Argh its happened again :( seperation

count zero99uk

count zero99uk

New member
Im sick and tired of paints separating.

I dont know if its that fact i do a bit of painting my depression comes on and then when i go back 3 months later there like were not talking to you now.

Anyway ive been told about putting beads in them. I dont know what size how many or where to get them from in the UK. Any advice on that would be great.

I really like the Vallejo paints as i can get them cheapish but im happy to move on if someone knows a brand that dosnt settle as quickly, or if when it does remixes easily - i dont want to shake the botte for 15 hours :)

Im even contemplating decanting the vallejo paint into a different type of container to see if its the dropper bottles that cause the problems on remixing.

Any and all advice would be greatfuly recieved. Please note you may have told me before, but my memory sucks :)

Thanks again all
Brian.
 
TrystanGST

TrystanGST

New member
The only separation I've had was with p3, on my wet palette. A quick stir will reconstitute them. Can't say I've had any issues IN the bottle.
 
count zero99uk

count zero99uk

New member
Whats happend is there is a sludge at the bottom a watery coloured bit in the middle and a white liquid on top.

Its the various paint components settling.
 
me_in_japan

me_in_japan

New member
I use glass beads from craft shops. Pop one of those in and you'll find a quick shake does the business, no problem.
 
KruleBear

KruleBear

Active member
As i worked through my yellow problems, i bought some yellow vallejo's and i found that the pigment had settled out and was getting hard in a couple shades. I chalked it up to the paints sitting in the shop for awhile as it seemed to be a GW fanboy shop ( probably why the vallejo's were on sale). I popped the dropper tip off and stirred them up with a little added medium and water and they seem ok know. I have used copper BB's in paint pots, but would be reluctant to do it in dropper bottles. I imagine the BB dropping into the tip when dispensing and act like a check valve--preventing the paint from getting out.
 
QuietiManes

QuietiManes

New member
Bits off the sprues or name tags can work. But most metals do rust and fall apart in the paint, although, higher grade stainless steel might take several lifetimes before it's noticeable, but lower grade stainless steel might be filling the bottle with rusty sludge in a month. There was a thread about this a while ago, the ultimate suggestion was in the form of ceramic beads, for cooking, weighing down pie shells, get them at the baking section of larger kitchen or catering supply houses, I looked into them locally, think it was $10 or $15 Canadian for a bottle of 250 of them, 3 to 6mm each? I remember thinking they'd just barely fit in the dropper bottles. The second best option was for glass beads, from the arts and craft shops, super cheap, can even get them at the dollar stores.

The problem is that glass isn't very heavy, metal rusts, ceramic is hard to find and expensive.

They don't stop the separation mind you. That happens with almost all paints over time. Just makes it a bit easier to mix back up.
 
RuneBrush

RuneBrush

New member
Where do you store your paint? Is it fairly warm which may encourage the pigment in the paint to settle more quickly than a cooler environment?

Sadly it's not an uncommon part of the hobby, agitators can help but there will often be cases where you just have to pop the top off, crank round with a cocktail stick (adding a few drops of water if necessary), top back on and shake.
 
count zero99uk

count zero99uk

New member
Thanks all, yeah the house has been uncommonly warm of late. Theres this giant ball of fire in the sky and it seems to want to cook the poor UK. Were meant to be cold :(

Anyway thanks for the tips, guess its just a matter of stir shake and hope. Ill have a look for these ceramic peas and see if i can find some.

Take care all.
Brian.
 
RuneBrush

RuneBrush

New member
count zero99uk said:
Think ive found some, just a matter of finding out how big they are.

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/kitche...tchen-ceramic-baking-beans-700g/invt/0237888/
Click to expand...

They're going to be 6/7mm diameter so likely massive for what you want to do - I've never seen the baking beans in the UK smaller than that. I would have also thought that ceramic is porous so going to leech out all of the water in the paint?

Best bet would be to go to a hobbycraft or bead shop and pick up some glass beads.
 
count zero99uk

count zero99uk

New member
Damn - my mother who has no knowledge of painting said exactly the same thing RuneBrush.

Ill look on hobbycraft for something then
 
Dragonsreach

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Staff member
count zero99uk said:
Im sick and tired of paints separating.
I dont know if its that fact i do a bit of painting my depression comes on and then when i go back 3 months later there like were not talking to you now.
Brian.
Click to expand...
I don't understand this I've just picked up a colour I don't normally use (Vallejo Old Rose) which I've had for roughly 4 years and A quick shake and it was good to go.
 
Blutrilobite

Blutrilobite

New member
I've found that adding some Liquitex Flow Aid really helps, look for this in arts and crafts stores, a little goes a long way. I use this to revive half dry Citadel foundation paints.
As for BBs in the UK, since you guys can't legally own firearms, I'd suggest hardware stores but I have no idea how it goes on over there. You have a big box store like our Wal-Marts and Targets...whats yours called there, Tosca? Maybe they have BB pellets but a hardware store of some kind or an Internet industrial supplier is your best bet.
 
count zero99uk

count zero99uk

New member
Thanks for the advice Skraaal but i opted for the glass beads and they so far, taps on wood, have been great.

Thanks all for your advice.

Now to sort my brushes.
 
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