"Are my paints still good?" Topic

I have a bunch of P3 paints that were opened (but resealed) and stored in a fishing tackle box (which was inside of a cardboard box) for over 4 years. That box was in a barn for over one year, and it got freezing cold in there. None of the bottles burst or anything though. Do you think the paints are still good? I don't want to screw up any miniatures by putting bad paint on them and then having to remove it. I also don't want to put sub-par paint on my miniatures to have it flake or peel off eventually. So if I have to buy new paints, should I stick with P3? or is there a better brand?

Any responses will be appreciated.

Thanks.

Most of my paints are well over four years old and are still going strong, so I'd say you probably won't have much to worry about. If they are still runny you should be good to go!

Cheers,
Aaron

I'm close to finishing a 15-year-old bottle of Tamiya Field Grey, and it has suffered sitting in a hot moving truck, in the unheated apartment I am living in at the moment, and a variety of other injuries, and it has been good to the last drop. There should be no problem.

I've had them completely dry out, then reconstituted them.
They work just as well as ever.
Obviously I can't speak for every paint everywhere, but you should try.
The worst that can happen is they explode and level your town.
That seems unlikely, so they will work or they won't.

If you can put them out of the bottle and they are liquid they will still work. They will be all dry or won't mix if they are bad.

You can pretty much tell when you open it.

I have some citadel paints I bought over 20 years ago that are still good.

@ Scott. How did you reconstitute the dried out paints?

The real issue is if they did actually freeze. Paint has a lower freezing point than water but if they actually froze you will have to replace them.

I got some Humbrol authentics out the other day from around 1988, still good.

Slowly.
Use an xacto and gouge up the dried stuff at the bottom, then add a few drops of water. Seal it up and let it sit for a while. This step may need to be repeated.

Eventually, you'll be able to "mash" the dried part, I use a bamboo skewer I got at the dollar store.
Add water, drops at a time, mashing and stirring until it's back to where you want it.
It takes time, adding slowly and letting it absorb is the key.

I've done it with Ral Partha, GW, several others, and they all work as before. I've never had any P3 paints before.

I have Humbrol Authentics from the seventies I still use, but then they are proper paints not day-glo acrylic nonsense…

Heisler wrote:

"The real issue is if they did actually freeze. Paint has a lower freezing point than water but if they actually froze you will have to replace them."

But how will I know if they froze and thawed out already? I don't want them use them and then have them eventually start flaking or peeling off my miniatures. Would I be best off just discarding them and not taking the chance?

Thanks Scott. In the past I´ve just binned dry paints, I´ll give it a try with some old paints that were under consideration for throwing away.

"The real issue is if they did actually freeze. Paint has a lower freezing point than water but if they actually froze you will have to replace them."

I fail to see how. Your paint is made of an acrylic base, pigment and water (alcohol if Tamiya). Just how does freezing damage any of the components?