DIY garage paint storage

This project has you covered for a way to store paint and stain in an organized way. This easy DIY garage paint storage system will display your paints and stains and keep you organized!

This post is sponsored by Kreg Tool. All opinions are our own and our opinion is that we love Kreg Tool. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Charleston Crafted possible!

If you're like most people, you have a stack of ¾ used paint cans in your garage. You don't want to throw them away because you might need it!

If you do a lot of woodworking, you probably keep all of your stain colors stacked on a shelf too.

This DIY garage paint and stain storage rack is a perfect way to store and display all your colors!

Get the free woodworking plans to make your own at the end of this post!

How to store paint in your garage

Our stain collection is ongoing. We like to make our woodworking projects cohesive so the stains all complement each other.

We also store all our old paint. If we paint something in a room, we might want to paint something else with that same color, so we keep the half a can of paint.

Check out the color-block wall we did in our old guest room!

The problem is that it's very hard to see paint cans stacked on a shelf and know which color you need to grab.

This woodworking project takes just a single sheet of ½" plywood. This storage solution stores dozens of cans of paint and stain and allows you to clearly see everything you have.

The best part of this design is that stains face out and paints show the top. Why?

Because stain colors are visible on the front of the can and paint typically has a sample swatch on the top. Now you can see everything in front of you and grab it easily!

Basic woodworking information for every project

Here are some of our most popular woodworking articles!

Shopping for wood:

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See all our printable PDF woodworking plans!

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Remember to also always use safety equipment while woodworking and using tools. Make sure you have proper eye protection, ear protection and a good mask to keep yourself safe.

Building garage paint storage organization

We built this storage rack using one sheet of plywood. You can customize it if you'd like to make it wider or taller.

We started by cutting down all the strips of wood. The rack is designed to have 36" shelves, so we cut down 36" all the way down the plywood.

Then we cut all the strips for each shelf. Each shelf has a front and a back.

We designed this storage solution so that stains would face forward and paint would face with the top out.

Once everything was cut, we built each of the six shelves. The shelves are constructed with wood glue and pocket holes we drilled with our Kreg jig.

We used the Kreg K4 for this project, but it's been replaced by the Kreg 720 Pro now. The Kreg 720 is a perfect tool for quickly drilling uniform pocket holes exactly where you need them.

After that, we attached each shelf to the two sides using pocket holes and screws.

Get the FREE plans!

Thanks to our friends at Kreg Tool, you can get the full plans for this DIY garage paint organization solution on their website!

There, you can get the full material list, cut list and step-by-step instructions with computer model imagery. They also have hundreds of other plans available for free!

This is the perfect way to store and showcase your paints and stains. This garage organization system is slim and takes up minimal room, but holds lots of cans.

BuildSomething.com also has loads of other garage organization plans available for free! If you're looking to get organized, it's a great place to start.

Video Tutorial

Watch the video of us making this garage paint storage shelf here so you can see a better idea of how it was made!

Should you store paint in the garage

Most people will say you should not store paint in the garage. However, where else are you going to store it?

It is unrealistic to think that you can/will/should store paint in the house, especially if you have little kids.

We have been storing paint in their cans in the garage for years with no problems. After time, the cans will rust and the paint color will get unmixed from the base paint, but you can always re-mix.

How to open a paint can

It is simple to open a paint can. Most paint and stain cans just need a flathead screwdriver to be twisted under the lip to open it up.

Here's a video we did on how to open a paint can.

The new Behr paint cans have a twist top in the top can that is as simple as twisting it open.

How to properly dispose of old paint

The proper way to dispose of old paint is to take it to your local hazardous waste or recycling center.

Never throw paint into your trash can.

Grab the FREE PLANS for this DIY garage paint storage shelf organization system from Kreg Tool today!

Before you go...

Make sure you check out a couple of our other garage organization projects to help you in your workshop!

• How to build a mobile workbench from plywood
• DIY mobile scrap wood storage cart