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Humbrol tins


RidgeRunner

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Hi all!

 

Does everyone struggle like me to keep these tins sealed and the paint lasting until the very end without drying up? I am thinking about decanting in to "Wilkin" small jam jars. Has anyone out there tried this? If so, what is your experience?

 

Thanks,

 

Martin

 

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No problem here. After you've put the lid back on, store the jar upside down. This prevents the paint around the rim seal drying out and 'gluing' the lid in place.

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sounds like it might work, been pondering a similar scenario too recently. But then when you go back to your paint store weeks later you are not going to know which colour is where are you ? Where's the 'slightly sceptical' emoji when you want it?

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Little round sticker on the base with the number written on it - a pack of several 100 costs a couple of quid.

 

Alternative is to tap the lid back on with a small hammer.

 

BUT enamel will always start to cure on contact with air, so inevitably you might lose some

Edited by Dave Fleming
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24 minutes ago, bhouse said:

No problem here. After you've put the lid back on, store the jar upside down. This prevents the paint around the rim seal drying out and 'gluing' the lid in place.

 

5 minutes ago, FalkeEins said:

sounds like it might work, been pondering a similar scenario too recently. But then when you go back to your paint store weeks later you are not going to know which colour is where are you ? Where's the 'slightly sceptical' emoji when you want it?

 

It does work.  I had the same problem but resolved the "hunt the right paint tin" problem by buying a packet of very small self adhesive labels which I attach to the bottom of the tin and then write the paint number on it.

 

In the words of the Meerkat - "Simples" :) 

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1 minute ago, RidgeRunner said:

 

I just noticed you say "jar". So are we talking about different things?

Sorry - sloppy writing on my part! I meant tin (or tinlet, as I believe Humbrol used to call them).

And the label with paint number is a good idea. I also smear a bit of the paint on the base of the tin which helps as well.

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8 minutes ago, bhouse said:

Sorry - sloppy writing on my part! I meant tin (or tinlet, as I believe Humbrol used to call them).

And the label with paint number is a good idea. I also smear a bit of the paint on the base of the tin which helps as well.

 

Just make sure the lid is back on before you turn it upside down

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...aren't the glass "jars" Mr. Color et al use,  the way to go? Easy clean, reusable, you can see what you have, etc. etc. ??

I mean, I have a "tinlet" of Humbrol No. 11 on the go from 1968, or thereabouts, but you have to move with the times....!

Edited by RODH2
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1 minute ago, RODH2 said:

...aren't the glass "jars" Mr. Color et al use,  the way to go? Easy clean, reusable, you can see what you have, etc. etc. ??

That is what I was thinking, hence the "Wilkin" suggestion.

 

_86_zps2jjgapa4.jpg

 

I used to love the old Testors jars :)

 

Martin

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We ran an extended test of glass jars with screw top lids. They failed the test.

 

They're ok if you're meticulous in cleaning the threads, but it's just so easy to thread-lock the lid onto the glass jar with paint. I personally wanted no liability with people trying to remove lids in bench vices or with pipe pliers and breaking the glass either injuring themselves, making a huge mess with spilled paint or, most likely, both.

 

If you're getting problems sealing steel tin lids because of paint mess on the openings, it's reasonable to assume you will be a prime candidate for thread locking your screw top lids on with paint mess on glass jars too.

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Nothing new and wonderfully up-to-date about glass jars for model paints.  Airfix used them (1960s?), but changed to tins.  I think Gloy used to use jars in the 50s, but were also using tins in their last modelling incarnation (damn good paints they were, too, not least thanks to using Ian Huntley for research).   There's a bit of a common theme and message there, methinks.  Jamie has it about right.

 

I feel that upside down storing would require the neck and top to be clean and a good fit, and if that was always true then most of the problems with lost paint would go away.

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Sounds good, storing tinlets upside down...........I USED TO DO IT..............you end up with ONE big problem then?  All the pigment, sediment, call it what you will settles on the inside of the lid........should come off when you shake the tin?  WRONG!!!  Some sediments are stuburn and require a good stir to get pigments moving on the bottom of the tin, Try to take the tin lid off with wet/drippy pigments attached to it and you end up with one big mess on your work surface.  How often have you opened a tin normally and found a liquid on the top of the paint and the sediment on the bottom?  Same thing happens when tinlets stored upside down.

As for jars, as was pointed out earlier, if the top is well and trully stuck on the threads,........ strong chance you will shatter the glass trying to get the top off, worst of all, if its a plastic top(as per tamiya) if the glass does not shatter...........the plastic top will by sheer with torque force..............the easy solution to this is to run very hot water over the top, or boil a kettle and pour water over plastic top.............the top will undo so easily you would not believe it, the heat warms up the paint in the threads and the top automatically frees itself...................thats my experience after 50 years of modelling

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I mean, we all like exotic tools, right, and everybody has a Gunze Opener......surely!! I have not found a jar that I can't open with my trusty Gunze opener.....(I don't work for G.S.!!)

 

Edited by RODH2
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3 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

That is what I was thinking, hence the "Wilkin" suggestion.

