Hi,

So I've seen in AFV magazines that they sometimes say not to mix enamel paints in the can, but rather to scoop some of the paint from the bottom and then use thinner to get the consistency you want. It seems from experience that the thinner(or whatever) in the bottle/can is very glossy and doesn't work as well as other thinners.

Is there a rule of thumb as to when you should or shouldn't shake enamel paints?

I know with oils, ppl often say to put it on cardboard so that the linseed oil gets pulled out of the paint, is this idea with not shaking enamels similar?

Hey fella,

I watched this video and then made one myself....works GREAT for mixing Enamels that have settled in the bottle....Even mixes the Humbrol Tins with some extra attention.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5wwAzGFzQc

Hope that helps

My approach, for what it's worth, has always been to stir a new tin for five minutes and otherwise for at least three. I do this religiously and have never had a result where the paint wasn't mixed properly unless it was an old tin where the paint had gone lumpy and would not go smooth (in which cas I binned it). I used bits of old sprue and made sure that I got the end into the angle at the bottom where the pigment accumulates.

I know this might be too long for some people but my build rate is akin to that of continental drift so a few minutes here or there is insignificant for me.

I recommend adding a couple of bb's to each bottle. Make sure that they are stainless steel. I shake for one minute, stir(with a cut off toothpick) for one minute and shake for another minute.

I never shake the hombrol becose after when you oper the jar is a bit messy but a give a good stir with a stirrer until is nice and smooth and at the bottom the usual pigment in mixed with the rest,usualy 1 minute or so minimum, i ad 1 bearing-ball even if i dont shake it becose help me to stir

With some color the problem if you dont stir and you just scoop the bottom parts is you pick-up just one part of the actual tint,becose some is a mix of differt pigment and tend to separate one from the other like H.23 Duck Egg Blue Matt on the bottom you pick up nearly just white

I always stirr and shake Humbroll before use. One exception is flat black # 33. This can sometimes dry with a glossy sheen when mixed. Solution is to mix the goo at the bottom with Humbroll thinner...
Of course, since you've just mixed the tin, now you need a second unmixed tin...

You ought to stir (shake) the enamel paint very thoroughly to mix the pigments and the carrier well, then put the desired amount in a separate vessel and add thinner. Putting the paint jar in a cup of hot water for a few minutes will help blending the components together faster. With older jars shaking may very well take over 10-15 minutes.

You can use the pigment from the bottom of the jar of course for weathering purposes, in this case consider that later the paint will not have the same consistency as pigments shall be missing from it.

Thanks all! So was the one guys who gave me that "pro-tip" just talking crazy?

I have found that some of my enamels have a really strong gloss - is there a way to tone down the gloss on enamels? just a mat varnish at the end?

I suspect that the authors are not proposing it as a way to paint the whole model but for specific tasks such as weathering. Hard to say without seeing the whole text.

If you want to reduce the gloss, you could add flatting agent, use the matt version of the colour or, as you say, overspray with a matt or satin varnish.

Scooping the pigment from the bottom is a good idea if you are detail painting metallics, like gold or silver for a figure's buttons, but generally, you don't want to just scoop up pigment without the binder (the clear stuff that holds the pigment in place when it dries). Enamels should be mixed well before application, and whether the paint is gloss or flat is usually irrelevant. You're going to want a gloss finish for decaling, and you may get a splotchy finish when you do your weathering, so the final step is nearly always going to be a flat clear coat, anyway.

Not necessarily. I know some modelers are using the pigment blobs for weathering because it has some practical advantages: you do not need to buy oil paints, the color is premixed, you can adjust the density by adding very little thinner at once so you can make effects which are not easy to do with artist oils - like caked mud and dust effects - and will dry faster while having a similar behaviour as oils during brushwork.

Maybe it is a good idea to keep some enamels at hand with your favourite dust and mud colours for weathering purposes only.

The gloss comes from the synthetic carrier oil and normally you can avoid it by stirring and shaking up well since the flat finish comes from an additive which must be dispersed in the mixture well just like the pigment itself. The more pigment you remove from the jar the glossier the finish will be later, as proportionally more carrier remains each time.