DIY Paint Shaker (Mixer)

Looks good until you get just one time a paint bottle goes “zing” out of the clamps and make a mess of things, or even a hole in the wall. Using a jigsaw  contraption is a recipe for disaster. That’s just my opinion.

Nope, not for me. I’d rather stir and shake my own paint bottles than risk breaking a paint bottle or worst.

The possibility of a bottle going sideways would prevent me from even trying that setup, hope it works for you. I've had too many of those friction clamps go loose on woodworking projects to trust them.

Some years ago I bought a small battery powered handheld mixer to do the same job, but I've never used it. Cute idea, but a minute with a toothpick works well and requires no cleanup. Good luck with your "high performance" mixer and Happy Holidays!

Mike  

I understand both of your concerns. I run the saw at its slowest speed and I hold the clamp in a bucket. The reason that I made this shaker is because I could never get Testors' Aluminum paint to properly mix. The paint always had those odd looking black streaks in it.

JohnnyK

I understand both of your concerns. I run the saw at its slowest speed and I hold the clamp in a bucket. The reason that I made this shaker is because I could never get Testors' Aluminum paint to properly mix. The paint always had those odd looking black streaks in it.

 

You know you can get a great little paint mixer from Micro Mark for about $10.00. It uses 2 AA batteries and works great.

That's the one I bought, Learmech. Once I had it I realized that every time I used it, I would have to clean the stirrer in the appropriate thinner, being careful not to remove it while it was still running. Factoring in my ability to make messes, I could easily imagine paint splatters all over me, the bench, the project and the cat.

Sounds as if you're capable of avoiding all that; it looks like a good tool in the right hands. 

Tomorrow I am going to Hobby Lobby to look for a Velcro strap. I can use that to strap the bottle to the clamp to prevent the bottle from bouncing off the wall before it hits me in the eye.

I wasted many hours trying to come up with the perfect shaker. I came up with an attachment for my dremmel and I could spin the bottles. It worked pretty good but I realized it was destined for a paint spill I did not care to clean up. Plus it actually took more effort and time to walk across the room and use it then just sitting and stirring the paint with a Tamiya paint stirrer and I'm lazy so I just remain seated and stir now. Good luck with that and I hope you remain free of broken paint bottle spills.

That might be one of the best real-life examples of a Rube Goldberg I've seen in ages!

Thanks for sharing. Hope it keeps working out for you.

This is not “diy” but I bought one on ebay years ago for about usd 25 and I love it. It’s particularly good for Vallejo-sized bottless. Their bottoms fit perfectly into the black holder.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/American-Scientific-Products-S8223-1-SP-Vortex-Mixer-Test-Tube-Vial-Mixer/312363640142?epid=1984483877&hash=item48ba52e54e

This is a “tad” more involved than I am interested in or probably capable of but I thought I’d post the link since it really is a diy paint shaker!

https://youtu.be/rqA083rCgTs

I used to use a MicroMark stirrer mentioned above, until the cheap and crude switch wore out.  I kept the stirring bit, and threw out the rest.  Now I just chuck that stirring bit in a Dremel and run it at the slowest speed, and it works great.  To clean it, I just spin it in a small bottle of appropriate solvent.

Here is a photo of my paint shaker in action 

I works great! So far, I  have not been hit in the head by a bottle of paint.

    I like it. Looks to bemore effective than a palm sander, and easier to hook up to boot.

JohnnyK

Here is a photo of my paint shaker in action 

I works great! So far, I  have not been hit in the head by a bottle of paint.

 

Not yet, but I guarantee you get hit at some point.....  

Instead od shacking your paints try this https://www.bedbathandbeyond.ca/store/product/nostalgia-trade-electrics-retro-series-trade-50-39-s-style-hot-dog-roller/1016848964?skuId=16848964&&enginename=google&mcid=PS_googlepla_nonbrand__&adpos=1o4&creative=259324461247&device=c&matchtype=&network=g&product_id=16848964CA&mrkgadid=612922436&mrkgcl=610&rkg_id=0&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_8zLwsPA3wIVkgFpCh0h_wZVEAQYBCABEgL__vD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds  just disconnect the heater and let your paints slowly tumble. Even better, it does not intruduce foam/bubbles to your paint

I saw a video on youtube yesterday a guy used one of those micro mark stirrers for stirring his Tamiya paint. He put the card board roller from toilet paper around his bottle first so if he pulled it out too soon, no mess. Thought it was an interesting idea for anyone interested.

That's a good one, I'm thinking a short length of PVC pipe would also work well. If you read my earlier post, making a mess would be my biggest concern. The Micromark stirrer is still the best idea I've seen here in terms of ease of use and low cost, but I think I'll reserve mine for mixing really goopy stuff like MM enamels. The other brands I use stir up perfectly well with toothpicks. My 2 cents.

Happy New Year!

It’s not DIY. But, one of the guys in AMPS told us about the nail polish shaker that he bought off Amazon. They are a bit over $20, and you just plug in, strap the paint bottle in place and turn it on. Just like the big paint can shakers at a paint store....

stikpusher

It’s not DIY. But, one of the guys in AMPS told us about the nail polish shaker that he bought off Amazon. They are a bit over $20, and you just plug in, strap the paint bottle in place and turn it on. Just like the big paint can shakers at a paint store....

 

Now that is cool!!

Yes it is... I just had to test it out and then used the test shaken paint to cover the un military model like pink brand label... worlds great... maybe now I can get better results from Vallejo paints...

stikpusher

Yes it is... I just had to test it out and then used the test shaken paint to cover the un military model like pink brand label... worlds great... maybe now I can get better results from Vallejo paints...

 

DasBeav

 

 

stikpusher

Yes it is... I just had to test it out and then used the test shaken paint to cover the un military model like pink brand label... worlds great... maybe now I can get better results from Vallejo paints...

 

 

 

 

Stik, I use mostly VJ, does it shake up that "gook" that is found at the bottom? Asking for a friend.

 

 

I guess if you leave it shaking long enough it will. I let it run a minute or two with the bottle that I mixed for a test. I did not pull off the dropper nipple to check. It mixed the paint enough to where it was not translucent and dried dead flat- those were my two biggest gripes about mixing Vallejo paints. 

Sounds to me it would work great for those dropper type bottles or even Mission Model bottles. Have you tried it using Mission Model bottles?

Not yet, but I will. Probably next week when I get around to painting the tires on my 222. I did use it yesterday for shaking up a bottle of Tamiya Gray primer