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I'm looking for some agitators for my vallejo paints, esp because I' am going to be mixing in bulk. As far as I know, the two main requirements are 1) heavy and 2) doesn't react with the paint.

I have been told on another thread to consider using either ball bearings, buck shot or lead sinkers used in fishing.

This is a really newb question, but where would I go about buying ball bearings?

Is it safe/a good idea to purchase shotgun shells and open them up to remove the buck shot? That sounds a bit dangerous.

And I know that lead has a very low reactivity, but it does react with certain halogens. I'm not sure exactly what is in the paints....

Thanks!

In this thread there were some suggestions on what to use - I chose hematite beads, which I found cheap on ebay. This was the auction I grabbed - 100 beads for $1.44 delivered from hong kong. Expecting them to arrive in another week or so. If you want something else for an agitator, I'd still suggest using ebay and ensuring you're searching worldwide. Plenty of good, cheap options.

 Yonan wrote:
In this thread there were some suggestions on what to use - I chose hematite beads, which I found cheap on ebay. This was the auction I grabbed - 100 beads for $1.44 delivered from hong kong. Expecting them to arrive in another week or so. If you want something else for an agitator, I'd still suggest using ebay and ensuring you're searching worldwide. Plenty of good, cheap options.

Thanks! I just posted a reply asking if there was a difference between "hematite magnetitc" and "simulated hematite magnetic" and whether these were heavier than glass or ceramic beads of comparable size.

You could also just go to the local Home Despot or Lowes and buy some small nuts for a few pennies.
Just drop 1 or 2 in the paint bottle and your done.

dkellyj wrote:
You could also just go to the local Home Despot or Lowes and buy some small nuts for a few pennies.
Just drop 1 or 2 in the paint bottle and your done.

I think the point was to buy something that wouldn't rust and contaminate the paint. Pennies definitely will rust in your paint.

Ive used Lava Beads. they dont discolour and are cheap. you can get them at any craft store.

dkellyj wrote:
You could also just go to the local Home Despot or Lowes and buy some small nuts for a few pennies.
Just drop 1 or 2 in the paint bottle and your done.

If you go the hardware store route, make sure you buy stainless steel nuts. They won't rust...

Tim

I bought a few strands of lava beads for cheap off ebay after a suggestion in a thread a while back. I have used them in my various Vallejo paints and they have worked very very well.

i dont wanna soudn dumb... but i literally clicked on this because i was like... WTF is a paint ALLIGATOR...lol

I'm gonna swing by the Hobby Lobby here in Chandler later today to pick up some Hematite Round Magnetic Beads. I'll let you guys know how it goes!