Paint shaker

My cordless Dremel and a craft stick is all I need. Blends even paints that is completely separated back into a smooth usable paint.

Helps avoid hand strain from stirring too!

I probably have over $600 worth of paint thats been sitting for almost 2 years. I opened a couple of bottles up last night and they were almost bad. The paint at the bottom of the jar was pretty thick.

I was thinking about this, this morning (probably not a good thing, I've had maybe 2 hrs. sleep in the last 2 days ). I have a bowl type vibrating tumble to clean firearms brass. I might take my paint, stir it up a little bit, put the cap on tight, and run it through my tumbler, minus the media. Any thoughts?

Art

I use the same method as Hawkeye, haven't had any problems.  Don't know about the tumbler.

As a general rule: STIRRED, NOT SHAKEN. Model paints bottles are too small for the cavitation effects of shaking to adequately disperse the pigment and binder in the solvent.

However,

Art, that might work, because the case tumbler uses higher frequency vibration in random directions with respect to the liquid contents of the bottle, similar to the effect of an ultrasonic cleaner, if at a lower frequency. It's certainly worth a try.

Some suggestions: Add appropriate solvent to the bottle and make sure the cap is on very tight. You might even want to seal it with electrical tape or Parafilm.

KEEP THE MEDIA IN THE TUMBLER! Otherwise this has less chance of working, and more chance of loosening the caps or even breaking the bottles, not to mention removing the labels. Also, if one or more does open, the media will make cleaning up the resulting mess much easier, and media is much cheaper than a new tumbler.

Triarius

As a general rule: STIRRED, NOT SHAKEN. Model paints bottles are too small for the cavitation effects of shaking to adequately disperse the pigment and binder in the solvent.

However,

Art, that might work, because the case tumbler uses higher frequency vibration in random directions with respect to the liquid contents of the bottle, similar to the effect of an ultrasonic cleaner, if at a lower frequency. It's certainly worth a try.

Some suggestions: Add appropriate solvent to the bottle and make sure the cap is on very tight. You might even want to seal it with electrical tape or Parafilm.

KEEP THE MEDIA IN THE TUMBLER! Otherwise this has less chance of working, and more chance of loosening the caps or even breaking the bottles, not to mention removing the labels. Also, if one or more does open, the media will make cleaning up the resulting mess much easier, and media is much cheaper than a new tumbler.

Thanks, Triarius. I might give it a try. The one issue that I have is wear on the labels. These are Model Masters enamels. I could write the stock number inside the cap and then just relabel the paint after its shook.

If anybody tries this, remember, your labels may be unreadable once you run them trough.

I'm getting ready to start a new build. I'm going to pick out the paints that I need and if I can't get them to mix I'll tumble them and post the results.

EDIT: 

 It looks like I might be able to salvage my paint without using any drastic measures. I stirred them up, and while the paint is still fairly thick, I think that now that the solvent that was in the paint to begin with will have a chance to do it's job.  We'll see. Thankfully the tumbler idea is being shut down for now. Next time I need to tumble some brass, I might throw in a bottle or two just outta curiosity.

Art

I quit shaking my paints for one reason: Every time you shake, you throw paint up into the neck of the bottle, onto the inside of the lid, and around the rim of the bottle. Even though you try to wipe it, some remains behind where it dries and can flake back into the paint. I made my own powered mixer with a battery holder, a motor and a push button switch from Radio Shack. You don't need to go to that extreme as a manufactured one is available here:

Micro-Mark

Ore you can use the Dremel as mentioned above.

My paints last longer as you don't booger up the threads of the jar, their easier to open and no clumps or flakes in the paint..

Of coarse it would be a good idea to filter your paint after mixing those older bottles up as not all those clumps may break up-for that I use these:

Micro-mark strainers

jimbot58

I quit shaking my paints for one reason: Every time you shake, you throw paint up into the neck of the bottle, onto the inside of the lid, and around the rim of the bottle. Even though you try to wipe it, some remains behind where it dries and can flake back into the paint. I made my own powered mixer with a battery holder, a motor and a push button switch from Radio Shack. You don't need to go to that extreme as a manufactured one is available here:

Micro-Mark

Ore you can use the Dremel as mentioned above.

My paints last longer as you don't booger up the threads of the jar, their easier to open and no clumps or flakes in the paint..

