This issue’s tip is from Chuck Balek at Cabot, Ark.-based Professional Coatings:
When some stain cans changed to being square and you couldn’t fit a stir stick in them, I came up with this trick to help mix the stain. I always had change in my van, and I figured adding a couple pennies into the stain would help agitate the pigment that was settled solidly in the bottom of the can. This photo is from a can of Mesquite Red. The sample on the left was pulled from the shelf and applied with no mixing. The sample in the middle is the same can that was shaken quickly. The one on the right had two pennies dropped into it and was shaken vigorously. When I posted this tip on Facebook, someone else commented that they use ball bearings to accomplish the same thing.
See a collection of previous job-site tips on our Pinterest Trick of the Trade board. Do you have a Trick of the Trade to share? Email it to WFB. If we use it, we'll send you a WFB T-shirt.
