Stirring Humbrol thick paint

Hi Mars ;

 What I do is this .Note I have some going back to the seventies . I First make sure the Paint Vehicle ( The base product ) is liquidy and mostly there . I add one small drop .The size of a B.B. and then let that sit open for about five minutes .Then I stick stir it rotating and rubbing the side bottom corners .Any further lumps can be crushed carefully in place with a # 11 X-Acto handle butt .

 Next shake well for about four or five minutes violently . This can be accomplished by taking the sealed can and taping it to a battery powered drill and tape the trigger for it to run at medium speed . Tape the canister to the outside of the chuck . Twirl away .You can actually save any paint this way as long as the vehicle is still present .

    Good luck on this project - Tanker -Builder

Hello!

Sometimes the Humbrols are so thick, that it gets annoying. It's probably their way of telling you that it's necessary to thin your paints before application!

It's probably best to take a small amount of paint (one clump) out of the tinlet into some small container, add some thinner and then mix it until it's smooth, and apply after that. Then of course there is a question what to do with the leftover. Some people put it back into the tinlet, some say it's bad for the paint shelf life and let it go down the drain.

Hope it helps, good luck with your painting and have a nice day

Paweł

Mars

I have been using Humbrol enamel lately and find it very thick. I can stir for 5 minutes and it still has clumps. How do you get it completely mixed?

 

Humbrol paints do this because of their fine quality pigments. I just take my time mix by hand with the butt end of a brush, when semi-mixed I replace the cover and swirl by hand for a minute, then stir again until ready. 

Their opacity is unmatched. It's worth the effort