I'm ABOUT ready to take up another hobby!

I would assume that if it's the ones you use alot they dry out some each time you have the lid off. I have some to that I had back when I built a few years back that were fine when I opened them back up but after a few kits the black had turned to sludge like you were saying. That's the only thing I could think of.

Never Dry Paint Jars:

http://www.shipcamouflage.com/never_dry.htm

I think they have some sort of gasket in the lids. They come highly recommended. I was going to buy some but they won't ship to Canada.

James

Obviously keeping the lid on securely is paramount but for those black enamels, both gloss and flat, they do have a nasty habit of drying out no matter what. To reduce this problem add some lacquer thinner to the bottle and mix well. This will really improve the shelf life. I was like you with this problem until I started doing that and the only bottles that go into the trash now are really empty.

Been there - done that - got the t-shirt - can possibly get worse - try 2230 (thats when Mickey's big hand is half way between 10 and 11 and his little hand points to the 6 and the sun has gone to bed for you officer types) on Saturday night and the nearest hobby shop is 60 miles away. I've had good luck by wiping the mouth of the jar and the inside of the lid clean with a rag with thinner on it after I've finished painting - be sure to check that the gasket is still in the lid too - I have a buddy who covers the tops of his paint bottles with Saran Wrap before putting on the lid - dude swears by it

i was amazed but recently I used some paint that has to be about 20 years old. It wasn't in great condition but good enough for what I needed it for.

I had always heard that storing the bottles upside down increased their life as the paint binder was not able to evaporate when the lid is at the bottom of the bottle. Has anyone foind this to be true? It seemd to make sense.

Mike

I have testors paints from a few years ago and I have had no problems using; my metallizer from over 10 years ago, that's a bit watery! Can't get the metal to suspend very well.

Hmmm...I've never had that problem. I have some positively ancient bottles of paint (10 years old-that's ancient for paint!) that I still use, no problems. Of course, I J-Hulk the caps on after use (requiring even more J-Hulking to get them open later!), so maybe you just didn't get the cap on tight enough? Or sometimes you get the cap on not quite straight, and air gets in, and POOF. Dried gloss black.

that explain a few things.....why they (manufacturers) dont make the caps screwed on rather than "pushed in" lids? hope it makes sense!!!!!

QUOTE: Originally posted by Swanny Obviously keeping the lid on securely is paramount but for those black enamels, both gloss and flat, they do have a nasty habit of drying out no matter what. To reduce this problem add some lacquer thinner to the bottle and mix well. This will really improve the shelf life. I was like you with this problem until I started doing that and the only bottles that go into the trash now are really empty.

I do put the lids on quite tight, but it's nice to know that I'm not the only one with paint bottles that dry seemingly overnight. Maybe I'll have to try the lacquer thinner trick. How much do you use? I do a lot of brush painting (no good place for airbrushing in my little 2nd floor apartment); would the lacquer thinner mess up the plastic if I apply the paint with a brush? Also, you indicate that black paints just have more of a tendency to dry in the bottle. Just out of curiosity, what's your experience with white paint? I have a lot of trouble with white paint drying in the bottle as well as the black.

Same probs for the fish. -course I tend to leave the top while I paint stuff, especially with black. This has a bad side effect of drying the paint around the lip of the jar which crumbles up and creates air gaps. Storing it upside down will help but all of the paint might settle on the lid if you leave it for a while. This might pose a problem for those of you who stir, not shake. I've heard a piece of aluminum foil between the lid and jar helps but I've never tried it.

-fish

It just goes to prove you can't teach some old dogs new tricks. I'm talking about the paint companys. Why don't they use plastic seals instead of those little cardboard wafers?

Not to be a wise guy Jim but it sounds like keeping a back up is good idea. And as for adding thinner, it wouldn't have to be lacquer thinner, enamel thinner would work. If it's a color you use a lot and you work from the bottle it's going to evaporate so adding a couple drops here and there would help. Some of those paints are so thick to begin with they're almost impossible to work with.

Jim,
I guess i qualify as a paint collector, not a great painter, but a great collector. Please do try storing your paints upside down. I've got stuff that has been kept useable for years. I think that the more volitile the paint the more important storage is. Volitility also plays a big part in using open bottles. I have been decanting my paint for a long time now after having the same problems you have had. Make sure the paint is well mixed. I tend to skip this part and rely on a good shaking. Sturing seems to work beter than just shaking and that way I do'nt use up all the carrier before the pigment is used up. Lastly, the one thing that seems to help the most is cleaning the jar and lid before I store a bottle away.
Hope this helps, I hear those basket reeds can be hard on your hands:)
Herb

QUOTE: Originally posted by Wingman_kz It just goes to prove you can't teach some old dogs new tricks. I'm talking about the paint companys. Why don't they use plastic seals instead of those little cardboard wafers? Not to be a wise guy Jim but it sounds like keeping a back up is good idea. And as for adding thinner, it wouldn't have to be lacquer thinner, enamel thinner would work. If it's a color you use a lot and you work from the bottle it's going to evaporate so adding a couple drops here and there would help. Some of those paints are so thick to begin with they're almost impossible to work with.

I suspect the reason why the paint companies don't use plastic seals might be expense...

I do add drops of enamel thinner from time to time in my paints, but I've also read that if you add too much thinner, it does something funny to the paint and the paint dries up or becomes sludge. That may be why I've had some bottles go bad on me, but others I've never added thinner to have dried up also. You're right, wingman, about the paint sometimes being thick right off the bat. This is especially true for Model Master gloss white for some reason. Maybe I'll start keeping backup bottles on hand, too. Perhaps I'll buy some back-ups tomorrow as I'm thinking about hitting the yard sales near my regular hobby shop.