Most of the paints I use aren't working out right. I use Tamiya acrylics and Model Colour enamel. What happens is that they kinda separate in the bottle. It's very thick on the bottom but the top half is very watery. I shake the daylights out of them but it just won't work.

I don't airbrush, I use brushes with the paints that pose the problems. Any help would be great because I don't want to do anything else until I can actually get good results with my paints.

-Conor

The pigment in paints will settle over time. There are a number of tricks people have come up with over time to help redistribute the pigment through the solvent. One of the simplest is to drop a BB or two into the bottle; this works the same way that the ball in a rattle can works -- you shake the bottle, and the BB digs into the layer of pigment at the bottom of the bottle, breaking it up to help distribute it faster. You could also use a stirring stick; these can range from a piece of heavy wire (i.e., coathanger wire) to bamboo skewers to coffee stirrers to random unneeded sections of sprue. An upgrade on this to take some of the effort out is to use a bent wire loop chucked into a motor tool like a Dremel instead of trying to stir by hand.

Hi Conor,

Shaking doesn't really cut it - sometimes you need to get in there with s stirring stick (paintbrush handle, usually) and really stir until the clumps thin out. That way you can get into all the corners, and really mix it up. By the way, I've never been able to brush-paint with Tamiya - I think they are a nightmare outside of an airbrush.

Tom

For current lack of bbs, I stir my paints with toothpicks. I generally add a drop or two of the appropriate thinner. To keep paints longer, store them upside down.

Hi

I find its much better and easier to use one of the many electric paint mixers, I have and old one sold by Badger and one of the cheaper but just as good trumpeter ones.

http://www.trumpeter-china.com/a/en/product/tools/Modeling_tools/2010/1020/1190.html

They both do an excellent job and will stir any brand of hobby paint in a few seconds.

Just remember to turn it off before removing it from the paint. Don't ask me how I know that

Paul

Be very carefull using a dremel. I used to use one of those turkey pins (the looped thick wire to close a turkey up) and it finally broke the paint bottle while in my hand during mixing. Cleaning a cut with thinner is pretty painfull and the paint was everywhere. As for storing for a period of time, make sure the thread in cap and on the bottle is clean and put a piece of wax paper inbetween the bottle and cap when you close it up. Gives it an air tight seal.

I use a Badger electric mixer myself, it's a life saver! Popping the lid for the batteries is a pita for this model though, one of the others may be easier to change batteries on.




Ouch! There are no chemicals that feel good in a cut I've had my fair share of experiences and wish I didn't.
Your tip about using the wax paper under the lids is wonderful! I need to start doing that with mine, especially on the bottles with metal caps. Those things can be a nightmare to remove if the paint ever finds a way to work itself in the threads...

Conor,

As said, you need to stir the paints well.
Tamiya paints do not brush paint worth a damn. Do not even try.If you want brushable acrylics, buy Vallejo Model Color. The best paint on the planet.