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Hey guys,

Short version: How can I revive my drying paint pots?

Long version: Been out of the hobby scene for a long while due to studies and although Ive had games every now and then, I havent had much time for the painting side of things, and my Ork horde demands to be painted right up! But lo and behold, I checked my hobby box and noticed alot of my GW paints are drying up or otherwise going all 'gloopy'.

I have a pretty sizeable hobby box, with a vast majority of GW's selection of paints, including the foundation and wash range. I NEVER paint straight from the pot, I always shake the pot before use, make sure the lids are kept tightly-shut, and I keep my hobby box pretty much out of the way from sunlight. In otherwords, pretty much everything I can do to look after my paints I have done.

But Im horrified at how the majority of my paints are starting to dry up or turn to slow molasses, and the idea of having to replace most of them is horrifying (for me and my wallet). I may go the Vallejo route (cause I hear its cheaper and better), but for the moment I wish to make use the paints I have while I still can. Can anyone give me advice on what to do to revive my drying paint pots? Should just heavily shaking them up/stirring them do the trick? Can I just use water? Is there some substance or painting aid I can use instead? Anything that would help would be appreciated.

Cheers.

Right. GW paints are acrylics which mean that once they've dried, they more or less turn into plastic and can no longer be activated by water to return into paint.

What this means is that anything that has thickened to the point where it is solid is completely unsalvageable. Anything that is completely dried out needs to be thrown away. You may end up with some paints having dry "chunks" of solid paint in them. You should probably dilute them and then try to sieve them through something such as an old sieve or wide-weave material, like a dishcloth, to catch the pieces.

For the others who are just gloopy, get rid of the inevitable dry pieces on the cap and then dilute them slowly. Use an eyedropper if possible, and then drop water in while stirring the paint, until it gets back to a manageable consistency. Cocktail sticks make great stirrers for pots of paint, just don't use the same stick on different colours .

Foundation paints need to be stirred before you can really work with them, as they separate easily. Wash-wise, I'm not sure how you'd tell they're at the right consistency, so if they've dried out a bit then I have no idea how to help in that particular case.

To stop it happening again, you can invest in some bottles to put them in, bottles like the old, old, OLD Citadel paint pots are popular as are the dropper bottles.

Cheers mate, Ill see what I can salvage.

After this Im gonna start investing in Vallejo Game...

Uh, what?

GW paints work just fine if you water them back up.

Edit:
Okay, phew. I was about to say "Did you really just say that GW paints dry up and that Vallejo paints can be reactivated with water?". Cassandra is correct in that if they get to the point where they're a brick--they ain't coming back. Anything other than that though, and you can keep using it. I just "reactivated" a set of starter paints that I got in 2001, so that should tell you about the paint durability.

Vallejo Game and Model colors are fine for most things, but if they dry out--you're boned. I try to stick with Vallejo Model Air as it's already thinned out in such a way that it goes on like a dream even if you're not applying via an airbrush.

Vallejo game thinner worked in getting the "gel" the paint had turned into back into paint for me. Took a fair few drops in some cases, but saved me replacing several pots at once.

Phew, just spent about 3 hours reviving 50+ pots of paints with water. Hopefully that'll do the trick and keep them useable for another few years.

Cheers guy

Ronin wrote:Phew, just spent about 3 hours reviving 50+ pots of paints with water. Hopefully that'll do the trick and keep them useable for another few years.

Cheers guy

- Drop in a tiny glass bead, or stainless steel ball for easier agitation of the paints.
- Shake often (Every couple of weeks).
- Always clean pot sides of excess paint so everything is tightly sealed when put away.

Little extra care and the only time you'll need more paint is when you run out

If its getting a little bit too gloopy, it might be time to drop in some flow agent. Be incredibly careful with this stuff. I've used it now and again, gotta be careful though or the entire thing just becomes too runny, and then you just end up with what might as well be an ink.

Ronin wrote:Phew, just spent about 3 hours reviving 50+ pots of paints with water. Hopefully that'll do the trick and keep them useable for another few years.

Cheers guy

You're welcome

vent wrote:- Drop in a tiny glass bead, or stainless steel ball for easier agitation of the paints.
- Shake often (Every couple of weeks).
- Always clean pot sides of excess paint so everything is tightly sealed when put away.

Little extra care and the only time you'll need more paint is when you run out

Good points, though I will say if you have the style of pot below, you really really do need to transfer your paints into something else. The hexagonal screw-on pots are notoriously awful for keeping the paints anywhere near usable consistency.



Someone got fed up of the GW's bottles and transferred the lot, very swish. Take a look.

Mixing distilled water (found at a drug store) with a GW pot has worked just fine for me. I use a paint mixer (eg, google "badger paint mixer") to mix the pot, just keep adding water until it's thin enough.

As long as the paint is gel like it should be fine but when it's dry to the touch throw it out.

To help keep the paints longer, I shake the pot before storing for a while to help seal any gaps, also try storing in a air tight container kept in a cool area.