Can you use them as a chisel in your SDS?

DWD

Tom d'Angler · Post by **Tom d'Angler** » Wed May 24, 2023 3:41 pm

dewaltdisney wrote: ↑Wed May 24, 2023 3:23 pm Can you use them as a chisel in your SDS?

Dunno but Mrs d’A could do with a set for her cauldron...

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Wed May 24, 2023 4:01 pm

DWD

DaveyH · Post by **DaveyH** » Thu May 25, 2023 12:33 am

In the interests of scientific endeavor, I reused the plastic stirrer today.

About 5 minutes after stirring I was able to wipe off the bulk of today's BIN and yesterday’s dried on BIN with a piece of dry rag. So being resubmerged in BIN did reactivate yesterday's dried on BIN. I also didn't experience any lumps in the roughly 150ml I decanted from the tin into my paint kettle (which was an old pot noodle pot).

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Thu May 25, 2023 6:20 am

As I said, Methylated spirit is the solvent and as this is in the BIN the solvent in the paint will soften it up. Have a read of my link in blue below it might help.

DWD