 

_86_zps2jjgapa4.jpg

 

I used to love the old Testors jars :)

 

Martin

How easy are their products to use in an airbrush?

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1 hour ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

We ran an extended test of glass jars with screw top lids. They failed the test.

 

They're ok if you're meticulous in cleaning the threads, but it's just so easy to thread-lock the lid onto the glass jar with paint. I personally wanted to liability with people trying to remove lids in bench vices or with pipe pliers and breaking the glass either injuring themselves, making a huge mess with spilled paint or, most likely, both.

 

If you're getting problems sealing steel tin lids because of paint mess on the openings, it's reasonable to assume you will be a prime candidate for thread locking your screw top lids on with paint mess on glass jars too.

 

quite possibly! I take your point.

 

1 hour ago, rayprit said:

Sounds good, storing tinlets upside down...........I USED TO DO IT..............you end up with ONE big problem then?  All the pigment, sediment, call it what you will settles on the inside of the lid........should come off when you shake the tin?  WRONG!!!  Some sediments are stuburn and require a good stir to get pigments moving on the bottom of the tin, Try to take the tin lid off with wet/drippy pigments attached to it and you end up with one big mess on your work surface.  How often have you opened a tin normally and found a liquid on the top of the paint and the sediment on the bottom?  Same thing happens when tinlets stored upside down.

As for jars, as was pointed out earlier, if the top is well and trully stuck on the threads,........ strong chance you will shatter the glass trying to get the top off, worst of all, if its a plastic top(as per tamiya) if the glass does not shatter...........the plastic top will by sheer with torque force..............the easy solution to this is to run very hot water over the top, or boil a kettle and pour water over plastic top.............the top will undo so easily you would not believe it, the heat warms up the paint in the threads and the top automatically frees itself...................thats my experience after 50 years of modelling

 

so jars win for you? Is that what I am reading?

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I have kept hundreds of paint tins including Humbrol sealed up for years.  I had a small metal plug made that just fits loosely in the lid which I use like a nail set, to tap the lid level and shut with a hammer.   Its not going to be 100% after you open a tin the first time.  Clean up the top of the tin and the lid before sealing up again.  Mine are kept in full boxes and rotated every now and then.  This saves on rotating individual tins.  Before using - stir, stir, stir, use the same brand thinner if you can - although that went out the window when production moves to a different country.  A friend of mine actually put his tins behind the hubcaps of his car and drove around to get good results.  Put a small stainless steel ball bearing in each tin when opened.  When shaking the tin in any method it helps break up pigment clumps far faster.  There is no reason not to hang on to a colour that works for your - for years.  The only bitch is when you hear that the XYZ company got its colour label wrong on tins way in the past.

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10 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said:

 

a little sticky but they taste great! ;)

 

M

 

There's a market here for scratch and sniff paint jobs. 

 

-Gun barrel carbon,

 

-hot stained metal,

 

-cracked tire rubber,

 

-sweet lead exhaust fumes, 

 

-sweaty seat cushion which can expand into a 'near miss mess the pants' etc etc. 

 

 

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2 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

so jars win for you? Is that what I am reading?

 

 

lol............no, I use various, jars, tins, aerosols and plastic bottles(vallejo)once you know their shortcomings and bad habits, you work through them or around them, jars i have mentioned, hot water for troublesome tops   ........... tinlets I store normal, but I always brush white spirits or cleaner on the tin lid and wipe spotlessly clean, the paint I have one of those handy electric stirrers you can pick up for about £7 and let it stir for about 1 minute before I use the paint, thouroughly mixed then, aerosols, I keep in the airing cupbaoard close to the combi boiler - not so much shaking required then........vallejo paintt can take a bit of mixing, but, as with the tinets I drop 2 x 5 mm hexagonal stainless steel nuts in them to act as aggitators....they have the weight and and edges to help cut through and break up the sediment in paint when shaken aggressively(remember - they are steel and CAN break glass when shaking jars - shake with a cloth around jar if determined to use this method as I do!)

A lot of my paint is over 30 years old and still going strong .............bought some paint recently, Hobby Color flat black.......used it twice, third time it had gone hard in the jar......not even 3 months old........todays paint formulaes are lacking in duration.  I think that they are deliberatly made with the intention of going off quickly just to increase the turnover of paint sales...............I have humbrol paint here from years ago, that will last longer on this earth than I will

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The 'secret' is to clean the lids and the rim of the tin of any accumulated paint before closing it back up. To make sure it's completely sealed, tap it with a hammer as suggested above, or (this is my technique) place the tin on the floor, lid up, and briefly stand on it to transfer your weight to the lid. Don't stomp on it. Just briefly shift your weight to the foot on the tin. I have Humbrol tins over 50 years old I have sealed in the manner, and they are still as fresh as the day they left the factory. Nothing smells as good as vintage Humbrol enamel!

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I have to say I have never had a problem. All of the tins of enamel I have, I just make sure I clean the rim and lid thoroughly before putting them back. No hammer tapping, no upside down, zip. Consequently I have plenty of tins dating back to when Matchbox was putting out new kits, all workable upon opening and stirring.

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