Storage for your mixed paints?

[moetle]

Greetings,

I was curious as to what everyone uses to store their own paint mixes. Currently i purchased some empty pots at Hobby Lobby but after a week the paints dried out no matter how tight i got the caps on. So now i'm currently looking at these:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/11065694755...AX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648#ht_824wt_1021

But before i make the purchase i wanted some opinions please.

 

[kathrynloch]

The ones from Hobby Lobby are the same ones I use. Did you get the ones that are clear and come in like three different sizes in a blister pack? I haven't had a problem - they get thick but I've only had one dry out. But I also mix water and acrylic retarder in them too.

 

[PegaZus]

I think they'd still dry out. I'd think some eyedropper squeeze bottles would maybe keep them fresher.

First I found these, but I'm not sure they'd be good for paint. Says pharmaceutical use.

I think these would work better. However, I'm not so sure eBay is the best source for 'em. Haven't tried to look much further.

 

[moetle]

@kathrynloch- Yep the clear pots with white snap on tops, got a blister of 6. Used three for mixes and they dried out, but i didn't use any Acrylic retarder.

@PegaZus- BRILLIANT ! That's exactly what i'm looking for. Thanks.

 

[QuietiManes]

Cork has to be kept wet or it'll breaks down when you open the bottle, so you'd have to store your paint upside down or on its side (like wine). Can't imagine that'd be good for the paint. Flip caps usually aren't anywhere near air tight, so they'll slow down the drying quite a bit but are horrible for long term storage, generally speaking. Of course some are nice, have a little rubber ring to seal things off.

I use 20ml dropper bottles like in the second link from PegaZus but I don't keep mixes all that often. Other than a water, flow aid, retarder and future floor finish mix of course. You can get them cheaper from medical and lab supply shops online but that ebay link is a fairly good price with the free shipping. You'd only want to look elsewhere if you're needing a much larger number of bottles. I always break the dropper tips, so I'd suggest you get a few extras if you can, if you aren't getting a predefined set.

 

[Einion]

Currently i purchased some empty pots at Hobby Lobby but after a week the paints dried out no matter how tight i got the caps on.

That means the caps aren't airtight, would work reasonably well otherwise. There is a slight problem if there's a lot of airspace above the paint, even in an airtight container, but

Back when I used to make larger amounts of custom mixes more frequently my preferred way of storing them was in 35mm film containers. Some had better seals than others, but at best you could store paint for months. These were effectively free of course, but obviously they're a lot harder to come by these days than they were!

The containers you're looking at on eBay, they have a 1ml capacity. This is a good thing in one way (and for 50 the price is decent, long as they don't gouge you on shipping) but that's a very small amount of paint, hardly seems worth storing that little!

Einion

 

[kathrynloch]

That means the caps aren't airtight, would work reasonably well otherwise. There is a slight problem if there's a lot of airspace above the paint, even in an airtight container, but

I think you nailed it here, Einion. I've got three or four full blister packs of the containers from Hobby Lobby full of mixed paint and only have had one go dry so far. The one that went dry had only a tiny amount of paint in the bottom of the pot so lots of trapped air in the top. I've had to chuck one or two however because once I mix up a color, use it and reseal the lid, I have a plastic tray I set it on - but I place it upside down. If it leaks, there's a problem. The plastic tray is the type I can peel dried paint off. Anyway, if it leaks I transfer the paint to another one and chuck the faulty one. If it doesn't leak, eventually I move it off the tray and into another one until I need that color again.

I paint from these pots so they do get thick and I'm constantly adding water and retarder but that is like you said due to air exposure. I keep them pretty full so they don't get a lot of air trapped in the pot.

It works for me and I've had good luck with it thus far. I'm constantly re-using my mixes so maybe I'm adding water more often so they don't dry out. I dunno.