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Hey all, I'm just wondering if anyone else has had a problem with GW's Ceramite White. I'm an irregular painter to say the least but this is the second pot I've had that has clumped together after a few uses and then a period without any use. I'd initially thought the first pot had gone this way due to not properly securing the cap but this one was definitely secured (and barely used). It also doesn't really look dried out, just that it has "clumped" together. None of the other Citadel Base paints I own have had this happen and I'm just wondering if it's a common occurrence and if anyone has any way to recover it?
Vigorous shacking hasn't had much of an impact and the next step will be to try and break up the mass and stir it but if there's a better way I'd love to hear it.

This seems to be a characteristic of the paint, has happened with all 3 pots I've gotten through.

I resuscitate it by periodically adding a bit of warm water, then shake and stir vigorously. Repeat every month or so and you'll prolong its life in a usable state.

However, this only works if the paint is still kind of viscous when you do it.

Ya, Ceramite white is often a pain. I bought a pot of it and have never used it because even after I get the big clumps, the small clumps are hard to get rid of.

Shaking the pot will do nothing, you need to stir it. I would use a tooth pick or perhaps the bottom of a paint brush. Eventually you will be able to work it down to a some what usable state.

After you do that I would put some sort of agitator in the pot. I used some galvanized nuts lying around, but you could get a pack of 50 or so mini ball bearings and just put them in all your paint, because why not, right?

Anyway, I personnally find trying to "restore" the GW white is too much work for me to deal with when I could use a vallejo white.

If you really want to use GW white you can buy a paint mixer from Amazon or Ebay and see how that works. I have never used one, but I'm sure it would come in handy at some other stuff too.

But ya, the Ceramite whit issue is not just yours, it happens all the time

Ceramite White is poo. In order for it to be any use at all, you have to thin it down like crazy, and water doesn't work well (Lahmian Medium, I guess...).

There are a few alternatives:

1. Just use White Scar. They're both just white, and White Scar is thinner. Even so, you have to thin White Scar, or it will be a streaky, brushstroke disaster. This is my preference when I have to paint a small area (like eyes).

2. Use Ulthuan Grey. This is actually an amazingly good paint! It has the big advantage of being slightly grey, meaning you can highlight it with White Scar. This is my solution for painting white Space Marines. Note that this is also a good solution for painting white models, because in real live, "white" objects are almost never actually, well, white. If you look at a white cat, a white coffe mug, or a white piece of paper, they are shades of many grey.

3. Use Vallejo White (70.951). Not Foundation White -- just "White". You must still thin it, but it comes out pretty well if you thin it with Flo-Aid. This is my preference when I have to paint a large area. One advantage is that Vallejo has a nice range of close-to-whites and greys, including Offwhite.

4. Use P3 White. It's not as clumpy as GW, it dries slower, and I think it's marginally nicer. But, Vallejo is still better for doing large areas, and I use more GW paints (than P3), so White Scar just happens to give me the same level of glossiness.

I don't really like AP white or Reaper white. I don't think there's anything particularly special about them, and I don't priamrily use those paint lines, so I don't go out of my way to use their whites. Note that if you're using it to cover black primer with white, be prepared for a few coats no matter what you do.

As a final act of desperation, you can always get a very high grit sanding block (600, 800, 1000), and lightly sand off your finish product to get rid of the brushstrokes, and then finish it with one more careful (thin!) coat.

The same happened to me and I gave up on that paint. I went with Talys' option number 3: Vallejo White. Compared to Ceramite White it's smooooooooooth and doesn't turn into that weird clump thing.

My overall experience with Ceramite White seems to be at odds with everyone else. I had the same thing happen with my pot (clumpy, separated, etc), yet after a quick stir with a toothpick and a really vigorous shake it fixed itself and looked like regular paint again. Mine also has a super smooth consistency. It's thick, but smooth. And i've had no problems thinning it down.

It's, in all honestly, one of the more superior paints i've used. Goes on stunningly over and coat of grey and makes a fantastic undercoat for regular white.

Ive never had a problem with ceramite white, and prefer it massively to white scar, which seemed to be tiny lumps of pigment floating in milky water. Rubbish

I love my Ceramite White too. Although it does seem to dry out faster than normal paints. I add in a few drops of water and medium when it needs it and it is as good as new.

That happens to all my GW paints, I just stir them with the end of the paintbrush thoroughly before use. I have only ever used GW paints so I thought that was just how it was =)

My ceramite white also has gone clumpy. None of my other GW paints ever has. I hate it.

Thanks for your responses guys, good to know I'm not going insane. I'll have to give stirring and hot water a shot.