Pre thinning your paints

[JayMesawitz]

I have started this habit of keeping air brush ready enamels on hand. I have Testors flat & gloss black in 3 oz jars thinned with testors thinner. Also some pre thinned dull coat (more to bring gloss down to semi-gloss) As far as shelf life goes... the gloss black is the oldest on my bench at about 9 months with no sign of deteriation.

 

So I was wondering if others keep pre-thinned paints ready for use on their bench. Is this practice is only effective with enamels?

 

 

[ralph4hand]

No, But I do put a drop or two of thinner (always same brand as paint) in the container if I've had it open for a few minutes. This replace any thinner lost due to evaporation and counters paint thickening over time. Works for me.

Edited March 21, 2010 by ralph4hand

[Ralph Nardone]

Paint is a funny thing--I used to return thinned paint to the jar back when I used enamels, and sometimes they would be fine, other times they would become gelatinous within hours. There was no pattern as to which paints would gel in the jar. I have also had acrylics turn to little dried pucks in the bottle after I returned thinned paint to the jar. These days, I'm pretty good at estimating what I need. If I have a lot of surplus, I'll put it into a fresh jar and label it as such.

 

Back in the Xylene-thinned Floquil days, I knew of folks who would do as you are--they'd mix, thin, add Glaze, and store the paint. The Glaze was the ey, I think--it restored some of the chemical balance to the paint, allowing the thinner mix to keep longer on the shelf.

 

Ralph

[ClareWentzel]

I tend to agree with Ralph. I never put thinned paint back into the bottle. I don't even put a brush that may have thinner on it into the bottle. My paints seem to last pretty well. Don't know if this helps or not but I am not taking any choices.

 

I do, however, pour any excess Metalizers back into the bottle but they are never thinned.

 

Clare

[David M. Knights]

I agree with Ralp N. as well. I throw all thinned paints away when I am done with a project. If you add thinner to paint, it seems, over time, to affect the paint. In my experience, it causes the paint to clump over time and can't be remixed. Paint is cheap enough to mot take a chance.

[JayMesawitz]

I hear what is being said and I as well do not add thinner or thinned paint back into the original bottle. It would be impossible to know what proportion paint to thinner was in there the next time you went to use it.

 

I'm referring to a full on pre thinned (2 part thinner to 1 part paint) bottle separate from brushed paints for the sole purpose of being ready to airbrush. Only the two or three most common/heavily used color of course...

 

The specialy paint suppliers like MCW and Cobra colors (when he was in business) both automotive model paint suppliers sell thier product pre-thinned, ready for airbrush. I was wondering if there were others using this technique on a home grown level.

 

Seems I'm in the minority. That's cool. I was just curious.

[ghodges]

Yes! I buy the MM empty bottles (6packs) and use them to mix up the thinned airbrush colors. I mark them as "thinned" or "AB" and use them as long as they last. I've found that they'll last well for a year or more, especially if I'm careful to reseal the bottles properly. In some cases, really hot thinner mixes will not last, but do get the job done for the project at hand. If I open a bottle of previously thinned paint and it doesn't immediately mix upon stirring (slow to mix, or has clots) I toss it and start a new "thinned" jar. The up side to this is that it also allows you to mix up some varying shades of the same color to get some depth and add "life" to your finish color, and have them on hand for several projects over the year.

 

GIL

Edited March 22, 2010 by ghodges