I have been searching for a good solution for paint storage for some time now. I have tried to find something which fulfills these conditions: - Can store up to a 100 paints. - That is efficient and takes up little space per paint. - That shows the labels and bottles clearly so that I can find the paint I want fast. It has been surprisingly hard to find anything that works really well. Especially when it comes to the efficiency part. It is easy to store plenty of paints, but to store them in a way that actually helps your painting; that is harder. |
My main issues with this one has been that the measurements does not fit my needs, I prefer a taller thinner shelf. It is also relatively pricey, especially with shipping. Well, as there aren’t many alternatives, the price is ok, I guess, but more than I really wanted to pay. Also, personally, I think it is a bit ugly – which could be solved with a paint job perhaps.
They can be bought in a different measurements. These are 40 mm x 40 mm, just right for a citadel paint bottle.
I also needed some sort of frame to fasten these to, of course. I decided I would build a complete frame with a back. The plastic shelves would then be fastened with glue to the back of this, while the frame held it together. The frame is not necessarily needed if you intend to attach it to a wall, but it does keep the paints from falling off the sides. Also, you can use the top to store more things, like this:
Here is a picture of the boards I used for the assembly: These are ordinary shelving that you can buy in any larger hardware store. They can usually cut these to measure too. Oh, do not make the same mistake I did – make sure you have “fronts” with the white on them facing “outwards”. I got two double back sides for the top and bottom of the shelf. I painted these later, so it turned out ok… |
- 1 backside: 600 high, 300 wide
- 2 sides: 650 high, 100 wide
- 1 top: 300 long, 100 wide
- 1 bottom: 300 long, 100 wide
Each of the plastic corner protection, ie the actual shelves, were cut (or sawed, actually, but they can be cut if you have a sharp knife - be careful!) to be 295 mm wide (a little less so they would fit easily inside the frame).
Here is a quick rundown on how the shelf was built:
You also need a drill (and a screwdriver of course).
I first drilled holes for the screws into the top and bottom. These holes should be slightly smaller than the screws you are using. You normally do not need to drill any holes into the backside, the part that you are affixing these pieces onto. Just be careful when you drill so that you do not drill into anything underneath the board. The little IKEA bench on the picture has a little hole in the middle of the topside of it, which makes it perfect for this job. As you can tell, I do not have a dedicated workshop, I am using the balcony of my apartment. |
Then repeat for the other side of the shelf.
I also put a bit of scratch protection at the bottom "feet" of the shelf. These can be bought most anywhere I guess. This particular brand is one that you can cut pieces out of a mat and glue to the surface you want. But any kind would work. This part is obviously not necessary, but I like to protect my desk...
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