Every spring, an annual ritual is re-enacted in garages and sheds all across America: the opening of old paint cans. You may have lived through this before — gingerly pulling the top off an old paint can and peering inside, hoping it’s still usable. These days, it’s often accompanied by frantic internet searches for “Can paint freeze?”

But we’ve got you covered! Here’s the lowdown on whether paint freezes, what kinds of paint are most vulnerable to freezing, and how to deal with frozen paint.

Can Paint Freeze?

The short answer is yes. The more nuanced answer is that it depends on the paint, and how cold it gets inside your garage.

Home paints can generally be divided into latex or oil-based paints. Latex paints contain water, while oil paints contain an alkyd resin and a petroleum product, such as naphtha. These two types of paint react very differently to cold weather.

“For the most part DIYers only really need to worry about water-based paint freezing,” says Brandon Walker, Superintendent with ASAP Restoration. “Oil-based paint will freeze, but only in extreme conditions like the Alaskan tundra during winter.”

At What Temperature Does Paint Freeze?

Water-based paints freeze at or below 32ºF. The specific temperature at which a given paint will freeze will depend on the ingredients of the paint. A water-based paint’s blend of ingredients can lower its freezing point in the same way salt lowers water’s freezing point. It’s not a dramatic change, but it can give you a little leeway in a mild cold snap.

Oil-based paint is extremely unlikely to freeze in your garage. Unlike oil-based craft paint (which often uses a linseed oil base, and freezes around -4ºF), oil-based house paints can withstand almost any recorded temperature in the continental US.