The Dot Inside a Spray Can
Aiming the nozzle over the mark that shows where the dip tube sits, so a half-empty can keeps atomising instead of spitting.
Put a WD-40 Smart Straw Cap on a Spray Paint Can for Two Spray Modes
The flip-straw cap from a WD-40 can fits a standard spray paint can. Straw down, you get a wide, comfortable spray with the nozzle out in front of your fingers; straw up, you get a precision stream that reaches into tight spots. Return the cap to the WD-40 can and a couple of bursts self-clean it.
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The Problem
Stock spray paint nozzles are one-trick: a single fan, right on top of your fingertip, and by the end of a project your finger is cramped and painted. Getting paint into recesses — inside a bracket, behind a spindle — means overspraying everything around them.
The Technique
- Pull the stock white nozzle off the paint can.
- Take the flip-straw ("smart straw") cap assembly off a WD-40 can — the whole cap pops off — and seat it on the paint can's valve stem.
- Straw folded down: you spray from the cap's trigger with the outlet out in front of your fingers — wider coverage than the stock tip and no painted fingertip.
- Straw flipped up: the spray concentrates through the straw for reaching into tight, small areas with minimal overspray.
- When you're done, put the cap back on the WD-40 can and give it a couple of sprays — the solvent pushes the paint out of the cap and straw, cleaning it for next time.
Pro tip: Test the fit and pattern on cardboard first — most standard paint cans take the cap fine, but valve stems vary by brand, and thirty seconds of testing beats a stuck cap on a full can.
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