I have heard that shaking paint doesn't stir it enough. When I air brush I always stir and if the paint hasn't been used in a long time I also stir in that case. I am finding that stirring is a little more messy than shaking and when I just need to use a dab of paint, I am starting to learn toward just shaking. Is shaking all that bad?

Well Andrew;
I get used to stir instead of shacking, shacking tends to spills paint off the bottle when you open it, and it makes difficult to open it again later. Besides that, when you stir you mix the paaint better than shacking... :-)
Cheers!

One of the things I've read in FSM said that shaking paint and then airbrushing it could make some dried chunks come loose from the rim of the bottle and then clog the airbrush. Which probably isn't good.

YodaMan

I do both actually. I've never really put any thought into which was better.

Yodaman, I can see your point about clogging the A/B but I find that hard to believe. That possibly could be if you hook up the paint canister directly to the A/B. I use a cut off piece of a drinking straw to pour over to my A/B. I would see the chunk right away. Thinking about it I am always preparing my paint, I rarely use it just out of the jar except for quick touch-ups or the like. I have always worked though my paints when I buy them, maybe I'm just odd...

I stir, shake, and then stir again

Hi Andrew - It is far better " to stir than not to stir.
Stirring assures a well mixed paint, and by right
it picks up the pigment on the bottom of the bottle
and mixes this in with the rest of paint - Making
for a THOROUGHLY MIXED - WELL BLENDED PAINT.
You CAN'T GET this from just shaking
Hence: Rule #1 - Stir Paint
Rule #2 Stir Paint
Rule #3 Stir Paint
- ralph

I stir than shake than stir once more to remove any airbubbles the were caused from shaking. Before I AB, I always use a "strainer" while pouring the paint into the AB cup. I've heard of catching dry pieces in the AB before, but with the strainer I'm assured I catch em.
:-)

Shaking is good when you want to add a dash of gin and an olive.

When olive DRAB is concerned, stick to stirring. If you do that carefully, you shouldn't mess too much.
Some paints however don't leave you any choice but to shake. Paint bottles like Vallejo have a shape that's made for shaking. Can't be all that bad. I guess much depends on the kind of paint, too.

Jan


Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than yourself

Stirred, not shaken...
That should be 007's recipe for paint. Shaking will get paint inside the lid and this will dry and make the bottle hard to open. Shaking is easier with the tin-type paints like Humbrol and Xtracolor though. The lids are easier to clean. I prefer stirring though, takes a little more time but is worth the effort. Also, stirring will get old or settled paints mixed, whereas shaking will not...

What I do is when I get a new bottle of paint, I open it up, stir well, put a dab on the bottle top so I can tell what the color is when the bottle is in my paint rack. Then I put 2 BB's in the bottle, wipe the bottle threads and cap and tighten the cap. When I want to use the paint, I shake it well, the BB's act like the ball bearing in a spray can, open the bottle, stir and use a eyedropper or plastic pipette to get the paint. Wipe the bottle threads and cap, then seal tight. The only colors I've had dry out were some Citadel paints with the snap plastic caps.

Guess I'm a shaker there - never had any problems to make me do otherwise...

Gunnie

I realize this threads a bit old, but here's my take:

I've always shaked my paints before use. Very rarely have I stirred (except when mixing colors or thinning, of course).

However, as of just last night, I'm resolved to stirring only - or at least trying anyway.

The reason? I am tired of having paint residue accumulating on the rim of the jar which leads to a bad seal, clumping and just an overall mess. I realize that you can wipe the rim of the jar, but that's also a messy job and still doesn't address the paint that sticks to the underside of the cap (and ultimately gets on the jar rim when screwed back on).

So, I'm going to try stirring ONLY from now on. My only concern there is whether I'll get all the pigment that settles around the jar (bottom & sides).

By the way, what do you guys usually use to stirr? I'm thinking of getting some of those flat wooden coffee stirrers for this task.

So, is there any downside to stirring only?

- MonkeyBoy

Yeah, you don't get your frustrastrations out!!! :-)

No really, since the manufacturers haven't seen fit to making a bottle/container that is stir-friendly, I find, besides the fact that you mentioned, I get better paint consistancy through doing both because all paint material gets involved in a shake, but not neccessarily on a stir. I finding shaking less messy too...

I do Both - Shake then Stir.

I do this based on the age of the paint. Newer paint only get a good shake. The older the paint the more of the latter I give it. I find that older paint tends to settle and clump and not get integrated as well with out the help of a good tooth pick.

I also clean the rim of my paint regularly to keep them from getting stuck or getting the dry crusties into anything.

to shake, you can insert a small steel ball (from wheel ball barings) or a marble. That helps to evenly mix the paint. Many brands of nail polish are sold with a steel ball inside the bottle to ease shaking.

I also do both: And like Sladder there it depends on the age of the paint as to the
degree of shaking it gets. But I too runinto the problem with dried paint on the cap, Which
eventually makes the lid difficult to open. Soooo, Maybe shaking is not such a good idea. And I know it. BUT I'm so used to doing things that way. that I find it hard to do things
differently. SO in closing I think it all copmes down to the point that what ever works best for
you is what you should do. BUT Also consider the consequiences if any weather you are Shaking or Stirring.

DAGGER-1 "LUCK" I Dont Believe in Luck, Only Cold Hard Cash, And Hot Lead"

This thread is old - but I'm still shakin' #:-)

Gunnie

I like mine stirred, with crushed ice, and a little salt on the rim of the jar!

Tread. #:-)

I found it is not good to shake beer bottles (I stay away from mixed drinks, they have a tendency to sneak up on me). For paint I usually shake before opening. Some of my paint is very old and dried out paint won't shake, and if it does it rattles I then stir to get rid of air bubbles and to get pigment off bottom of jar.

I always shake the paint like crazy before opening it. Usually, it's well mixed after that, but if I can see that the stuff on top still looks thin, I stir it. For some reason, certain paints seem to mix better than others.

Nic

I know this is old, but what is the best way to stir paint?