Re-use mixed or thinned paint

Luis

I found out the hard way that it's best to mix only the amount of paint your going to use immediately and never, EVER add the mixed paint back into your paint jar

Good luck!
Eric

QUOTE: hey guys i was just wondering why is it bad to Re-use thinned paint or custom colors from earlier projects?

I don't know why it's a bad idea, I do it all the time. I keep thinned / blended paint in separate jars, but it will last for several months.

I agree with Abdiel, never EVER mix thinned paint in with your base paints.

On the other hand there is no reason to NOT put it in a different bottle for later. However since most of us don't have an inexhaustable supply of empty bottles it is far better to learn to mix smaller amounts...

edit forgot to put in the word not above, I hope this makes the sentence a bit clearer! /edit

Abdiel & Bgrigg,

Both of you as well as others I've read from said not do save thinned paint but what exactly did you guys experience to come to this conclusion? I've thought about doing this but haven't tried so just wanted to be educated....

Well dude

I can't speak for Bgrigg, but when I stored my unused and thinned enamels back in my base color, it eventually turned into a congealed, gummy mess. I ruined about a half dozen jars of enamels (simultaneously) before I realized it was a major NO-NO.

I always pour my thinned paints, after airbrushing, back into the bottle with the non-thinned paint. I never have problems. If it gets too thin, simply let some thinner evaporate out and the paint will thicken up. If it gets too thick, add more thinner till it is the desired consistency. I only use lacquer thinnar and MM enamels as well. I constantly reuse the paint till it is gone. Custom mixed paints are not an issue either. It is only paint, not rocket science. Also, after a while, all paint will dry up and be no longer usable. You can usually get more use out of MM enamels though by adding more lacquer thnner.

As Scott says (and I'm trying to say!) it's okay to keep thinned or mixed paints seperately from the base colors. Just don't contaminate your good paint with the mixed though, it will either congeal as Eric pointed out, or will wreck the base colour.

I have read that you shouldn't even keep thinned paints at all, but I can't figure out why not? I kept some mixed green zinc chromate and the bottle didn't seal properly and the thinner evaporated leaving a smooth glossy bit of plastic behind (I use acrylics), so that might be why. I now put a small square of plastic food wrap on the bottle before screwing the top back on. That not only seems to help with leaks, but I haven't struggled with a stuck lid since.

wow,thanks guys.. its a good thing i hid those left behind paints seperately! whew! anyway if you guys ever need cheap bottles to store paint.. try your local bookstore or a place where they sell cheap,and i mean CHEAP school laboratory stuff.. remember highschool.. they sell little bottles with rubber covers. small bottles like tamiya paints. out here it costs way cheap. less than a dollar like $.20. but DON'T use those rubber covers.. discard it and buy corks to cover them. now you'll have a convenient place to store some extra paint
this is where i also buy cheap medicine droppers made from glass,for my paint mixing.

i mix paint in syringes and i keep it in them as well

Film canisters also work as storage bottles, and they're free everytime you buy Fuji's or Kodak's products.