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I have some large batches of premixed paints that I use for my army. They consist of of a number of colours, some of which are from different manufacturers, and they like to separate quite easilly. Some of the shades never really quite mix completely. Would adding medium to theses paints solve the issue?

Or just add a couple BB's to the pot and shake thoroughly before using.

It can't hurt to try adding a little acrylic medium to the mix, but I don't see it making a big difference. But then, I have been wrong before.

From time to time.

I have little agitator beads in the pot, yes, and even rigged up a jigsaw with a clamp to hold the pot in the blade socket for mechanical agitation, but some of the white pigments are very stubborn about mixing back in and it's a giant pain. Still have to go into the corners with a stir stick first and meticulously scrape it out of there. Even that doesn't always get it all.

This mite help its sourced from vajello


2.6. What is the shelf life of your Model Color paints?
The shelf life depends on the storage conditions. Our colors are formulated to withstand freezing and thawing. Normally the colors should be fine for at least 5 years, but we have tested some colors much older than that (10-20 years) and they are still workable. The colors do not “spoil” and unless exposed to extreme heat will not dry out either but the water content will evaporate eventually. Heavier pigment tends to settle, and the small bottle may cause some difficulty in restoring the balance in the consistency; if paint has settled heavily, first make sure the eyedropper tip is not blocked with dried paint, and restore the emulsion by rolling the bottle between your hands rather than shaking it.

2.7. i have a problem with Model Color, it does not seem to go on smoothly.
The pigment may have settled too much. Add two drops of Crackle Medium (70.598) and mix the contents of the bottle by rolling it between your hands.

2.8. i have some paint i purchased years ago, and pigment has separated from the binder. How can i best restore the original mixture?
The best way to stir the product is not so much by shaking the bottle, as by squeezing the bottle and then rolling it between your hands. Please us this method and try the color on some other surface first to see if the blending has been successful. Also see point 2.7 for trying to restore balance between pigment and binder.

Crackle medium, wow. That's odd. I wonder why that stuff as opposed to regular medium...

I have heard of guys using a drill to "spin' paints before. These paints I'm dealing with separate so stupbornly I doubt spinning them by hand would do any good. Dropper bottles could more easilly be rigged up to go "tighty" in a drill and not come open, but what about citadel pots...

I wondered about the crackle medium aswel but if the paints no good it could be worth a try . You could get a dowle and screw a screw in the center for the drill then tape the pot on

I'm envisioning a C bracket with a clamp screw on one end and a long bolt to go in the chuck on the other.

 Vulcan wrote:
Or just add a couple BB's to the pot and shake thoroughly before using.

Don't use BBs. They can rust and you'll lose the pot of paint. You want something that's nonreactive like glass beads, etc.

So... gets the stuff off the bottom better than shaking it, probably better than the mechanical agitator I made with the jigsaw, but the really stupborn stuff I'm getting at the bottom of pots that have been sitting for more than a few days still doesn't wanna come loose for anything but scraping it out of the corners with a sculpting tool. Pain in the butt...

One suprising thing is that even though it doesn't get that stuff either, how well the rolling-in-the hands method works.

Not sure why the image is sideways... that's a little annoying.