Of coarse it would be a good idea to filter your paint after mixing those older bottles up as not all those clumps may break up-for that I use these:

Micro-mark strainers

 

The same reason why I stir my paint--there's less chance of it getting into the threads and "gluing" down the lid.

jimbot58

I quit shaking my paints for one reason: Every time you shake, you throw paint up into the neck of the bottle, onto the inside of the lid, and around the rim of the bottle. Even though you try to wipe it, some remains behind where it dries and can flake back into the paint. I made my own powered mixer with a battery holder, a motor and a push button switch from Radio Shack. You don't need to go to that extreme as a manufactured one is available here:

Micro-Mark

Ore you can use the Dremel as mentioned above.

My paints last longer as you don't booger up the threads of the jar, their easier to open and no clumps or flakes in the paint..

Of coarse it would be a good idea to filter your paint after mixing those older bottles up as not all those clumps may break up-for that I use these:

Micro-mark strainers

 

Well said Jim. I use my Badger paint mixer and wouldn't think of using anything else now that I have seen the results. If I am afraid of clumps I use a piece of pantyhose that strains paint just fine and costs very little.

Was'nt there a tip somewhere of a guy who mounted a fishing tackle box, with round slots for the paint bottles , to an old electric orbital sander which rotates the whole shebang and keeps all the paint mixed.This sounded okay to me.

I'll add my vote for stirring, not shaking for all the above reasons. I use the micromark one, cheap and does the job. I just got an email from them, use code 10015A and its 1/2 price ($4.95).

Just a word of caution if you use this or any electronic stirrer, keep that thing down toward the bottom and make sure its stopped before pulling it out - Unless you want to camo our work room.

I stir my acrylic paint (and,before that,my enamels) with a toothpick for all the previously stated reasons.

It doesn't take long and frequently I can use the toothpick to apply "just the right amount"of paint to small parts, saving cleaning a brush.

I have the Badger stirrer and use a toilet paper roll with slits cut on one end about 1.5 inches up. Set the roll over the paint jar and squeeze the slitted end to hold the paint and mix away. When done, tap the mixer on the jar and pull it up and spin it to sling any left over paint to the inside of the TP roll.

Clever!

I use either aluminum foil or plastic (Saran) to cover the top of the bottle and then screw on the lid.  Voila (French for Wow-cool) - no paint on the lip or threads. Doesn't  matter of you shake or stir. However,  you can salvage any paint on the foil/wrap and overall you lose paint with a shaker.  

My Micro-Mark paint stirrer lasted a week or two.  Not recommended.  So I kept the stirring shaft, and use it in my Dremel, and it works just great.

I guess I do it old school; I both stir and shake by hand. The stirring is to ensure all solids are lifted from the bottom of the bottle...I use a toothpick or old piece of sprue. I then shake to allow the carrier fluid to break down the lumps...I'll generally shake for several minutes while reading something. This process also warms the paint while you're gripping it, which is of course desirable as well.

This does get paint up onto the cap, but I've always wiped the top of the jar in addition to the inside of the cap with every use, so I've never had problems with stuck lids or dried crunchy things contaminating the paint.

I've resurrected paints that are close to 20 years old doing it this way, often without need to add thinner...I'd never consider discarding a paint simply because it's a few years old (especially enamel paints...acrylics I have less experience with).

As I've gotten older matured, the shaking isn't so much fun, so I've started to experiment with resting the bottom of the bottle against the rubberized pad on my orbital sander (without sand paper) and that's been working well....only needs 15-20 seconds...but then paint warming is lost and I have to partially immerse the jar in warm water.

Cheers,

The butt end of a paintbrush has always worked fine for me

I generally use a Badger paint mixer. For my Vallejos I use a piece of sprue in my rotary tool.

waikong

 

Just a word of caution if you use this or any electronic stirrer, keep that thing down toward the bottom and make sure its stopped before pulling it out - Unless you want to camo our work room.

This is why I don't use the fancy battery-powered paint stirrers. If I know my luck, I'll hit the button too hard and there's plenty of paint to go around--all around the floor, the walls, the light, me,...

Jim Barton

 

waikong:

 

 

Just a word of caution if you use this or any electronic stirrer, keep that thing down toward the bottom and make sure its stopped before pulling it out - Unless you want to camo our work room.

 

 

 

This is why I don't use the fancy battery-powered paint stirrers. If I know my luck, I'll hit the button too hard and there's plenty of paint to go around--all around the floor, the walls, the light, me,...

I keep a tube from a toilet-paper roll that I place around the paint bottle. Then, on the off-chance I spin it when it isn't all the way in, I don't get paint everywhere. I take no credit for this great idea . Someone else on the forum mentioned it and I knicked it.

And if you want a cheaper solution to electric stirring, check out your local grocery store.  Most of them have a kitchen gadget section.  In there, you'll find mini electric stirrers (same as the micro-mark one) but for $2.99.  And they even come in a range of colors.

