bb's and pellets

I've used BBs in the past, but now I prefer stirring sticks for mixing my paints. It is a much more reliable method.

I prefer the stir method as well. BBs won't get most of the sediments that settles at the bottom of the bottle - especially one that's hasn't been used in a while. I stir then shake.

I only stir my paint now. To me this has two advantages over shaking. 1, it gets all the sediment from the bottom of the bottle to mix, and 2, I no longer get paint on the cap and cap threads. This allows a bottle that hasn't been used in a while to open without the jaws of life. 

okay, stir it is for me from now on....  got off a little early today and instaed of practicing with the ab, i decided to remove the little specs of i think lead from my acryl clear coat.  i think from the pellets.  i know everyone is dying to know - we now have 1 less seafood fork in the kitchen - tamiya is easiest when it comes to "forking out" pelllets - kinda like bobbing for apples.  Model master is next easiest.  if straining be sure the receiving container is as big as the the supplying jar though....  Humbrols is hardest to fork and i skipped on the 2 testors bc they are gloss and metalic and i dont think i would be spraying them.  no more pellets!!!  thank god i had only about 10 jars!

modelmaker66

It may sound hokey, but I have just purchased a Badger paint stirrer. It is really very good and the paint sprays beautifully! I use the larger stainless balls like MIG sells for the Vallejo, MIg, AK paints since the Badger stirrer wont fit those bottles. Try one out, under $10.00 and ships free with Amazon prime. I used to laugh, now I am a believer!

Ever in the search for bargins, I bought a battery powered mini-drill from £/€/€ store, for a £1/€1.20/$1.50 approx, bent up a brass rod with a small 'o' at the end & more than enough oomph for old Tamiya paint.

I also bought a battery powered Coffee-frother £1/€1.20/$1.50 approx from IKEA.

Mind you i also cost me £7/€7.75/$8.60 for a new side-cutter as trimming the frother bit broke my cutters.

I find 3-4mm stainless steel nuts waay cheaper than ball bearings, 3-4 dropped in a Vallejo bottle do really well to mix it up, then allow to stand a bit, the dripper bit seems to take care of any frothing

I work for a company that makes Bearings and I "borrowed" some 1/4" stainless steel balls to put in my jars. I found the run-of-the-mill BB's (the ones for guns lol) tend to leave stains or even rust in acrylics. The stainless balls have worked great so far. I happen to be a stirrer and a shaker, lol! The Badger paint stirrer works great except for Vallejo bottles; it wont fit inside!

Stirring is the new black!

Since I already had a cordless Dremel at the bench, I just made a "T" from scrap sprue, that fits the Dremel.

fermis

I find 3-4mm stainless steel nuts waay cheaper than ball bearings, 3-4 dropped in a Vallejo bottle do really well to mix it up

 

This, works very well.

My . Made a stirrer years ago that is basicly the same as the Badger one. An old slot car motor and an AA battery taped to a popsicle stick. Still works great for all paints except the Vallejo. For them, I ordered a bulk bag (100) of 1/4" SS BBs on e-bay. Add a couple of them to each bottle as I use it for the first time. Read somewhere that stirring too fast introduces lots of fine air bubbles into the paint and doesn't work well in ABs.

Jim  

Every year for Father's day I get a fruit assortment on some sort of fancy base with the fruit stuck on plastic skewers stuck into a styrene block.  There are dozens of these plastic sticks, which are ribbed and very strong.  They are about eight or nine inches long.  They make excellent stirring sticks.  And, each assortment contains enough sticks to last me till next Father's day!