Rejuvenating Mr Surfacer and crusty jars

[Filler]

I learnt of the existence of Mr Color Replenishing Agent and was thinking to buy a bottle as I have two jar of Mr Surfacer (500 & 1000) that haven't been much used. So in theory it would be cheaper to buy the replenisher than two new jars of Surfacer.

 

However, I am struggling to imagine how I get the mix back to its original viscosity as I can't remember what it is supposed to be like. And this I imagine would render it very difficult to mix for airbrushing.

 

Any ideas how I might be able to do this successfully?

 

The second part of this query is; how do you guys avoid the crusty build up on jars of paint and especially Mr Surfacer? This seems a major issue as it must be nearly impossible to avoid contamination once some of these bits fall into the liquid. I assume replenishing agent will be of no help here. And it's too think to strain, surely?

[bmwh548]

The 500 one is really thick. Think of it as disolved putty. If I dip a brush in it and jut pick it up it pretty much stays on the brush. I only used it for filling tiny imperfections so that's perfect for me.

The 1000 one is a bit more fluid, just a bit thicker than a jar of Mr. Color paint. I just top it up with Leveling thinner until it reaches the "neck" of the bottle, and I keep doing it as I use it up until I get to a watery like consistency. From one jar of "1000" I probably get 3 jars "airbrush ready".

I wouldn't bother with the replenishing agent, just use Leveling thinner.

I can't be bothered with the crust on these, I've had some fall back in the bottle several times but it was nowhere to be found days later (being a lacquer it probably just disolves it). And I'm not too worried when it happens at the very beginning of a priming session because they're typically too large to get sucked into the pipette.

[Filler]

Hi. Thanks for the super fast reply. I'll give what you said a go and I have a better sense of how thick or thin these should be now.

[Duncan B]

I only use the Replenishing Agent on the actual Mr Color paints. Like bmwh548 I just use the Levelling Thinner to 'restore' Mr Surfacer. I don't worry too much about the original viscosity as they have to be thinned a bit for airbrushing anyway.

 

Duncan B

[Ray_W]

I agree with @bmwh548 on this and really had no problems although I do tend to keep the lid cleaner on the 1500 (less "crusty" than 500 anyway) as it is used mainly in the airbrush.  I no longer keep "airbrush ready" mixes just mix as required, which is often as the black 1500 is my preferred undercoat. 

 

To clean takes less than a minute if you so desire.

 

Tools of Trade - Because it's what I have on the shelf:

 

 

 

 

You can see the 500 is crusty … shows how much I worry about this.

 

 

Voila … seconds.

 

Protect you lungs and good ventilation.

 

I think mix the thickness to what you like if it can be rejuvenated. Stay on the "thicker" side you can always thin.

 

One phenomena, no science just an observation, that I have noted with adding small quantities of the thinners to the jar with small quantities of the lacquers, is it seems to accelerate the drying in the jar. I can come back to a jar with no thinners added and still have a small quantity of useable paint. If thinners have been added it is dry. Possibly the Rejuvenator has something to assist in extending curing time.  I have no problems if I premix a jar of surface/thinners as suggested by @bmwh548.

 

Ray

 

[Filler]

Excellent Ray, thanks. I have pretty much everything in your photos so I should not have any problems following your advice.

[Ray_W]

I use the Tool Cleaner on the hard to remove. It is aggressive and I expect it would melt the glove given time. I avoid getting it in the jar and finish wipe with Thinner. It will probably have no effect, just something that is easy to avoid.

[dogsbody]

As I've only used Mr Surfacer 1000 and only applied it carefully with a wooden toothpick or my modified sewing needle, I've never had to thin it. As for the build-up on the jar's rim, I just wipe it off with a paper towel upon opening it after a vigorous shake. I also wipe the inside the lid.

 

 

 

Chris