I have a micro-mark stirrer, going on 3 or 4 years now.  At one point, it developed a problem with the contact, between the button and the handle.  I had to squeeze like I was choking the life out of it, to get it to work.  Then I decided to actually fix the problem.  Took a small piece of tinfoil, folded it up, nice and tight, and wedged it between the button and handle, to make a new contact surface.  Now the lightest touch has it spinning like an outboard engine.

-Fred

To multi-task as I'm modeling, I cut the name/number of the paint from the label and frosty-tape it to the top of the cap. Then I put the bottle(s) in my ultrasonic cleaner, add water to half the bottle height, and start the cleaner. Ultrasound loosens and agitates the contents nicely (note that old, compacted paints may take a few ultrasonic cycles to loosen up). This way, the cap doesn't get wet, the threads stay clean, the paint is contained, no messes, and I can keep modeling instead of mixing/shaking. "But aren't ultrasonic cleaners expensive?": it depends on your budget vs. the value of your modeling time, of course. But many folks use ultrsonics to clean their airbrush parts, drafting pens (and SWMBO's jewelry), anyway, and multiple purposes make the ultrasonic a true bargain. I got mine for $40, after only limited price-shopping on the Net - could be better deals out there. Nutshell: they will clean almost anything from almost anything, using plain tap water alone (no need for soap, solvents, chemicals, etc.) Note: the ultrasound generator is an unsealed potential source of electric sparks, so use of flammable solvent as the cleaning medium is not recommended by manufacturers. But if I absolutely, positively must  use a flammable cleaner, I put my airbrush parts, etc, in a suitable-size glass jar full of lacquer thinner, etc, cap it tightly, and immerse as before in plain water. The water transmits the untrasound through the glass to the flammable liquid, which does the job safely contained. Be cautious with flammables, as always.

If you keep the tops tightly shut and keep the paints under controlled temp conditions, these paints will last a looong time. I have the small Testors enamel bottles with .19 cents printed on the caps so that tells you they are ancient. I also have some Humbrol tins 15+ years old that are still good though some are now beginning to go bad. My tool of choice for blending my paints is a wood coffee stirrer.

s1285.beta.photobucket.com/.../IMG_3041.jpg.html

Sorry, don't know how to post pictures on this forum.

I just made this from a Hamilton Beach electric knife. works great and mixes three jars at the same time. (1 small, 2 large) Use BB's as agitators.

Knife came with two blades, one of them had a hole in it so I grinded off the teeth, cut some metal straps, made them tight around the jars, drilled hole and bolted it to the blade, straps are snug enough that I don't need restraints for the paint jars. Knife was $15 at Walmart. 

But WAIT... I still have the other blade if I ever need it as a, Electric Knife... WOW!

I just pick up some wooden stirrers every time I go into a coffee shop or fast food place. Costs me nothing the staff don't care (I have asked) and I get to use them twice - once for each end

Phil

I took a "sit and spin" toy from the Goodwill store, and attached a handle to the middle, and those "foam noodles" intended as pool toys around the outside, slit all the way around

I fill the noodles with bottles of paint, each bottle has two Hematite beads in it,,,,,,,,and just slowly turn the handle as I read or look at decals, etc,,,,,,,,,when I finish, I have all the paints I am going to use all gently shaken (tumbled?),,,,,,,then, as I use them, I just hand stir them with either bamboo skewers cut in thirds or free stir sticks from fast food shops (as P Mitch says, also)

that way, I get the thorough mixing of shaking, but, more gently,,,,,,and the hand stirring makes sure I have a "fresh mixing" and no bubbles

shaking, agitating or tumbling paints is not so hard on them if you make sure you have a great seal on the bottles,,,,,,,,,,so, I found a stash of the same caps that used to be used on Talon Acrylic paints, they also are easier to remove, because they won't allow any paint up onto the top of the jar lip on Acrylics, they also have a "drip back" shape,,,,,,,,they do stick to enamel paint lips though,,,,,,,,,the clear cone sticks in place and has to be removed each time and returned to the inside of the cap (but, I also quit enamels, so that problem went away)

I got the micro mark $10 paint stir tool. So far I have found it to be simple cheap and quite adequate.  Actually I was pretty tickled with how well it works and that it was basically free.

Came up with this idea. May seem like over kill but I had the main components lying around unused. Black and decker jigsaw and a variable speed  control.  Used it to salvage 17 yr. old paint. worked like a charm.

Paint before

After mixing

The Mirco-Mark paint stirrer is a piece of junk. I bought one,and after it quit working, I took our the stirring tool and chucked it  in in my Dremel, and it works great!