"To shake, or not to shake..." Topic

I got this from the Vallejo website, "The best way to stir the product is not so much by shaking the bottle, as by squeezing the bottle and then rolling it between your hands. Please use this method and try the color on some other surface first to see if the blending has been successful." I have sometimes shaken Vallejo and Reaper bottles until kingdom come. This seems like it would take until kingdom come and gone again. But if the evidence says otherwise, then I may have to give it a go. Does anyone do this? Does it work? How long does it take?

Squeeze the bottle? With the lid on? Hard to see how that would work.

I just shake them like crazy.

I hate those Vallejo tube things, why on earth can't they use good honest pots, like Humbrol.

The only merit they have is if you mix different shades on a palette using drops of paint – which I have to do with Vallejo as their colours frequently bear no relation whatsoever to real life colours.

Interesting, all I've ever found is that by shaking, you force the goo into the nozzle end, and then no amount of shaking will cause it to mix, and you can't get the paint out because the nozzle is blocked.

I once squeezed the tube so hard the nozzle end came off and the ensuing tidal wave of paint coved the leather sofa…gosh was I Mr popular with her indoors!

I believe I understand what Vallejo is getting at, as vigorously shaking up and down (as I generally do) simply forces paint through the tip and makes a mess.

That said, for some colors, their suggested method works--particularly if it's been recently shaken--but for others, not gonna happen.

I have been meaning to pick up some shaker bbs from Michael's--I'm sure that will be suggested here in a bit.

I use this and it works just fine, better than shaking. Slightly squeezing the bottle with the lid on loosens the pigment on the bottom.

I hate those Vallejo tube things, why on earth can't they use good honest pots, like Humbrol.

Well, I hate paint pots/tins but love the dropper bottles. They really help when I custom mix colors, adding exact drops. I also use a wet pallet. YMMV.

I have been meaning to pick up some shaker bbs from Michael's--I'm sure that will be suggested here in a bit.

I found they don't help much with Vallejo paints. They do work well for my other hobby paints, which tend not to have the pigment colors separate like Vallejo paints.

The problem with the rubbing between the hands method is that the ink comes off the labels and you have mystery colors from that point forward.

I write at least the code if not the color on the bottom.

I also bought some ss paint mixing balls from Mig that work really well.

This is one of the reasons I consider Vallejo paints vastly overrated. The shelf life is not as bad as it is with Citadel, but that's faint praise. Far too expensive too.
I much prefer craft paints, which you CAN shake.

I shake.

I also add a metal ball bearing to some of my paints – this helps to mix/shake the paint.

link

Tony

I don't buy paint mixing balls. Instead I save all of the bits of metal casting sprue, large vents, etc. that I trim away from figures when prepping them to paint. When I get new paint I just get my cutters and snip a couple of pieces down to the right size and drop them in the bottle. Works like a charm and in a lot of ways better than BBs (which I have also used) as the small bits have irregular, angular surfaces, so mix things up well.

And put me in the dropper bottle camp. Easier to mix and use and I've had much less trouble with paints drying out.

I use this. Well worth it.

link

Shake. It is the time honored method of stirring paint.

Good idea Cantwell!

Second on BCantwell's idea! That is genius!

I don't get very good results rolling paint. I purchased several containers of stainless steel balls from Amazon that are designed to clean decanters, and find they work very well. One of them in a dropper bottle helps tremendously.

I've also found the dropper bottles save paint. Nothing dries paint faster than working out of an open pot. I use a 4" square of white ceramic tile as a palette, and simply wash it off after use.

I do it: it really works much better than shaking-despite the fact the bottle labels state to shake and the site says to roll.

I place my hand palm down on the bottle and gently, easily roll it back and forth on the bench for about a minute.

Shaking creates air build up in the bottle and causes bubbles, etc.

Yea, I hate the air bubbles, since they can be difficult to eliminate.

Stirring would be best, but then you have to remove the lids every time, which is a pain.

I use a ceramic palette-after rolling I place the paint in, add their thinner and stir. Takes time but it makes the paint flow much better. Store the bottles upright: placing them upside down will cause the paint to flow to the tip and clog it.

If find that shaking tends to cause the paint to ooze out of the top when the cap is removed. I did not know about the rolling meathkd of mixing.

I have used craft paints for a good 20years or more. They a okay but if you start to do very thin layers to blend colors together, I find the craft paints fail. Craft paonts are good for the average wargame table look, but subtle shading and blending needs a better quality paint.

I shake my Vallejo and Reaper and have never had any of the problems described. Just as an aside I like them a lot more than "craft paints" which to me are often too thick. I like Humbrol the best though, their tins will keep paint liquid for years. I like that Vallejo has three grades of paint. I also use Tamiya and while I like their color palette I find that their jars don't really seal very well (like Model Master which I also use) and you have to watch them to make sure that they don't dry out.

Just shake it baby!

I too like that electric paint shaker, I got mine from micro Mart. I put little metal things in the bottles to help agitate them. I like the dropper bottles, I drop some paint into water bottle tops which I have hundreds and paint from those.

Hmm, the rolling method sounds interesting, I'll give that a go.

As an aside, my oldest pot of still useable Humbol acrylic turns 20 years old next year. It will be interesting to see if any of my Vallejo lasts that long.

Never had good luck with Vallejo until I bought a Badger paint stirrer. You'll need to file down the outside of the paddle a hair, so it will fit in the bottle. Just pull off the nipple tip, place the paddle to the bottom, and stir for about 15 seconds. That, along with a little flow enhancer, and I can spray the Model Color all day.

Don

I use agitators (glass beads from craft store, but pieces of lead would work just as well)

An extra benefit is that when you hear the beads rattling, then you know you have started to move the thick stuff from the bottom

So if I don't hear the beads on the first shake or two, then I roll as Vallejo suggests until I hear the beads, then shake

I have made a home made shaker from an old computer fan, but it needs some tweaking before I can show how I did it

Thanks

John