Gray Knights Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Hello all It has been about 2 years the I have not done any painting and my paints have turned to a thick type of substance. Is there any way I can recover them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaeron Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Either water or thinner (e.g. Lahmian Medium from GW, or any other company) may go some way to resurrecting them - with a thorough mix, but you may be unlucky... Give it a go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stercus Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I managed to resurrect a half pot of blood angel orange that had dried out almost to the point of solidity after I found it in a box I hadn't opened for at minimum ten years. All it took was a few drops of water and a lot of shaking. Don't lose hope, there's every chance you can rescue yours too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Foes Remain Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 I managed to resurrect a half pot of blood angel orange that had dried out almost to the point of solidity after I found it in a box I hadn't opened for at minimum ten years. All it took was a few drops of water and a lot of shaking. Don't lose hope, there's every chance you can rescue yours too. This. I have a lot of the old GW paints and they sometimes turn thick, but 1-3 drops of watter depending if its sludge thick or just thick-thick will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilofix Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Might take a lot of stirring but dont give up on it. In the US, I'd add some Windex but dont know what the UK equivalent is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffTibbetts Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 Might take a lot of stirring but dont give up on it. In the US, I'd add some Windex but dont know what the UK equivalent is. THIS! I was just about to say it. I have no idea why it works so well, but I can vouch that Windex absoLUTEly works. I also went to a craft store and got some really cheap necklaces with little stone (that's important. Not metal or anything light. Polished stone is perfect) beads on them. I cut the cord and dropped them in a container, and I toss one in my paint pots now to help shake them up. Works great. But seriously, the Windex thing is LIKE MAGIC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurth Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 As said above: add water or some kind of thinner, and stir using a flat stick — don’t shake — the bottle. Alcohol-based windscreen wiper fluid will work better than water, by the way, and if you’re not sure, you can always test it by taking a little paint from a bottle and trying to mix in some thinner on a palette. If that works, add thinner to the paint bottle and stir. Don’t add too much thinner, especially for the first bottle, but do a little at a time so you get a feel for how much is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madscuzzy Posted November 21, 2014 Share Posted November 21, 2014 So far, many of my friends and I have been using Vallejo Airbrush thinner (new formula type, clear) to revive dead paints. It works like a charm. Even hardened paint can be revived as the thinner does break down the paint, and yet has some way to rebind the pigments. They work very slightly differently from before but they work. GW, Vallejo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
White Wolf Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 One of the best ways of resurrecting dead paint is a mixture of water and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) - this is why Windex (and the UK equivalent) works - it has IPA in it. The base of acrylic paints is IPA and water - the IPA (and water) evaporating is what causes the paint to "dry". This leaves the pigment which in the wet paint is suspended in the mixture of water and IPA - this is why if your paints sit for a long time the pigment sinks. Hope this helps All the best WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teetengee Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I have heard that dremels and similar devices can also be used, but can make a bit of a mess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffTibbetts Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I have heard that dremels and similar devices can also be used, but can make a bit of a mess. Oh god. I would NEVER tell someone else to try that. :D Or maybe I would, if I turned to the dark gods of chaos. There are SO many ways this could do wrong. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teetengee Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I have heard that dremels and similar devices can also be used, but can make a bit of a mess. Oh god. I would NEVER tell someone else to try that. Or maybe I would, if I turned to the dark gods of chaos. There are SO many ways this could do wrong. LOL This is fairly accurate, but I have some old poorly kept 3rd ed paints who stick around for this as their only possible salvation. It depends how dead your dead is. Sort of a nuclear option, as it were. Plus, I forget where I saw it, but there exists a dremel-like device specifically designed for this purpose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffTibbetts Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 I have heard that dremels and similar devices can also be used, but can make a bit of a mess. Oh god. I would NEVER tell someone else to try that. Or maybe I would, if I turned to the dark gods of chaos. There are SO many ways this could do wrong. LOL This is fairly accurate, but I have some old poorly kept 3rd ed paints who stick around for this as their only possible salvation. It depends how dead your dead is. Sort of a nuclear option, as it were. Plus, I forget where I saw it, but there exists a dremel-like device specifically designed for this purpose. I'm just imagining something like a kitchen whisk in barbie-doll size. One would think that, assuming it doesn't chew through the plastic and then your fingers, it would throw SO MUCH paint out of the pot that you may as well not bother. Maybe if it also came with a little shield or cap so you could make a loose seal on the top? But, if you're shooting for carnage, proceed. Don't let me get in your way. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teetengee Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The one I saw came with a little splatter guard seal if I recall correctly, but yes, don't take power tools to your paints unless you hav tried everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffTibbetts Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 The one I saw came with a little splatter guard seal if I recall correctly, but yes, don't take power tools to your paints unless you hav tried everything else. This is starting to sound less and less like a terrible idea. :D On a similar note, my LGS has a paint shaker that I laughed at super hard, but everyone says it actually works really well. It's a heavy box with a powerful vibrator in it (cue giggles) and a little tiny arm sticking up. You put the paint on the arm, strap it in, and hold a button for a few seconds while it vigorously shakes your paint up. Apparently it's amazing, and they claim it's worth the $30 or something they paid for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurth Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 American solution to most problems: use a powered device Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teetengee Posted November 24, 2014 Share Posted November 24, 2014 American solution to most problems: use a powered device As an American, I must agree with you, for good or ill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Combat_Vet Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 I had the same issue with an entire gaming set by Vellejo paints. I added a bead to each pot and a few drops of thinner and shook them all until my arms were numb. I got a little results. I noticed the "greens" were almost impossible to recover. I was at the local store when I found a paint shaker made for hobby paints that cost about $20. After about five minutes on the shaker every pot was almost like new. Yes I'm an American and we do like electronic gadgets. I did shake the pots first but I will not miss that exercise (neither will the kids LoL) http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w291/meadows88/04D03120-BF07-4ED3-BBD0-74F63CADD5F2_zpsjfi59dgp.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Combat_Vet Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 @Jefftibbetts - I have very nosy neighbors. Shaking 100 pots of paint next to my window would be sure to cause all kinds of rumors and stories around the neighborhood Besides, I had both shoulders rebuild as a result of injuries so the shaker really is a life saver for me. The $20 I spent on the shaker saved me the $150 for the Gaming Color set so it's worth the laughter, Brother. I'm not saying it's for everyone, however it can be right for some people in the right circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gurth Posted November 27, 2014 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Another option is to build one yourself. The magazine of a Dutch military vehicle enthusiast/modellers’ association I’m a member of, had an article on this a few months ago. You can check it on this page by clicking on the cover of “DE TANK 228 (juni 2014)”, which opens a PDF file with several pages from the magazine. The relevant article is on the last page of the PDF, though it’s not complete (there was another page in the real issue). The article is in Dutch, but the photos should show the general idea: take a glue clamp and modify it to fit into an electric saw. The text mentions that the author drilled a hole in one of the jaws of the clamp to fit the top of the Vallejo bottle and glued a felt pad to the other jaw as an anti-slip device for the bottom of the bottle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebbie Posted December 6, 2014 Share Posted December 6, 2014 After reading this thread, I am now kicking myself for chucking out my 60 odd pots of solidly dry paints a couple of months ago... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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