Testors paint dried out.

No...

Once they're dried, that's it. There's no real way to reconstitute them into usable paint.

As above, so also below… in other words, .

The key to keeping any paints, regardless of system, for long periods of time is simple: keep the jar lids, the jar rim, and the jar throat CLEAN. Paint is a lousy sealant for paint, in spite of what you may read elsewhere. Consider that the solvent used in the paint may well be able to partially redissolve the paint, and can most certainly move through the dried paint. (If that were not true, the paint would never dry or cure.)

I, too have paints, both acrylic and a few enamels, dating from the early 1980s and still perfectly good. Only last  year I finally threw out the last tiny remnant of Humbrol enamel dating from 1973. 

Bgrigg wrote:

This is a problem with enamels, and is one reason I use acrylics. I have Tamiya acrylic paint I bought back in 1985 that I can still use.

I've noticed the same thing with acrylics.  Several months ago, I found that a bottle ModelMaster Acryl had congealed into a rubbery lump in the bottom of the jar.  With enamels, there is no rescue from such a situation.  Since it was acrylic, I dumped in a bunch of Tamiya acrylic thinner, and after a LOT of stirring, the paint was good as new. 

I've also found that I acrylics that have been highly reduced for airbrushing seem to have an indefinite shelf life as well.  The thinner naturally separates from all the pigments, but unlike enamels, I can simply stir everything together and it airbrushes just fine.

Andy

ABARNE wrote:

I've noticed the same thing with acrylics.  Several months ago, I found that a bottle ModelMaster Acryl had congealed into a rubbery lump in the bottom of the jar.  With enamels, there is no rescue from such a situation.  Since it was acrylic, I dumped in a bunch of Tamiya acrylic thinner, and after a LOT of stirring, the paint was good as new.  I've also found that I acrylics that have been highly reduced for airbrushing seem to have an indefinite shelf life as well.  The thinner naturally separates from all the pigments, but unlike enamels, I can simply stir everything together and it airbrushes just fine. Andy

Andy, you're just lucky—this is usually not the case, acrylic or enamel. Especially redissolving  dried out paint. If you're desperate, it might be worth a try, and it might work—but it's a complete crap-shoot. Remind me not to shoot craps with you…

Please don't listen to the folks who say there is nothing you can do. Perhaps I'm in the minority but I'm a hobbyist without infinite monetary backing, and can't just run to the store to buy new product at the drop of a hat.

If your Testors enamel paint is dried (jelly like consistency- or worse) get a small model paint brush and dip it lightly into a oain thinner (mineral spirits or otherwise), you only need a tiny bit of thinner if you're reconstituting a Testors enamel pain that is .25 Fluid ounces. With that same brush now lightly filled with thinner, open your dried up enamel paint and begin mashing and stirring it up with the brush. Vigorous stirring for 2 minutes will reconstitute about 60-85% of the dried enamel paint. This will be ready to be applied immediately. And you've saved yourself a trip to the hobby store.

- Aquashift 

This thread was last responded to 14 years ago. No doubt whatever paint was under discussion is long since gone.

About the only paint I've had last more that 10 years or so is Humbrol.

I'm in the can't be saved camp, sorry. If I spend 50 hours on a model, $ 10 for new paint is worth it to me.

Bill

Infinite monetary backing,not me,I'm on a fixed income.I always wanted to say that when Iwas working

Yea, I coaxed bottles of Modelmaster back to life,but usually just to hand  paint a few small needed details.

But yes, even those with money don't usually abandon a whole line of product when a new one comes out,if there's something new,I might try it for a new project,but it doesn't mean I'm throwing out everything else.

Testor's enamels are quirky.  I think how long a jar will last depends on the chemistry of the pigments used.  I find that the clock starts ticking on gloss black and gloss white from the moment I first open the jars.  They'll go bad in a couple of weeks.  At the other end of the spectrum is a jar of gloss copper that I got back in the Seventies, when I was a kid, and which lasted to the present.  It got thicker and thicker, but it always came back with a little bit of mineral spirits.

Make sure your lids are tight then turn them upside down. They will last almost indefinately when stored that way. Those bottles, and MM as well tend to let air in over time and the paint is done. I've got some crazy old bottles that are still good due to how they are stored. But, once they dry out, that's it.

BK

My observation has been the newer paint formulas tend to go bad.  Once Model Master starts to gel, even if a solvent that re-emulsifies the paint is used, the paint will perform poorly.

Old Humbrol formula is practically immortal, as I have tins dating from the mid-seventies that easily rejuvenate with Diosol or Gunze Mr Color thinners.