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I was just about to do some touchup work in a room when I discovered upon opening the can that the remaining paint had thickened into a much thicker consistency. I think the lid may not have been on correctly.

Can I use it as is for touch ups? Or would it be best to apply some kind of thinner? Do I have to go out and buy paint thinner, or is there something else I could use that would spare me the trip to the store?

Its latex paint, about a year old. From Benjamin Moore.

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The answer to that depends on what kind of paint it is - can you post more details? – MT_Head May 18 '11 at 1:19

2 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

Latex paint can generally be thinned with plain water... but I'd test with a very small quantity and a piece of scrap wood first. If you can't get a good consistency, there are thinners made specifically for latex - SCL-Sterling makes one called Thin-X Latex that I used a while back, with good results.

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You can thin that paint with FLOWTROL. You can use up to 1/4 of the volume of the paint to bring it back to a good spreadable consistency .

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