Stirring Vallejo paints.

[tinytuco]

I'm contemplating making vallejo model air my primary paint ( I don't have a primary paint at the moment just random makes and colours) - but wondering how you guys go about stirring the paint??

Have read a few articles where people have used an "agitator" in the bottle - would something like this - Ball Bearings - do the trick??

Would the stainless steel react with the paint?

With the paint already in the bottle - How do you stir yours??

Apologies if this is a noob question..

All the best

Tuco

[Richard M]

With Model Air I just shake the bottle vigourously, never had a problem. With the Model Colour I usually mix that with the thinner in a small test tube, drop in a round shot, cap and shake until the two are mixed.

Edited September 30, 2011 by Richard M

[SaintsPhil]

I use Vallejo as my main paint too, although I'm liking tamiya at the moment too!

The model air ones you can just shake, as they are thin.

If you want to try ball bearings stainless steel should be ok, it's not supposed to react with anything!

The other option might be plastic ball bearings, like you get for airguns, but they may not be heavy enough!

Phil

[depressed lemur]

This may sound a little odd/obvious, but I take the nozzle off the bottle and give it a damn good stir with a cocktail stick first, then replace the nozzle and cap and give it a final shake.

[Merlin]

Hi,

I am 40 years a tinlets user, and have a home made power stirrer, it is essential to stir any paint VERY THOROUGHLY, but valejo come out with something that a damn good shake doesnt stir thoroughly.

I pick up a pot of carmine red, its got milk at the top, and a thick sludge that will not shake into a proper thoroughly mixed paint. Insert spatula and I can feel how this is going to need a proper electric motor stir. ITS HARD WORK stirring it with spatula. This stuff does settle out in storage.

 

Is there anything on the market designed to mix these annoying narrow neck pots. AK and hataka also now using these darned things.

 

My stirrer isnt long enough to reach bottom, also place pot into the film canister base I use to hold the tinlets and its too lose and whizzes round.

 

Just getting the blade out of this narrow neck is a struggle.

 

Wiping the spatula off on the inside isnt possible as a curve does not remove paint off a flat face blade. more wastage and paint everywhere.

Finally using my syringe method for measuring out a repeatable mix is denied as neck too narrow again. Drip counts are too crude for the mixes I make. 1 part of paint A to 20 parts of paint B cannot be done without 20 drips of B to one of A and thats paint wastage when needed for one small part.

 

Give me tinlets anyday.

Others are also trying to solve this, I think Valejo should create a stirrer !

Note comment on ball bearings bung up when tip pot to drip paint out, a stainless steel nut sensible, but that wont stir dense sludge, NEED A DECENT ELECTRIC STIRRER.

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/tools_techniques_and_reference_materials/f/18/t/175974.aspx

so can we get the nail polish stirrer in the UK, NO ! with the pathetic cross shape end that wont do it.

is there a nail polish stirrer stick variety, NO.

I can see myself having to make something that has a decent blade on end, pull paint downward, with a variable speed transformer and a decent mini motor., brass tube, and bash out a blade on an anvil or vice.

 

valejo suggesting roll bottle in hand, they havent a clue.

 

So how do UK folk stir the settled out dense sludge variety ?

 

Merlin

Edited May 5, 2019 by Merlin

[bmwh548]

You can use nuts instead of ball bearings. Those won't block the "hole" and paint can flow out of the bottle. 

A stirrer doesn't really need to have the "paddle" at the end. Yes, it's obviously more effective but you can just use a simple heavy gauge piece of copper or aluminium bent on the stirring end (into a circle or square like shape that's small enough to fit through the bottle neck). Put the other end into a Dremel like tool and give it a good mix for a minute or two. It'll get everything mixed up.

Alternatively look for something like this: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pSKiRzdfeiqfb5sV9kJTMyANe34_gRph

They're almost the right size for the plastic bottles (they need to be squeezed just a bit to fit through the bottle neck), I picked a whole bag at a cheap shop (I think those were in the kitchen department) for peanuts money, they're plated which makes them very easy to clean and they do a decent job mixing everything with the help of my rotary tool. 

[busnproplinerfan]

I have Vellejo paint but haven’t used them yet. For a simple mixer, i took a milk frother and cut the end off. I bent the end tip over 90’ about a 1/4” long. Got it from a cheap junk store. Not a fan of those stores but they are useful.

[BikKit]

I use a nail polish shaker I got from Amazon or Ebay canny remember which one, but it is great for mixing model air and the thicker model colour 

 

 

[Merlin]

Hi,

I have just shaken as suggested a bottle of valejo, then took lid off, insert spatula metal tool and dense sludge still there.

I dont believe a shaker would have made this stuff go 100% liquid., certainly not a nut either.

I was told acrylics dont settle out causing this issue, unlike enamels, I can tell you ...they do !

The only way to tackle this stuff is to have a rod that bends through 90deg on the end and to be able to let rip on the speed without any paint coming out, is shaped aerodynamically to make the paint head downward. My motor goes into an awesome speed on high, yet no paint escape due to the shaped tip driving the paint downward.

such a design will get into the corners of the bottle. file smooth its edges else one might cut through the plastic bottle.

in other words hammer flat a length of brass rod or alum then bend last 5mm or so through 90 deg and put a twist in it for the angle of attack of the 'blade' after sussing its direction of rotation.

then affix that onto an existing stirrer or affix to a small electric motor and control it with a variable speed railway transformer.

Being a blade it can be wiped pristine clean, a ring could see paint left within.

 

Merlin.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Merlin

[busnproplinerfan]

I just remembered seeing a video of a jigsaw with one of those hand squeeze clamps stuck into it. You put the long part of the clamp into the jigsaw and the paint into the jaw of the clamp and turn it on.

[Stalker6Recon]

Just out of curiosity, has anyone ever tried to mix paint using the prop of a model ship? The ships propeller is a water pusher, so if the rotation matches the direction of a rotory tool, you would have a very good mixer that is safe in plastic paint bottle.

 

I was a carpenter for years, and I have owned several paint/grout mixers that look just like a boat prop, and it makes mixing paints in big cans/buckets so easy, it's criminal.

 

I see no reason why a downsized version from a ship build, would be perfect. The only problem would be where to buy them. Maybe there is already a mixer of this type available on Amazon or other websites.

 

Cheers,

 

Anthony

[Tbolt]

On 5/6/2019 at 5:49 AM, busnproplinerfan said:

I just remembered seeing a video of a jigsaw with one of those hand squeeze clamps stuck into it. You put the long part of the clamp into the jigsaw and the paint into the jaw of the clamp and turn it on.

Thanks what I use, I bought a budget one and mounted it upside down in a wooden frame and added a clamp to hold the bottle.

 

I wish more companies would use the bottle that Xtracrylix use, its the best paint bottle I've come across.

[Kiwiinoz]

I brought small stainless steel nuts and bolts set from the hardware shop. Was planning to use only the nuts but ran out so the bolts went into the bottles too...works a treat with model air but the model colour is way to thick

[busnproplinerfan]

8 hours ago, Tbolt said:

Thanks what I use, I bought a budget one and mounted it upside down in a wooden frame and added a clamp to hold the bottle.

 

I wish more companies would use the bottle that Xtracrylicx use, its the best paint bottle I've come across. 

Never saw Xtracrylix,had to look them up, the bottle looks good.