well to go with my airbrush questions, I got some brand new paints, model flex for example that are not responding to hand stir ,pigments aren’t breaking up . so since I haven’t got the handy Lil stir tool from micro mark, I was thinking of a piece a wire or something in a chuck of a old dremel tool on slow speed ?
any body make their own little stirrer or such ??
Jerry
I did that for something I was fixing up that the remodeling contractors neglected at my house for sale.
I used a coathanger wire bent to shape, cut off (NOT with my rail snippers!) and inserted in my variable speed $29.95 drill.
Just go slow, slow, slow. You don’t want paint polka dots all over everything.
What I do is put 3 or 4 small metal objects in the jar (I’m using small machine screw nuts because I’ve got a lot of them but I’m looking for something like cheap ball bearings to use instead) and shake the jar thoroughly before opening it. The nuts break up the paint quite nicely, just like the ball in a rattle can.
I use coffee stirrers. If something like that doesn’t mix the paint, then you may have a bad bottle (old). Acrylics have been known to cure in the bottle. Go back to where you bought it and get a replacement (check the new bottle) or a refund. If the retailer won’t help you, contact Badger directly, they will help you out.
I believe it was on this forum that an idea was shown with photos- use a brass wire and bend one end twice into a shallow arrowhead shape, then put it in a drill at a low speed, submerging the end before starting the drill. The irregular end shape will help break up clumped sediments and restore the paint to liquid state. On the other hand, I picked up one of those small battery powered stirrers and works great! One other idea- check Bed, Bath & Beyond, as the might have a cocktail stirring device similar to the Micro Mark paint mixer. Cedarwoodron
I use a smallish screwdriver with a bent tip. I can then scrape the bottom and side to lossen whatever is stuck there , then stir like crazy. If I am smart enough to remember i do this a while before i need to paint so I can shake the bottle a bunch , then let it settle. I think shaking causes problems with air bubbles or something bad for airbrushing, maybe someone else can verify that.
I was given a bag full of new but very old testors paints a few years ago. Needless to say the paint had settled. I threw them on a baking pan and put one of those vibrating back massagers in with them for a half hour. I put it on the carpet in a back room as it was noisey. The vibrating did liquify the paint and made them quite usable.
Brent[C):-)]
I have small wooden stir sticks from a beauty supply. They look like small tongue depressors, but are about 4" long and maybe 1/4" wide. One style has a rounded end and another style has an angle cut end at about 60 degrees. Very cheap and tossable. Good for mixing epoxy too.
I think you guys are talking about air brushes, but can you add those metal things to just normal jars of acrylic paint that is brushed on?
I made my own stirring paddle by taking a piece of .020 flat brass about 1/8" x 7/16", twisting it slightly so it looked kind of like a propeller and then soldering it on to the end of a piece of brass tube (like a propeller would be mounted on an engine drive shaft). I underline the “slight” twist because if the angles are too great I think you might end up wearing most of the paint. It worked ok. I subsequently bought one of the MicroMark style mixers and it works much better. It does not introduce as much air into the paint and it doesn’t hit the sides of the paint jar as hard.
As was mentioned earlier - don’t start the mixer until it is in the paint or you will cause quite a splash, and (I think I am stating the obvious here) stop the mixer before you take it out! In either case you will only make the mistake once!!
One more suggestion - mix your paint away from the work bench or remove anything from the bench that you don’t want paint specks on. Murphy’s law! (Been there - done that[banghead]).
Dave
Sure, you can still some ball bearings or similar objects in any paint to help mix it up. Be sure to clean them throughly first as you do not want any residue of oil, grease, or other junk that may be on them getting in your paint - that will quickly ruin it, or at least cause problems with the finish. Much like the ball in a rattle can, it will help break up the pgments.
There are also magnetic stirrers, you put a metal piece int eh paint and set it ont he base, which magnetically drives the metal rotor to mix the paint.
The back massager idea seems ot be the most economical, and sounds very effective. Consider commercial paints are essentially mixed that way, in a high speed shaker. In fact now I have an idea, I have a massaging seat cover for my car that I absolutely hate, but it has about 6 vibrating motors in it, all runnign off 12 volts. If I can fasten one to some sore of base with a little pocket in it for a paint jar, I can use that to mix up the paint.
–Randy
Nope, I mostly brush paint. I like the idea of a vibrating back massager. I think an oscillating sander without sandpaper would work too. I believe Micro Mark sells a shaker like the paint stores use for the big cans that take the bottles of model paint. Don’t know offhand what it costs though.
thanks guys: ALL great Ideas Jerry
I don’t want to take away anything from the above, because they are all good ideas.
Stirring paint, though is such a simple task (except maybe in the case in which your paints haven’t been used in so long that they’ve completely separated) that I can’t really see why people go to such lengths to do it.
I buy wooden coffee stirring sticks at i-Party or Staples for a couple bucks for 1000 of them, and that’s always been good enough for me.
Coffee stirrers from McDonald’s. You can stir by hand, or you can cut them in half and use them in a cordless screwdriver or variable speed drill.
Hi!
When Badger came out with their $10 battery powered paint stirrer I laughed and thought, “who needs that?” Well, time went on and I realized it was worth a try. So, I bought one, and I was amazed. Today, I can safely say it is one of my most used and valued model building tools.
One pointer… once the paint is mixed, turn off the on switch or stop movement with your finger. Then, put the stirrer inside a trash can and let it twirl a bit. This will remove most all the paint, and what is left will soon dry…
Oh, before this I did make a stirrer out of a bent paper clip and put it in the Dremel. It worked ok, but it tied up the dremel.
Jerr I know you asked for a DYI stirrer, and there are all kinds of good ideas for stirrers and mixers, but for the dollars and effort in and the quality out you really can’t beat this rither DYI or store bought http://www.micromark.com/Cordless-Mixer-for-Model-Paints,7616.html
Catch them on sale you can get them for like $5. The best thing is these really work well, even on a full bottle
ratled
Ratled,
Great minds think alike! The Micromart stirrer is the Badger stirrer I posted.
Of course, the big disadvantage to a mechanical stirrer is that you have to clean it after each use. This may not be a big deal if you’re using one color at a time, but it’s a drag to use if you have to mix several colors.
Coffee stirrers are disposable.
I go with the bent wire idea, specifically a piece of 12 or 14 gauge copper electrical wire about 6" long with a loop bent in one end. I don’t use a drill or dremel but just spin the wire between my forefinger and thumb. I also scrape down the sides and bottom of the jar. When I spray models I keep a couple of old margarine containers full of water on the workbench. I just dunk the stirrer in the water to clean it.
What I no longer do is shake the paint. I found that the paint which sticks to the top will dry out and drop into the paint. Not good for the airbrush nozzle.
George V.